Tomas Kaberle dealt to to Bruins for Joe Colborne and Picks: A Big Anti-Climax ?

Since Brian Burke joined the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 29th of 2008, the rumours of Tomas Kaberle’s departure in a trade began. The skilled defenseman lacked the size and nastiness Burke was thought to be looking for in his defense. He was certainly gone, sooner rather than later.

For the past two and a half years, I have barely gone a week without seeing someone twitter, squeek, blog or even just plain write about a possible Kaberle deal. The list of players rumoured to be sought in those deals is as unrecoverable as it is unimaginable. Among players purported to be heading to Toronto for the middling offensive defenseman were Anze Kopitar, Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, Ales Hemsky, Jarome Iginla, Corey Perry, Daniel Briere; well it just didn’t end.

At the last NHL entry draft Burke said he had received three offers and one insult for the defenseman. He insisted all along that a possible trade for Tomas Kaberle must include one scoring forward and one first round draft pick.

My contention was that he wasn’t worth a first half of a first round draft pick or a very good offensive forward. Couple that with the no-trade contract and the diminishing time he was under contract, and it seemed very likely that Kaberle was going to be moved at the deadline for a fourth round pick if he was even traded at all.

Two and a half years of frantic speculation were likely to dissolve into a cloud of internet ether never to be recovered. Kaberle would quietly sign with a Stanley Cup contender in the off-season and every story I’d read on the topic, every minute I spent on it, would have been a complete waste of time.

Instead Brian Burke, a week before the trade deadline, managed to move Kaberle to a Boston Bruins team that despite injury has a chance to come through the Eastern half of the NHL playoffs. Burke got a forward. Mind you, Joe Colborne is a long way from being an NHL offensive forward.

The kid from Calgary is huge at 6′ 5″ and 210 lbs. At 21 he is a half point a game player in the AHL. What’s worse the playmaker seems to lack the physical nastiness Burke wants in all his players. The 2008 first rounder didn’t feature in the Bruins plans in the near future, but he’s likely to see his career advance quicker in Toronto. The desperation for a center to play with Kessel will see Colborne getting a chance as early as next year. He’s a fair skater but he will have trouble staying with Kessel.

Burke also got a first round pick back for Kaberle. The Bruins depth in picks made it much easier for them to give up their first rounder. If they finish in the Eastern Finals or better, the pick at best will be 26th overall.

Toronto also gets a second round pick conditional on the Bruins making the Stanley Cup finals or re-signing Kaberle after this season.

The talented Kaberle will do well in Boston and should be great at feeding Chara on the point of the power play. This will be a nice opportunity for him to show his skills on a playoff team.

Brian Burke has managed to get a lot for a rental player like Kaberle, who while good is certainly not an elite NHL player. The time and care he has taken to make this deal has been well worth it.

I’m not a Brian Burke fan, but the trading of the last three months of Kaberle’s contract for a first round and potential second round draft pick and a prospect is impressive. Throw in his ability to move Beauchemin for potential and this has been a very good run up to trade deadline for Brian Burke.

Despite the ridiculous amount of attention the struggle to trade one Toronto Maple Leaf has gotten over the last two years it has apparently all been worth it in the end. Next time though I just want to read the final story not the thousand previews.

 

 

NHL Capsules 11-28-2010

ATLANTA – Defenceman Dustin Byfuglien had a goal and three assists, and Ondrej Pavelec made 40 saves to help the Atlanta Thrashers win their fifth straight game, 4-1 over the Boston Bruins on Sunday night.

Pavelec had 16 saves in the second period. During the winning streak, he has stopped 201-of-207 shots.

Atlanta, which has outscored opponents 19-3 over its last five, led 3-0 by the 14:42 mark of the first period on goals by Evander Kane, Byfuglien and Jim Slater.

Blake Wheeler’s wrister 12:22 into the second cut it to 3-1, but Niclas Bergfors scored on a power play by redirecting Byfuglien’s slapshot with 13 seconds left in the period.

The Bruins, who had a 10-game winning streak against Atlanta, have dropped two straight overall and are winless in four of their last five.

WASHINGTON (AP)—Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves and stopped all three Carolina attempts in the shootout, and Alex Ovechkin converted a shootout goal to lift the Capitals.

Carolina’s Eric Staal forced overtime with three seconds left in regulation, scoring his 11th goal of the season, and also had an assist on Erik Cole’s goal in the second period.

Alexander Semin and Marcus Johansson scored first-period goals for the Capitals.

DETROIT (AP)—Niklas Kronwall, Darren Helm, Valtteri Filppula and Danny Cleary scored, and Jimmy Howard made 27 saves as the Red Wings swept a weekend home-and-home series.

