Monday Minutes

Last week we wrote about the fact that we thought Maple Leafs defensemen Tomas Kaberle would not be traded and we also predicted a ridiculous trade rumor would come out of Toronto as well. Turns out that yesterday's midnight deadline to trade Tomas Kaberle without his no-trade clause kicking in passed by with no sufficent offers that met Brian Burke's demands. The ridiculous trade rumor of the week was that the Kings were going to trade 24-year old captain Dustin Brown to the Leafs for the 32-year old Kaberle. Thankfully, TSN's Bob McKenzie squashed this outlandish report which listed the Kings beat writer, and very trusty, Rich Hammond as being the source. Totally untrue.

The fact is that Kaberle is still a Leaf for now and he will determine where or if he is traded this season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. Perhaps all the recent comments through the media made by Brian Burke hurt his teams chances of getting a favorable return for his star defensemen. We understand the Maple Leafs receive more media coverage than any other team in the NHL, but is it wise to say too much to the press regarding his players? Everyone in the league knew Burke wanted to unload him so why would anyone offer up a substantial offer?

A week has gone by since an arbitrator ruled that the Kovalchuk contract circumvented the salary cap and he still remains unsigned. The Ottawa Sun reported that the Kings have contacted his agent yet again, but still all indications are that the Devils will get a deal done.

Speaking of the Devils, even with Kovalchuk they still could use an offensive defensmen. New Jersey is built to win now with Martin Brodeur being 38 years old, and Jason Arnott, Patrick Elias, Jamie Lagenbrunner, and Brian Rolston all over 34 years old. Wonder if Lou Lamoriello will make a serious offer for Kaberle once the Kovalchuk mess is cleared up?

The Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks seem to be set for next year on defense after signing Nick Boynton to a one-year contract contract. With Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook leading the way in addition to Hjalmarsson, Campbell, Hendry, and Boynton the Hawks look solid in front of new goalie Marty Turco. Despite all their off-season loses, the Hawks are still the favorite to win the Western Conference.

Finally, since it's been two months since the last hockey game, we are thrilled to point out that training camps start in less than one month. In the coming weeks we will take a look at what rookies will have an impact for the upcoming season.