Trade waters starting to stir

Guess Garth Snow didn't want the New Jersey Devils getting out of range.

Okay, that's mean. Presumably, the Islander GM simply saw a chance to get some value for a veteran defenceman, James Wisniewski, who will be unrestricted in July, and pulled the trigger, getting a second round pick and a fifth rounder from Montreal.

Good deal for the Habs, with Andrei Markov out, Josh Gorges ailing and P.K. Subban in some sort of strange purgatory, possibly headed back to the minors.

For the Isles, suddenly winners of four of their last five games, it was nonetheless a little peculiar to see the club move their top defenceman. Wisniewski was tied for the team lead in points and was playing more than 23 minutes a game, tops among Long Island defencemen. Perhaps the Isles have their eye on getting the No. 1 pick again this June, and with 30th place New Jersey going absolutely nowhere despite last week's coaching change, the Islanders don't want to get too far ahead.

The strange part was that Snow didn't shop Wisniewski, but simply cut a deal with Pierre Gauthier. These days, the market for capable defencemen is just starting to heat up and prices can only increase. Then again, moving him now saves more than half of his $3.25 million salary, and that matters on The Island, where the deal has the club barely above the NHL's $43.4 salary floor, and that's with buyout cap hits for Alexei Yashin and Brendan Witt.

The trade was the first concrete evidence that the trade market might be opening after the Christmas freeze. Jersey sent veteran Brian Rolston to the minors and then put him on re-entry waivers, which means he can now be had for half his $5.062 salary this season and next.

Jay Feaster, meanwhile, is now running the show in Calgary, likely with a mandate to clear up some of that team's cap clog, tricky with 11 players on the Flames holding some form of no-trade/no-movement clause in their contracts.

The Leafs would love to get in on this, and have pieces to move, including defenceman Francois Beauchemin, winger Clark MacArthur, centre Mikhail Grabovski and possibly defenceman Tomas Kaberle. Veteran goalie J.S. Giguere could move at some point depending on his health and whether he is willing to waive his no-trade. Youngster Nazem Kadri isn't going anywhere despite being returned to the minors. Teams are showing some interest in Marlie goalie Jussi Rynnas, who is having a sparkling season in the AHL, but the guessing is now that Rynnas and Jonas Gustavsson are slated to be the Leafs' tandem next season.

While many would love to see Leaf GM Brian Burke start dumping players for picks like Snow did with Wisniewski, that appears not to be Burke's priority at the moment. Instead, he'd like to find a way to get some help for his beleaguered coach by acquiring some talent from another club.

Of the teams scraping the bottom of the NHL right now - the Leafs, Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Islanders, Devils, Florida, Buffalo - it's an interesting debate as to which clubs are best positioned for success in the not-too-distant future. The Oilers have the best single prospect in Taylor Hall, although Long Island still believes John Tavares will be a star someday. The Panthers are building a future around Erik Gudbranson but have chronic money problems. The Sabres, who are likely to be sold in the coming months, have lots of young players and prospects, but like Toronto, lack that one superb, blue-chipper. Calgary and Jersey have big messes to clean up before they can start rebuilding, precisely the process the Leafs have already gone through over the past two years.

All of these clubs have something to sell over the next two months. Now we'll see who is buying. 

Comments

[PJ]

Why would they consider trading arguably 2 of their best players this year? Grabo and MacArthur are young, talented players who don't occupy too much cap space, and frankly, are the best we got at the moment. Why would you trade those guys for picks, when they are young, skillful, and actually produce for us. You would hope that the 2nd or 3rd round picks that you get for them could score 20+ goals, which is what both of these players will likely surpass, so why would you want to trade them?!!

[Stanley]

The Leafs are in a terrible spot - if they trade away pieces to build for next year, they basically tank without the benefit of a high first-round pick to make it worthwhile. Maybe I can get a Nugent-Hopkins Bruins jersey to go with my Seguin one.

[mike]

Hey Damien why u think the leafs wouldnt take a stab at ralston at half price he would surely add something to this team and maybe give some leadership to these young guys.Still dont know why the leafs and lightning dont swing a deal trade giggy and kaberle for a guy like lecavelier Im sure Tampa could use some cap relief and a goalie to boot as both would be free agents next year and Kaberle would do well with reuniting with Kubina.

[Gabriel]

I think Jersey falls to the bottom and rises again quickly with a high draft pick, much like Philly did.