Johan Franzen added two assists for the Red Wings, who beat the Blue Jackets 2-1 on Friday night in Columbus.

Derick Brassard and Antoine Vermette scored, and Steve Mason stopped 38 shots for Columbus.

 

Thrasher’s go for fifth straight win against the B’s

	STATS
21	GP	23
12	W	11
7	L	9
2	OT	3
26	P	25
0.619	P%	0.543
2.76	G/G	3.13
1.90	GA/G	3.00
16.7	PP%	24.5
87.0	PK%	78.8
31.7	S/G	31.3
33.4	SA/G	34.9
49.1	FO%	49.6

DATE	VIS/HOME	FINAL
Mar 23, 2010	BOS@ATL	BOS, 4 – 0
Dec 30, 2009	ATL@BOS	BOS, 4 – 0
Dec 23, 2009	ATL@BOS	BOS, 6 – 4
Nov 19, 2009	BOS@ATL	BOS, 4 – 3

BRUINS (12-7-2) at THRASHERS (11-9-3)

TV: NESN.

Last 10: Boston 5-4-1; Atlanta 5-4-1.

Season Series: This is the first of four meetings between the teams. The Bruins went 4-0 against the Thrashers in 2009-10 and outscored them 18-7.

Big Story: Atlanta opened its six-game homestand with a 2-1 loss to Florida on Nov. 17, but has since reeled off four straight victories while outscoring its opponents 15-2. The Thrashers have not won five in a row since a six-game run March 6-16, 2009.

“We have to keep rolling,” said goalie Ondrej Pavelec, who made 25 saves in Friday’s 3-0 win over Montreal.

Team Scope:

Bruins: Boston has hit a bump in the road, as Friday’s 3-0 loss to Carolina was the club’s third in four games. The Bruins — who allowed three power-play goals to the Hurricanes — have allowed the first goal in 10 of their last 12 contests.

“Our execution got poor and our special teams were unacceptable,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “You give them three goals on three attempts, it’s not acceptable.”

Thrashers: The winning streak reached four games Friday night when Atlanta pulled out an impressive 3-0 victory against the Canadiens at Philips Arena. The Thrashers outshot the Habs 23-4 in the second, setting a new franchise record for the biggest shot differential in a period.

“We are playing a full 60 minutes,” said center Rich Peverley, who scored the game’s opening goal and added another one later against Montreal. “In the past we have had some lulls in periods and I think we have done a good job of maintaining our consistency and our focus.”

Who’s Hot: Bruins goalie Tim Thomas is 11-2-1 with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. … Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien have combined for 11 points during Atlanta’s winning streak. Pavelec has stopped 114 of 116 shots in the four victories.

Injury Report: Bruins center Marc Savard (post-concussion syndrome) practiced with the team Saturday and says he’s “getting closer.” However, he’s still probably 1-2 weeks away. The Bruins will also be without Marco Sturm, who hopes to return next month after undergoing knee surgery. … Thrashers center Patrice Cormier is on injured reserve due to a broken right foot.

Stat Pack: Eight of Boston’s 12 victories have come on the road. … Atlanta has outshot its opponent in eight of its last nine games.

Puck Drop: “We got off to a good start. We had chances. You have to give (Cam) Ward credit. He stopped our chances. We’ve got to find a way to score the first goal.” — Bruins forward Milan Lucicafter Friday’s 3-0 loss to Carolina

2010-2011 Season Series

Date	Score	W. Goal
Apr 02 ’11
Dec 30 ’10
Dec 23 ’10
Nov 28 ’10

BOS  Season vs Opponent

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PP	GW
Milan Lucic	21	10	8	18	10	24	0	3
Nathan Horton	21	8	10	18	10	25	3	0
Mark Recchi	21	4	11	15	3	9	2	2
Patrice Bergeron	21	3	10	13	7	8	2	1
Michael Ryder	21	6	6	12	-5	6	3	2
David Krejci	15	2	10	12	3	2	0	1
Zdeno Chara	21	4	6	10	11	25	2	0
Blake Wheeler	21	4	4	8	0	12	0	1
Tyler Seguin	21	4	4	8	-1	6	1	0

ATL  Season vs Opponent

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PP	GW
Andrew Ladd	23	8	16	24	1	4	2	1
Dustin Byfuglien	23	8	13	21	2	29	4	4
Tobias Enstrom	23	3	16	19	0	6	2	0
Evander Kane	23	8	7	15	-7	18	1	1
Rich Peverley	23	5	10	15	-2	16	4	1
Niclas Bergfors	20	5	10	15	0	2	1	1
Anthony Stewart	23	6	6	12	1	8	4	0
Nik Antropov	22	6	5	11	-10	8	4	0
Bryan Little	17	4	5	9	4	4	0	0

