Toronto Maple Leafs: The Absolute Latest as Trade Deadline Day Looms

Oh yes.  It's almost here.  Canada's newest unofficial holiday, the NHL Trade Deadline, is nearly upon us.  In fact, as of this writing, there is approximately 22 hours to go until the Wednesday 3:00 pm deadline hits.

What does all this mean?

Well, in essence, it's feeding time.  Start the frenzy.

And while the frenzy has been reduced to, at this point anyway, a dull roar, there are plenty of intriguing storylines to follow as we inch closer to 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon.  Particularly where the Maple Leafs are concerned.

Start with Dominic Moore, where things have officially reached the 11th hour.  Brian Burke spoke with Darren Dreger yesterday, and among his topics of discussion was Dominic Moore, an impending unrestricted free agent with the club.

Burke said he would be meeting with Moore and his agent yesterday, and would likely have an idea by the end of the night of whether Moore was going to re-sign in Toronto or be put on the block.

They missed the deadline slightly.  I got an email from Dreger last night at around 10:00 pm that said they would sleep on it, and start again tomorrow.  This has since been confirmed by TSN through their official Web site.

Moore is looking for something in the area of $2.5 to $3 million per year.  It is believed that he is seeking a two-year deal.  Moore and his agent feel they are giving the Leafs a hometown discount with their demands, while Burke balked at the number.  Burke submitted his own counter-offer, which is believed to be "considerably lower" than $2.5 million.

It looks like we could know as early as noon whether or not Moore is on the block or back in the fold with the Leafs.  Tonight could very well be his last game with Toronto.

Brian Burke said yesterday that he has received offers from teams for Moore, and told them at the time that he was in the process of negotiating a deal.  Burke said if he can't get something done, his next move would be to retrace his steps and call those teams back to alert them Moore is available, should it get that far.

According to Howard Berger this morning, Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ian Wite, Dominic Moore, Mikhail Grabovski, Matt Stajan, and Anton Stralman have all received some interest from other GMs around the league.

While one has little doubt that Antropov will be moved by Wednesday, there has been increasing interest in Ponikarovsky, who could be packaged in a deal with another Maple Leafs player on his way out.

After checking with a few people, I think it's safe to add Jamal Mayers and John Mitchell to the list of players teams have been kicking tires about.

As for the Czech D-men, Kubina and Kaberle, I still don't see them going anywhere. Not now at least.  

Burke, when called in to do a makeover of a team, does not blow things up right away.  He allows people to stay, work in their positions, be it on ice or in the office, and sees what he has from there.

Burke has given both Kaberle and Kubina the opportunity to show they want to be on the team, and also that they can be key contributors to the team.  In a radio interview yesterday, Burke said he feels both of them have done that.

No question about it, there will be at least one GM who makes the call tomorrow afternoon in an attempt to take Kaberle or Kubina off the Leafs' hands.  I just don't know if they will have the right deal to get it done.

As I, and a lot of others, have maintained all along, no one is safe.  Burke went as far as to call Luke Schenn "virtually untouchable."

That doesn't bode well for the rest of the team.  And as much as Burke is trying to downplay the deals he may have been offered and what he may and may not do on Wednesday, well, to be honest it could all very well be a great deal of lip service.

Never one to mince words, I am not suggesting the outspoken Burke is lying or misleading us.  I am just suggesting that he is merely trying to taper expectations so that if he isn't able to transform the team there won't be a huge backlash.

Despite the posturing and all the talk, one still has to believe Brian Burke is looking for that home run tomorrow if he can get it.

Batter up, Brian.  Swing for the fences.

A quick note of good news to pass along.  It looks like winger Niklas Hagman will return to the lineup Saturday against the Oilers.  If all goes well through the rest of the week, Hagman should be good to go.

Just one final reminder to join me tomorrow right here on Bleacher Report starting at 8:00 am for live trade deadline coverage.  I will be running a live updated blog all day long, breaking deals as they happen.  Hope you can join me!

Also you can join me tonight right after the Leafs game for a pre-deadline day chat. Simply click here after game time to go right to the chat.