[Farhaan]

why move Mcarthur, who has been good at times, costs little, Kaberle, Beauchemin need to be moved, bith have been dissipointing offensively and in thier own end both are liabilities, the only way it makes sense to throw in Grabovoski is if you are getting a blue chip F like a C back in return or even a mid aged vet like Lecavillier or Richards.

[Nev]

Damien: This article is way off base. MacArthur, Grabbo and Kulemin represent the one consistent offensive line the leafs have and I would argue that MacArthur has been the key player in getting more out of both Kulemin and Grabbo with his drive and work ethic. His lone punch up of Spacek also demonstrated some sandpaper which doesn't hurt. Leafs can't afford to tear down what little legitimate NHL scoring talent they have for further scoring purgatory. The one option I see they have is move Kaberle (if he's willing) and Keith Aulie, a prospect with value, for a legit power forward to help their top line. At this point they have a second line emerging in Armstrong, Versteeg and Mitchell. Blowing up their consistent second line at this point would be akin to shooting one of their own stones off.

[Ange]

Grabovski, Bozak, Kaberle, Giguere, and Beauchemin are the players that other teams may want (due to their youth, or talent) as we approach the midway point of the season, and towards the trade deadline. Burkes best chance is to make a multi team deal, or hope he can shop his 4 or 5players for 2 players to help out now and either a prospect or a low first/high second round draft pick. The unorthodox rebuild continues

[Matt B]

Easy people! Cox isn't saying the Leafs should trade MacArthur and Grabo, but that they are the most attractive commodities that could be moved. Say the Ducks want to dump Bobby Ryan and they want MacArthur and Grabo in return? I'd take that in a heartbeat. Its not that I don't like the two Leafs players, but Ryan I'd trade them if there was a good offer for them.

Beaucimin is the most tradeable, in my view. We may be able to get a first round, probably a second round pick for him. Or maybe a #3 or 4 prospect from a team that needs D-men help and can survive giving us a prospect.

[Dano]

The problem with unloading guys for picks and cost cutting is that we have been filling their spots with guys that we immediately over pay for and have over rated. ie. Beauchemin/Komisarek Then we want to get rid of and other teams can't/wont' take. I agree with trying to move guys but only for picks. Please no more guys that can't play and please stick to a plan of trying to build through the draft and not some silly combination of all things that clearly has not worked out. Pro scouting needs to get better as well as to not sign FA's that are not good fits and can't play D.

[Dan]

The problem the Leafs have is in order to improve your team in a hard cap system you need draft picks, tradeable assets or cap space and the Leafs have none of the above.

[Rich]

If the leafs are aggressive and can land Richards along with Penner they can be competitive. Ideally I wouldn't want to lose Versteeg, MacArthur, Kulemin or Garbo but if one has to go to bring in those two guys, then so be it. The Leafs have Reimer to deal along with several good d-men. In a perfect world, the leafs could look like this

Kessel:Richards:Penner
MacArthur:Garbo:Kulemin
Versteeg:Bozak:Armstrong
Sjostrom:Mitchell:Brown/Orr/Crabb

Phaneuf:Schenn
Komisarek:Gunnerson
Aulie:Holzer
Lebda

[Nik Culoman]

nev.....why would the Leafs trade Aulie if Aulie was the main piece in the trade with Calgary last year?? Leafs have him pegged to be in our defense core for years to come...

Kaberle, Beauchmin, Komi, and maybe a couple others are what is up for grabs.....If you think tarding Aulie is an option you are only repeating the same short sightedness that brought this franchise into the mess you see today...

WE NEED TO STOP TRADING AWAY PROSPECTS....We need to stop trading away players who are young....We may finally have an emerging farm team you want to take away one of the most valuable pieces???

Wow, that is all I have to say about your post!

[Andrew C]

Grabovski is the best trade bait right now. He certainly does not fit into a long range Burke team of bruisers - Burke should thank the Gods for Grabo heating up just in time for teams looking to load up for the playoffs. Get something great for him now!

[Leaf Fan in Van]

I agree with both DC on this and many posters. I guess it would depend on what is gained by trading guys like Grabo/Mac/Kabby/Giggy - but when you look at this roster what other player (other than Schenn) would anyone want?
http://torontosportsfanblog.blogspot.com/

[TheSundayPost]

MacArthur is way too valuable to trade. A definite bright spot in the Leafs' lineup.

[TPiddy]

Grabovski or MacArthur would likely only be moved as part of a package for an improvement on the position they currently play. You don't 'dump' 25 and 26 year old players for picks, especially since that puts us even further away and Burke knows that.

