Changes imminent, but unpredictable

Despite the bogus rumors of Ilya Kovalchuk suiting up in Blue & White, I'm sure everyone in Leafs Nation is anticipating some changes coming in the next few months and off-season. The torch is almost entirely passed along to Burkie, and acquisitions made by JFJ and Cliff Fletcher will be weeded out soon enough. Expect to see Stempniak, Stajan, Poni, and Mitchell among others to be speculated trade bait in March. Even then, whoever isn't dealt at the trade deadline will be a complete toss up for re-signing in the off-season. Where does Burke stand on Ponikarovsky right now? I really want to know if he's going to hold on to him or let him go for a possible draft pick, if not walking in the summer. GM's do this kind of thing. Why in hell did Bob Gainey let Mark Streit, Sheldon Souray, and Mike Komisarek walk away to other teams for nothing in return? We don't know. Which is why we're sitting here at the computer and these guys run real NHL franchises. Sometimes I look at a move by a GM and I have to say "Yeah I don't get that one. Must have had something to do with something fans know nothing about on the managerial side".

Sometimes I don't want him to deal Ponikarovsky. This season, when he scores goals like the one against Montreal, when the Habs fans were echoing down songs of "Goodbye" and he tied it to force overtime. Well, that was insane and made me say "Yeah Burke should keep this guy and throw him on the third line when we get better players". This is a common Leaf fans dilemma. I guess it applies to other teams but come on, this is the Leafs and we're all too familiar with dilemma's by now, since we're a widely known post-lockout disaster.

Either way, it's time for Burke to figure out to do with these guys and get it done. I'd hate to see Matt Stajan or Ponikarovsky go to unrestricted free agency and Burke let them go, when they had about 60 points each and a draft pick written all over them. I know he'll wait until the trade deadline to pull the deal on these guys, if he indeed intends to do that. But, the suspense is killing me and this season is all but over. So let's reset again and figure out what's going to happen this time the Buds fail to qualify for the post-season (outside a sheer miracle).

Losing team or not, I've still grown an attachment to all Leaf players so anyone who gets dealt I'll miss. I've watched Stajan, Stempniak, and Ponikarovsky score some pretty great goals for the Blue & White, so obviously every Leaf fan has some attachment to these players if they're true fans. But I'm a realist and I'm aware that anything coming back that will benefit this hockey club is worth it. It's the hurdle that a lot of fans have to hop when moves are made by the GM, and that's perfectly alright.

The Kaberle situation is so beat to death now that I won't even get into it. I've pretty much accepted that this will be sorted out in the summer when there's that 6 week window to deal him if the Maple Leafs are eliminated from playoff contention. If not, and Burke actually decides, against all speculation, against all odds, to hold on to #15, well... we've got a log jam.

Komisarek, Kaberle, Beauchemin, Schenn, White... in case you didn't count, that's 5 players... that's 5 top-four defensemen. Luke Schenn left out of the top 4? Give me a break. Beauchemin? This guy eats up 25 minutes a game. Mike Komisarek has seen his ice time come to just under 20 minutes, but #5 defensemen? Not in a million years after signing for top dollars this past summer. And the bottom line is, if Kaberle doesn't go, then it looks like it has to be Ian White. Sucks, eh? A player who's grown on us big time and scores clutch goals, who has shown so much improvement. A player we've watched enter the league and turn out to be a real Leaf draft pick turned great NHL player, after paying dues in the AHL. So who do you want? Remember, White can stay, but that means we're going to see Tomas Kaberle in another jersey within the next year. So you can see how possible a Kaberle trade has to be, despite Burke's put-down of the notion only a week ago.

Oh look, I've stumbled into the Kaberle situation. Guess my brain is all scrambled thinking about the game tonight. Leafs/Bolts on national broadcast followed by Flames/Hawks. Break out the popcorn tonight! Oh yeah, and Caps/Pens! Perfect time to stay in from the snowstorm and not shovel. I'll wait until tomorrow morning when it's hard as a rock and I break four plastic shovels.