Sorting Through Toronto Maple Leafs' Rumors

There's rumors a-plenty as we approach the NHL Entry Draft and upcoming free agency window, so let's take a quick look.

Pierre Lebrun (someone who isn’t full of it) has reported that the Maple Leafs will not be in the Kovalchuk sweepstakes come July 1st.

“We won’t take part in that race” said Burke.

I’ll take his word on it this time, but I always keep in mind that Burke said reports of him leaving the Ducks for Toronto were “absurd.”

Apparently the list of teams interested in Kaberle has blown up in to double digits. Though no team has blown the doors off with a great proposal yet.

The “list” of the

most interested teams has gone from two (Anaheim and Boston) to six (Anaheim, Boston, New Jersey, Florida, Tampa Bay and Columbus.)

I’m no insider. Those teams were mentioned by various “credible” sources, if there is such a thing.

I’ve also read at LeafsHQ that a fairly reliable source has mentioned that the Leafs will definitely make a play at Patrick Marleau. While it’s a terrible move for the Leafs, it’s not all that surprising. For more on why I think it's a step in the wrong direction, check out this article.

Of course there’s the big greasy Florida rumors as of late. A lot of people have switched gears and targeted Stephen Weiss over Nathan Horton as a return from the Panthers, while re-uniting old pals Kaberle and McCabe.

From the Lightning there are rumors surrounding Ryan Malone.

Another brutal contract for a mediocre player. Malone isn’t a great option for the amount of cash he commands (4.5 per year until 2015)

The Malone rumor only makes sense as part of a bigger deal where the Leafs can off-load Grabovski with Kaberle and receive something else in the way of picks or solid prospects coming back.

That’s about all from the rumor front, or at least in regard to the ones I’ve read from an actual column and not something like HFBoards.

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