Burke's done a good job in collecting assets for us, and now he's going to use them to upgrade to superstar players, at least, the best you can in a salary cap NHL.

[Spanky]

Agree with Damien about MacArthur potentially being moved. As a UFA at the end of this year he may well want to come back to the Leafs where he has had success but you will need to double + his current 1.1 mil. Not sure he is in the 3 mil category and his trade value may never be higher now. Grabbo being traded makes less sense as he still has reasonable contract space and is starting to get rewarded for the steady development steps he is making, not sure where the ceiling is for this guy. Beauchemin is a beast who munch's minutes and performs solidly night in and night out, he often makes mistakes but has not had a stable D partner which doesn't help. Trade bait definetly but if he stays be happy. Kabs needs to be traded or resigned NOW P dot!

[Gerhard]

I always enjoy the fan comments, especially the ones where they rant about how weak player X is, then speculate packaging X with other weak links will produce a 1st line centre in return. The Leafs are a weak team with a very low probability of making the playoffs: not exactly a player away from being a solid team. The non-NHL FA signings by Burke the last couple of years have been met with universal acclaim from Leafs fans when announced but have yet to produce at the NHL level: how about that "monster?" I am convinced that without the ridiculous nickname Gustavsson would have been better off: somehow the label "monster" created unreasonable expectations. Bozak is a huge disappointment playing 1st line minutes without near that level of production. Kadri simply is not ready for the NHL, nor for the ridiculous expectations heaped upon his immature shoulders by desperate Leafs fans.

When the Phaneuf trade was made last year the mathematically challenged Leafs fans predicted a "run at the playoffs" which was delusional at best. This season they likely have the same expectation of a blockbuster trade turning the franchise around. The brutal truth is that without the Devils horrendous mismanagement of cap space and players the Leafs would be 2nd only to the isles in futility. The Leafs are better off than they were lat year on paper at least, but even the most generous projections don't foresee this being a playoff team next season without some major improvements.

[J.]

Nev, Aulie is going to be a Pronger type one day. Trade him, are you crazy?

Mitchell as a second line player? Maybe in the AHL.

The Leafs will trade Versteeg. You heard it here first.

[Stephen]

Philly didn’t tank and draft their way out of the bottom of the league. They fired their coach and made big moves for big names – Pronger, Hartnell, Briere and Timonen all in one year. They also drafted well when they got the chance and had a couple of young studs in Richards and Carter (both guys they had before they "tanked"). What made the difference in their rebuild was that they made big trades and daring UFA signings that made the players believe that the organization had a winning attitude. Getting Giggy and Phaneuf were bold moves that improved the Leafs. Getting Kessel was grossly overpaying for a soft, one-way player that did not improve the team and sent the message that the Leafs are not ready to win anytime soon. Want a quick turnaround like Philly? Fire Wilson yesterday and get aggressive on the trade market. Package Kessel with Kaberle and go shopping for a true difference-maker.

[Patrick]

I have to agree with trading Grabovski now. He's never looked this good before and may never look this good again...then next season we'll be saying why didn't Burke trade him sooner!
As for MacArthur...he doesn't cost much now...but he's also on a 1-year deal meaning next season he's going to want a lot more money...and like Grabovski...there's no guarentee that we can expect a season like this ever again.

[Johnny Swift]

Damian is off base again people so don't get too upset over what he writes. Just last week he claimed Burke had a solid NHL prospect in Bozak while the rest of the hockey community, including the fans, think Bozak is nothing more than an AHL talent learning his trade in the big leagues.
Atta boy Damian, at least you are consistent.

[Hannibal Lecture]

yes...trade Grabovski...the only thing left worth watching is his him and his dominating and entertaining line....some hockey fans truly perpetuate hockey ignorance and remarkably unintended stupdity !!!

[Goalie]

So what exactly is the point of trading at this time? For Burke it would only mean getting higher in the standings and avoiding a lottery pick for Boston. Poor reason! Getting a few retreads (tried that many times) and sending off young players and more draft picks so he can say they're trying to make the playoffs. Poor idea! Now watch all these other teams who are at the bottom of the standings get better than the Leafs over the next 5 years while the Leafs and MLSE try to evaluate their talent level. This from the wealthiest franchise in hockey. Pathetic!!!

[adam]

Everyone saying 'don't trade' Grabo doesn't have a clue how to build a winning team. You really envision this clown as a centrepiece of a winning team? Burke needs to cash in on his recent production.

I loved the suggestion by a previous poster of packaging Kessel and Kaberle in a trade. That might be the only way to get a 1st line player in return.