BOS  Season vs Opponent

Goalie	GP	Min	W-L-OT	GAA	Sv%
Tim Thomas	15	883	11-2-1	1.56	.951
Tuukka Rask	7	381	1-5-1	2.36	.935

ATL  Season vs Opponent

Goalie	GP	Min	W-L-OT	GAA	Sv%
Chris Mason	13	677	6-5-1	3.90	.897
Ondrej Pavelec	13	679	5-4-2	1.68	.946
Peter Mannino	1	38	0-0-0	1.58	.938

 

Streaking Rangers host Thomas, Bruins

	STATS
15	GP	18
9	W	10
5	L	7
1	OT	1
19	P	21
0.633	P%	0.583
2.93	G/G	3.06
1.87	GA/G	2.72
19.0	PP%	15.4
88.9	PK%	81.1
30.9	S/G	28.4
33.9	SA/G	30.9
48.0	FO%	45.2

DATE	VIS/HOME	FINAL
Oct 23, 2010	NYR@BOS	NYR, 3 – 2

BRUINS (9-5-1) at RANGERS (10-7-1)

TV — VERSUS (HD), NESN (HD), MSG (HD)

Last 10 — Boston 5-4-1; New York 6-4-0

Season Series — The Rangers took the first of four meetings with the Bruins this season, winning 3-2 in Boston on Oct. 23. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 35 shots to earn the victory. Tuukka Rask was saddled with the loss for the Bruins.

Big Story — The Bruins have been scuffling of late, having dropped four of six, but they are coming off a convincing 3-0 home victory against the New Jersey Devils on Monday. The Rangers, meanwhile, have won three straight since the return of Marian Gaborik, who missed 12 games with a shoulder injury.

Team Scope:

Bruins — Goaltender Tim Thomas earned his League-leading fourth shutout in Boston’s win against New Jersey. He made 28 saves to improve to 9-1-0, lower his goals-against average to 1.32 and bolster his save percentage to a League-best .960. The win stopped the bleeding for the Bruins.

“I personally approached it as a must-win, and I think the team did, too,” Thomas said. “We needed to get back on track. We needed to show some urgency.

Rangers — A year ago, the Rangers almost certainly would’ve lost Monday’s game against the Penguins. They led 1-0 throughout, but two Pittsburgh goals in 38 seconds late in the third period turned the tide and left the Rangers on the verge of a crushing loss.

However, Marc Staal scored shorthanded seconds later to tie the game, and Ryan Callahan‘s overtime goal gave New York a thrilling 3-2 victory.

“I’m still angry — even though we scored,” said Lundqvist, who was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after the Penguins went up 2-1, leaving his team shorthanded. “But it’s hockey. Things happened so fast, everything changed. I’ve got to stay cooler, obviously.”

Who’s Hot — Mark Recchi continues to defy his age. The 42-year-old has 1 goal and 4 assists in his last four games and has 11 points in 15 games this season. … After an eight-goal outburst against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, a lot of Rangers have great numbers in recent games. Ruslan Fedotenko, though, is one of the few who has points in each of his last three games — 2 goals and 3 assists.

Injury Report — Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk (forearm/wrist) took part in pregame warm-ups Monday and could be back in the lineup against the Rangers. Center David Krejci(concussion) is out. … The Rangers have been with out Chris Drury (finger) and Vinny Prospal(knee) for most of the season. Defenseman Michal Rozsival (shoulder) is out. Forward Derek Boogaard missed Monday’s game with a hand injury after getting into two fights with the Oilers’ Steve MacIntyre on Sunday.

Stat Pack — This will be the Bruins’ fifth game in eight days, and they are in a stretch of 14 games in 26 days. … The Rangers were not awarded a power play in Monday’s game. The last time the Rangers did not have a power-play attempt in a game was Jan. 16, 2007, at New Jersey.

Puck Drop — “Here we are, we’re talking about our kids. I look at the tape, and I have to admit, I’m proud of those guys. When they score the winning goal, look at Cally’s face and Dubi’s face. It’s good stuff for our kids, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.” — Rangers coach John Tortorella, after Brandon Dubinsky connected with Ryan Callahan on the game-winning goal Monday.

Who will the Bruins trade?

The eventual return of forwards Marc Savard and Marco Sturm generated considerable attention in recent days over potential moves Boston Bruins management could make to free up the necessary cap space to absorb the pair’s combined $7.5 million salaries.

