DAILY RUMORS: Lyle Casts Doubt Upon the Possibility of the Stars Trading Both Ribeiro and Neal for Kaberle

We at HockeyIndependent.com want to be your resource and filter for what is going on in the NHL. We try to disseminate the noise in the blogosphere. We don’t look to to attack those sources, but to question the veracity of the rumor with cold logic, hockey smarts and knowledge. To do that… we have partnered with the one of the best in the NHL blogosphere….Lyle Richardson of SpectorsHockey.net. Daily Rumors with Lyle Richardson will now be a regular feature on HI this summer and beyond…

Ever since Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke returned from his mid-July vacation the denizens of Leafs Nation are wondering if he still has another trade up his sleeve to bolster his team’s offensive depth.

It’s well-known Burke is entertaining offers for defenseman Tomas Kaberle but doesn’t publicly appear concerned if he’s able to deal the blueliner by August 15th, when Kaberle’s “no-trade” clause goes into effect.

Some pundits and blogs in Leafs-land have looked around the league for potential trade partners for Burke (like he needs the help!) and centered upon the Dallas Stars, pointing to their strict budget, need for an experienced puck-moving defenseman and apparent difficulty in re-signing restricted free agent James Neal.

Now we don’t know if Burke has targeted the Stars or if Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk has contacted the Leafs, but that hasn’t stopped Leafs fans for speculating of a possible deal of Kaberle for Neal.

That might be the impetus behind the latest from “NHL Sources Say”, claiming in a recent “tweet” the Leafs were interested in Neal but in order to make the deal happen the Leafs would have to take back salary, going on to cite a source saying center Mike Ribeiro might be that piece.

http://twitter.com/NHLSourcesSay/status/19869385908

It’s been rumored Nieuwendyk would like to move Ribeiro and use the savings to re-sign Brad Richards but that’s only conjecture and we’ve seen nothing on his part so far to suggest he’s leaning in that direction.

If Nieuwendyk were to make that move he’d likely only want to move Ribeiro, maybe for Kaberle. He won’t want to move Neal as well. Giving up both for Kaberle would be a significant blow to the Stars offensive depth.

Furthermore there’s the problem with cap space.

The Leafs presently sit with just over $2 million in available cap space. Assuming Kaberle was the return to Dallas for Ribeiro and Neal it would still push the Leafs over the cap, meaning Burke would have to dump salary in the minors.

Of course he’s likely to do so with Jeff Finger or Mikhail Grabovski, but then there’s the matter of the Stars, since they’re not going to just give away two offensive forwards for a puck-moving defenseman they probably can’t afford to re-sign beyond next season, particularly one who has made it clear he prefers playing in the Eastern Conference as Kaberle has.

Of course stranger things have happened and I’ll be the first to admit anything’s possible but in this case I just don’t think the dollars fit nor do I believe the Stars would give up two offensive forwards for a defenseman who’ll likely depart next summer via free agency.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey