Bring on the trades!

Fresh off a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of yet another team not headed to the playoffs, I can't help but think it couldn't have come at a better time. The Leafs looked like they were going to scrap their way through the end of the season, but I think they sent a loud message to Fletcher last night that it's time to break up that locker room. Come on Fletcher, see how many first rounders you can get in this year's draft. Trade anything it takes to Anaheim for Edmonton's first pick, snag one more, and the Leafs are ready for a youth movement.

I haven't had much to say lately, my men's league team has played every night the Leafs have (we're 13-3, and 13-1 with me in the lineup), but I wanted to weigh in on why Kaberle is exercising his NTC. Tomas Kaberle agreed to a lower contract than he would have otherwise gotten so that the Leafs could bring in Pavel Kubina. Ever since Kaberle signed that contract, the Leafs have been trying to trade him. Kaberle signed for a discount because he likes the Leafs, wants them to win, and presumably likes living in Toronto. People have been whining about players on the Leafs not using their NTC, but if it weren't for Kaberle's NTC his salary would be a lot higher.

So ok, Kaberle hasn't been that great this season, but to be honest the whole team hasn't been that great this season. I was reading a blog post (note: I forget who wrote it, drop me a line if it was you) about how compared to the market Kubina was worth his $5m contract. This season aside, Kaberle is a better player than Kubina and has a smaller contract. If Kubina's worth $5m, then Kaberle is definitely worth the $4.25m he earns.

Finally, condolences to PPP who lost a family member.