Bruins coach Claude Julien, however, dismissed reports Savard might be returning soon, reminding Boston reporters the center will still need time to return to playing form. Savard is expected to begin skating with his teammates soon, but his return to action is still weeks away. Sturm also isn’t expected back for several weeks.

In addition, Julien reminded reporters David Krejci is also sidelined and the club isn’t carrying any spare forwards.

It’s believed winger Michael Ryder could be the prime trade candidate, but Julien appeared miffed about Ryder’s name coming up, saying there’s no reason at this point to bring up any names as trade bait.

It’s understandable why Julien doesn’t want to discuss it. Ryder’s playing well and the team has played fine despite losing three key forwards plus defenseman Johnny Boychuk to injury. It seems Savard and Sturm won’t be back this month, so GM Peter Chiarelli isn’t in a hurry to swing a trade. He’ll have to face this cap conundrum eventually, however, perhaps by the Christmas trade freeze in mid-December.

NHL Capsules 11-15-2010

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Ryan Callahan scored 3:38 into overtime and the New York Rangers won their third consecutive game, scoring twice over the final 5:04 to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Monday night.

Callahan tapped in a perfect feed from Brandon Dubinsky on a 2-on-1 break for his fifth of the season and first in seven games. Dubinsky also assisted on Marc Staal’s tying, short-handed goal with 1:26 left in regulation.

Erik Christensen gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the second period.

Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz and Matt Cooke scored 38 seconds apart in the final 2:31 of regulation, but Staal tied it 27 seconds later.

Lundqvist was superb in his return after missing two games with an illness. He stopped the first 36 shots he faced until Kunitz beat him for his fifth goal.

BOSTON (AP)—Tim Thomas made 28 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and Mark Recchi had two assists in the Bruins’ victory over New Jersey.

Thomas improved to 9-1 and posted his 21st NHL shutout.

Boston snapped a two-game losing streak—both at home—in which the Bruins scored only one total goal.

Michael Ryder, Nathan Horton and Blake Wheeler scored for the Bruins, who were 0-2-1 with four goals in their previous three home games.

The Devils (5-11-2) took their third loss in four games and fifth in seven contests. New Jersey has been shut out in three of its last six games and has scored one goal or fewer nine times.

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Flyers captain Mike Richards scored two goals for the second straight game, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots to lead surging Philadelphia over Ottawa.

Danny Briere, Darroll Powe and Claude Giroux also scored for the Flyers, 9-0-1 in their past 10 games. Philadelphia hasn’t lost in regulation since falling 2-1 to Columbus on Oct. 25.

Jason Spezza had the Senators’ lone goal.

The game was stopped for a few moments in the first period when a young girl was struck in the head when a puck deflected into the stands. She received medical attention and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)—Tyler Myers scored 4:37 into overtime to carry the Sabres past Vancouver.

Myers took defenceman Dan Hamhuis’ giveaway in the slot and put a wrist shot past goalie Cory Schneider for the winner.

Tyler Ennis, Cody McCormick and Steve Montador also scored for the Sabres (7-9-3), who won for the second straight time at home after going winless in their first seven games in Buffalo.

Ryan Miller made 36 saves and kept the Sabres in it by stopping all 15 shots the Canucks recorded in the first period. Buffalo led 2-0 after 20 minutes.

Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek each added a pair of assists for the Sabres.

Daniel Sedin had a goal and assist, Alexander Edler and Mikael Samuelsson also scored, and Schneider made 35 saves for the Northwest Division-leading Canucks (10-4-3), who have dropped two of four after winning six straight. Henrik Sedin added three assists.

DENVER (AP)—Defenceman John-Michael Liles scored twice in the first period, Peter Budaj stopped 27 shots, and Colorado beat struggling St. Louis.

Brandon Yip and David Jones scored 17 seconds apart in the second period, and Paul Stastny and Kevin Porter added goals for the Avalanche, who have won five straight over the Blues.

Alexander Steen scored 54 seconds in, Carlo Colaiacovo added a goal, and Brad Boyes had one on a power play, but St. Louis lost its fourth straight.

Budaj bested Jaroslav Halak, who came in allowing 1.79 goals a game but surrendered a season-high six.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Patrick Marleau had a goal and two assists, Dany Heatley added a key power-play goal and San Jose snapped the Kings’ six-game winning streak.

Heatley and Joe Pavelski each had a goal and an assist, and Antero Niittymaki made 32 saves as the Sharks reminded their upstart rivals exactly who has been on top of the Pacific Division for the past three years.

Los Angeles has jumped out to the early Western Conference lead with 12 wins in its first 15 games, but the Sharks have won four of five after a slow start. San Jose had its biggest offensive game of the season while producing the most goals scored against the Kings this year.