Kaberle Out Of Toronto?

One of the big pieces of the rumour mill on Thursday was that Tomas Kaberle was the target of a massive deal, but speculation as to what the deal was or with who were very faint. Friday morning, TSN heard on the vine that the deal was likely with Boston. Toronto would send Kaberle and their 7th overall pick to Boston for Phil Kessel, who becomes a restricted free agent in July.

			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To Toronto	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Phil Kessel	F	21	70	60	RFA
------------------------------------------------------------------
			2008-2009 Statistics		2010
To Boston	Pos	Age	GP/MIN	Points	Cap Hit
Tomas Kaberle	D	31	57	31	2 years/$4.25 million
2009 1st Round Pick (7th Overall)

Since the Bruins are running into some cap troubles, they will want to move this RFA in Kessel, because of his likely cap hit, which should be in excess of $4-5 million in the coming years. The Maple Leafs are still toiling with the idea that they need to revamp the whole roster, not leaving any sign of a previous generation of players. The deal does look a little steep, especially when the Leafs have to throw in their 7th overall pick, because that could be a good impact player on top of an excellent top end defender. Kessel is a quick & talented forward, but he isn't terribly big & tough, something that Brian Burke would be looking for. I think this deal might not have the legs to carry it through on Friday night, unless Boston sweetens the pot, just a little.