Toronto Maple Leafs Add Defenseman John-Michael Liles

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is always active around this time of year. And he was just ahead of the draft by pitching a deal with the Colorado Avalanche to add a weapon along the blue line in the form of 30-year old veteran John-Michael Liles.

It seems like Liles has been a rumor of trade bait for quite a few years already, so it's not entirely shocking that he was eventually dealt by a Colorado organization that he has spent his entire career with but is also trying to get its team somewhat rebuilt. The fact that the Maple Leafs only needed to let go of a second round pick in this weekend's draft is a bit baffling, however.

Liles essentially replaces Tomas Kaberle, who Toronto dealt to Boston near the trade deadline last season. In fact, it was the same second rounder that Burke acquired from the Kaberle deal that he sent right over to Colorado.

Liles could afford to be more consistent in his play, but he remains one of the league's better scoring defenseman with excellent value on the power play. He is coming off a season with six goals and 46 points with 18 total power play points. He boasts career-bests of 14 goals during both of the immediate seasons coming out of the lockout and racked up an impressive eight scores on the man advantage in 2006-07.

He will enter the final year of his contract next season, which pays out $4.5 million but counts as a $4.2 million cap hit to Toronto's payroll.

Versteeg Next 'Hawk Off The Books, Dealt To Toronto

 

The Chicago Blackhawks are still looking to clear salary cap space, and took another $3,083,333 off the books for next season and the year after by dealing Kris Versteeg to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Along with Versteeg, the Maple Leafs will obtain the rights to forward Bill Sweatt in exchange for forwards Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis.

In comparison, the Maple Leafs gave up virtually nothing for a solid 24-year old scorer - something GM Brian Burke has been yearning for this offseason and didn't even have to give up defenseman Tomas Kaberle to get in this deal. Last season, Versteeg netted 20 goals and posted 44 points in 79 regular season games. In the playoffs, he added six goals and eight assists as part of the Blackhawk's Stanley Cup winning team.

Dion Phaneuf Named 18th Captain of Toronto Maple Leafs

Two years have gone by since Mats Sundin ended his 13-year tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs and took the team’s captaincy with him. Since then, no player in the organization has been given the role and only the alternate captaincy has been passed around between players. On Monday, general manager Brian Burke and head coach Ron Wilson felt it was time to bring back the “C” and stitch it onto the sweater of the 18th captain in team history. And that honor goes to Dion Phaneuf, who was formally introduced Monday in a press conference also intended to showcase Maple Leafs’ new sweaters for the 2010-11 season:

It might seem a bit awkward to hand over this highly-regarded status to a player who fell out of favor with the squad that originally drafted him and has only suited up for a total of 26 games with Toronto. But the 25-year old Phaneuf, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames as part of a seven-player trade in January, has proven to be a physical and vocal leader. He logs plenty of ice time, is capable of getting on the score sheet and defends his end of the ice with size and strength. In his short time in Toronto, he has gained the respect of his teammates, Wilson and Burke, who he apparently doesn’t have any issue standing up to:

"He thought we got pushed around in a game and came right out of the dressing room and barked at me on the way to the weight room: ‘We need some bigger forwards in here,’ and kept walking,” Burke said. “I haven’t had too many guys bark at me like that. I didn’t mind it and he’s right. We do need some bigger forwards.”

There weren’t too many options of the Toronto roster outside Phaneuf for the captaincy anyway. Tomas Kaberle would be the most logical, but he’s believed to be on his way out of Toronto sometime between the NHL Entry Draft on June 25 and the end of July when his no-trade clause will temporarily be lifted. Phil Kessel might eventually be captain material and should probably don an “A” come next season. But he’s still a budding star that isn’t as vocal and lacks the personality of Phaneuf. Everybody else is either too young or lacks the high status Phaneuf possesses. He is, at the very least, the right guy at the right time.

Phaneuf has goals for his new position on the team. He doesn’t just want to be any captain – he wants to be one of the best. He hopes to live up to the hefty standards set by the likes of Mark Messier, Wendel Clark and his former teammate with the Flames, Jarome Iginla.

