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Kaberle still a Leaf ... for now
By
ROB LONGLEY, QMI Agency
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With the first window to trade Tomas Kaberle letting in nothing but hot air, the Maple Leafs will move to the next phase.
The team received three serious offers for the puck-moving defenceman over the past two days in Los Angeles but none loaded enough to tempt general manager Brian Burke.
“It’s not a case of we’re going to take the best offer we get,” Burke told reporters Saturday at the conclusion of the draft. “We’re going to get exactly what we want or we are going to keep him.
“We got three offers while we are here and an insult.”
Burke has repeatedly stated that the price for Kaberle, whose no-movement clause officially lifted when the draft began on Friday, will at minimum include a scoring forward.
The fact that offers slowed down on Saturday was no surprise to Burke as his fellow general managers had other business.
“We’re not shopping Tomas Kaberle, we’re listening,” Burke said. “No one was focussed on it and there was no time sensitiveness to it for us unless we were trying to get a high pick for this draft with this player which we are not.”
Burke will continue to listen, of course, but doesn’t expect the most serious offers to be tabled until after the dust from July 1 free agency settles.
“We are going to listen between now and July 1 but my guess is that’s when we will find out whether we are keeping the player or not,” Burke said.
rob.longley@sunmedia.ca
