The rumour mills are starting to heat up as teams begin to position themselves for playoff success. There wouldn't be any good rumours without a few Maple Leaf player names being thrown around.
And as always, it's the usual trio of players who are rumoured to be on the way out for the Maple Leafs. Tomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky just can't seem to shake themselves from the attention they receive at trade deadline time, but the question is are they worth moving?
The Maple Leafs currently sit 3rd last in the NHL with 43 points, which puts them ahead of Edmonton (38) and Carolina (35) by a few, important, points. Any other team in the Maple Leafs position would be in full out sell mode, but one key point can't be overlooked: the Maple Leafs do not own a 1st round pick! Forget a top-three selection, they don't have a pick in the entire top 30! Heck, they don't have a pick in the top 60! And while Phil Kessel is an excellent player, and the Maple Leafs can't really worry about what Boston does with their pick, they still need to build for the future instead of the now.
Phil Kessel was a move to compliment both the now, and the future. Whether or not the move was a good one or a bad one is irrelevant at this point. What Brian Burke has to do now is access what he has, and what he needs to obtain in the next few months because next season won't be as forgiving for Burke should he find himself in a similar situation.
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