We're Talkin Leafs in June

MAYDAY MAYDAY! We have some breaking news to analyze regarding Toronto's sweethearts the Maple Leafs. Brian Burke has left it to Dave Nonis to email all NHL teams with the details on Tomas Kaberle's no-trade clause. The clause has an option that was triggered when the Leafs missed the playoffs, that Kaberle's no-trade clause would be disabled from the NHL entry draft (June 25) to the middle of August. That leaves just under 2 months for the Leafs player-moving GM to move the Leafs puck-moving defenseman.

Brian Burke has a dilemma that has not changed since he traded away two 1st round picks (2010 & 2011) for Phil Kessel. Trading away Kaberle makes our team worse which subsequently leads us to another terrible ranking giving the Bruins another lottery pick, thus making the Kessel trade a total failure. Which is why we have not moved Kaberle up until this point even though Kabs had already been willing to waive his no-trade clause and even had his agent send Burke a list of teams he would be willing to go to. Burke's previous hesitation on moving Kaberle only supports how desperate Burke was to move up in rankings and not give the Bruins a shot at Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin - 2 names that will haunt Burke for the rest of his life. If Burke really believed in the Kessel trade like he says he does, Kaberle would have been moved a long time ago.

The rumours have begun on where Kaberle will land and what the Leafs will get in return. The most recent rumour coming from Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun had Kaberle going to the Blue Jackets for the 4th overall draft pick. The reason being Colombus's desperation to succeed now and not later. They have had their share of lottery picks and so far it has lead to nothing, so the next step is to attain veteran stars who will help them make the playoffs immediately.

Now I am going to make my case for what I think Burke should be gunning for. With no 1st round pick until 2012 and with pressure to make the playoffs next year, this is going to be very difficult for Burke to turn this team into a contender. What we need is a big game-changing forward to build our offense around. Phil Kessel is a terrific scorer but he does not have the ability to put the team on his back. We need a guy who can carry our team the way Sundin did. Tomas Kaberle also brings with him something other than on-ice ability, he brings with him a bargain - $4.25 million for next year is a steal considering what the price tag is for a puck-moving defenseman of the elite.

With that said, their are 2 names out there in the NHL that are realistically attainable for Burke, and are the only 2 names that could help me forget the Kessel disaster - Jordan Staal and Bobby Ryan. Tomas Kaberle makes sense for both of these teams which is why I am bringing them up.

Pittsburgh will be looking for an elite puck-moving defenseman to replace Sergei Gonchar and Anaheim has yet to lock up Bobby Ryan and could be on the verge of losing Scott Niedermayer. Sure a 4th overall pick would be nice in this year's draft, but a 4th overall pick isn't guaranteed to be as good as the already established Jordan Staal or Bobby Ryan.

I think now is the cheapest J. Staal will ever be. This guy could be a top centre anywhere else in the NHL but is reduced to the checking line in Pittsburgh. I am sure that with a Stanley Cup ring already in his jewelery case, he would enjoy the opportunity to establish himself as an elite scoring forward somewhere else.

Bobby Ryan as most of you know was drafted by Brian Burke and was one of the best players for Team U.S.A. at the Olympics. Whether Scott Niedermayer retires or not, he is definitely far from being the Scott Niedermayer of past. Anaheim is suffering on the back end, and a player like Kaberle could really help the production of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. To be honest, I think Bobby Ryan will be more of a player than Perry and possibly even Getzlaf, but those 2 are already locked up in contract and have been blessed by the Hockey Canada hype machine. So that leaves Bobby Ryan looking for a contract and Anaheim pushed to the max in cap making Kaberle and his contract something to look at for the Ducks.

With all that said, I really don't think we would be able to land either in one-for-one trades. I believe we would have to up our end to make it even more appealing to the Pens and Ducks. With the situation the Leafs are in, there aren't many players I wouldn't throw in to make a trade of that magnitude happen. Luke Schenn? Pack your bags. Mikael Grabovski? Book a plane ticket.

Weekend rundown (UFC 114)

Let me start by giving my thoughts on Saturday night's main event. Rashad Evans brought the business and fought his fight. I'm not particularly in love with Rashad's style, but the man is extremely athletic and is a tough guy to beat in the UFC's LHW division. Rampage Jackson no matter how much he tried to convince people otherwise leading up to the fight, was very rusty, and the long layoff of shooting the A-Team movie made Rampage hesitant and slowed down his mobility. I think it is about time Rampage left the Wolfslair and moved to a better camp. In the primetime episodes Rashad's training regime was above and beyond the more superior camp.

Once again, Rashad almost blew the fight in the 3rd round when Rampage seemed to have rocked him with a left cross. It was very similar to when Thiago Silva rocked him in the 3rd round of their fight. This trend will not play out well for Rashad over the course of a few more fights. I think it's time he bought a sledgehammer and a tire.

Rashad is now the #1 contender for Shogun Rua's belt. I love this fight stylistically. It's going to be quite interesting to see how each of these guys counters the other's polar opposite style. Rashad's wrestling, fancy footwork, and ability to push his opponent up against the fence vs Shogun's ferocious Muay Thai, brutal ground and pound, and his ability to sweep from the bottom or get back to his feet upon being taken down.

One thing I noticed in the Rampage/Rashad fight that could be a determining factor for Shogun, was the fact that some of the times when Rashad would push Rampage back against the fence, for some reason Rampage was able to secure a clinch on Rashad. Although Rampage could never mount any significant damage outside of a couple of weak knee attempts, the fact that he was still able to secure the clinch could mean that Rashad has a vulnerable weakness that just so happens to be a huge strength for Shogun.
If Shogun is able to secure a clinch just as Rampage did, he will end the fight with some knees. Bank on it.

Now for the rundown:

- Rumours are circulating that Rampage and Machida will get it on next

- Dana White came out with a statement saying he'd like to see Diego Sanchez go back to 155. “I don’t think Diego belongs at 170,” White said. “It’s easier to be at 170. He looked soft. Diego couldn’t take him down, and Diego’s game is wrestling.” I have to agree with the UFC president, losing to BJ Penn is not a reason to flee the division.

- It seems there won't be a primetime series promoting the upcoming Heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. Apparently Lesnar does not want any outside interferences leading up to the fight.

- Jason Brilz, the pudgy pasty dude who put on the spirited performance en route to a controversial decision loss to Lil NOG, actually missed his 10 year anniversary by taking the fight on short notice.

- Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen almost got into it behind the scenes at the MMA Expo. Anderson Silva was signing some autographs and he looked pretty unenthusiastic about the process, so Sonnen noticed this and shouted over "Don't worry Anderson, after we fight people won't give a shit about you and you won't have to sign another autograph again" Silva was bothered with the razzing so he actually tracked Sonnen down outside the Expo, where they got in each others faces, but the situation was quickly defused.

- Eddie Alvarez is still THEE most exciting fighter in the world.