“You look at how they play the game and how they lead,” Phaneuf said. “I think the best way to lead is you don’t have to be the loudest guy but you definitely want to be the guy who’s working the hardest day in and day out … That’s what I’m going to bring to our team. I want to be known as the guy who works the hardest.”

That hard work is going to be critical for the still-rebuilding Maple Leafs if they hope to get back into playoff contention within the next year or two. His leadership and toughness will need to trickle down to the team’s young players. And when it doesn’t, he won’t hesitate to give his teammates a “kick in the butt,” according to 20-year old Luke Schenn.

Kaberle An Option For The Devils?

Once again ousted in the first round of the playoffs and sitting just a few years away from the retirement of Martin Brodeur, the New Jersey Devils look primed to exhibit a win-all philosophy heading into next season. From their current head coach search to filling out the roster of players, general manager Lou Lamoriello is believed to be pulling all punches in trying to make the final years of Brodeur's career as successful as possible.

A key area that the Devils would love to improve is offense provided by their defensemen. According to The New York Post, Tomas Kaberle might be on New Jersey's radar.

Per an e-mail sent out to general managers throughout the NHL by Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, Kaberle's current no-trade clause will be lifted for a limited amount of time between the NHL Draft (which starts on June 25) through the end of July. Burke would like a young player capable of stepping into the Leafs lineup right away, as well as a high draft pick in a few weeks.

The former of those requests shouldn't be too big a problem for the Devils, depending on who Lamoriello is willing to part with. David Clarkson or maybe even Travis Zajac, who unbelievably didn't have to be a part of the package sent to Atlanta for Ilya Kovalchuk, would probably be enough to please Burke. The draft pick part might not be as easy. As a result of the Phil Kessel trade last summer, Burke is left without a first round pick at this year's draft and remains very interested in getting back into the top 30. New Jersey dealt its first round pick to the Thrashers in that same Kovalchuk trade, leaving the team without a selection in the first. However, there might be some hope for the Devils in that department. As The Post points out, there was a swap of second rounds pick. And that gives the Devils the 38th overall pick in the draft. If the Devils package Clarkson (since Zajac is probably unlikely), the second round pick from Atlanta (38th overall) and a player from the minors, Lamoriello might just be in business. I doubt the market is going to be that much better for Kaberle.

Before Lamoriello goes and pulls the trigger, he needs to decide whether he's interested in bringing back Paul Martin, who currently stands as the Devils' top offensive option from the blue line. He played just 22 games last season courtesy of a broken left arm, but he still posted 11 points - nine of which came during the final 13 games of the season he played since returning on March 13. At a price of $4.5 million last season and heading into unrestricted free agency on July 1, Martin is going to cost a pretty penny. And it will likely be more than the $3.833 annual cap hit from his current contract.

It will, therefore, be very difficult for the Devils to retain Martin and trade for Kaberle, who is scheduled to make $4.25 million - with a similar cap hit - next season in the final year of his contract. The Devils have some cap flexibility, as right now they have $41.1 million already committed to their 2010-11 payroll between 15 players. That's not including Ilya Kovalchuk, though, who will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and is likely to command at least $8 million a season. He alone could kill any cap space they have if Lamoriello is intent on retaining his services. Plus, New Jersey better start worrying about Zach Parise, who is in the final year of his current deal before becoming a restricted free agent next summer. You can bet he'll demand a mighty raise from the $5 million ($3.125 million cap hit) he's set to earn in 2010-11.

So, it could boil down to one or the other if New Jersey wants to avoid eating up too much cap space for other areas. Kaberle is the older of the two at 32, but only by three years. And he is a much better option offensively. Kaberle has the ability to post 50+ points a season, a lot more than the 30 or so Martin will hover around during a healthy campaign. And he will be a major upgrade on the power play, where the Devils haven't had a really reliable quarterback in a number of years.

If money is going to be relatively similar between the two, Kaberle has to be the obvious choice for the Devils. New Jersey could sorely use a player with his skills, which will be necessary if it seriously intends on getting past the hurdle of the opening round of the playoffs to make a serious push for the Cup.