Toronto Maple Leafs: Brian Burke Adds Clarke MacArthur

Just a few hours after acquiring defenseman Matt Lashoff from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is at it again, signing unrestricted free agent forward Clarke MacArthur.

In MacArthur, the Leafs add some much needed depth up front, but fail to address their biggest need up front—scoring.

Through 81 games split between the Atlanta Thrashers and Buffalo Sabres, MacArthur scored 16 goals and added 19 assists for a total of 35 points.

It is believed that MacArthur will end up playing on the Maple Leafs third and fourth lines, adding an element of physical play and checking.

The Sabres traded MacArthur to the Thrashers last season for a third and fourth round selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Upon completion of the 2009-10 season MacArthur filed for salary arbitration where he was awarded a $2.4 million salary, which was subsequently declined by the Thrashers, making him a free agent.

With two moves in under 24 hours Leafs Nation is a buzz with numerous trade rumours, but given the players Burke has brought in, it is my opinion that these players will only serve to add depth at either the NHL (MacArthur) or AHL (Lashoff) level.

Many Leaf fans are still holding out hope that veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle will be traded, but nothing is cooking at this time.

Burke recently suggested that head coach Ron Wilson and Kaberle would be sitting down to iron out their “differences,” leading to speculation that Burke will try to keep Kaberle rather than trade him.

Without a trade it appears as if the Leafs will enter training camp without that coveted top-six scoring forward Burke so desperately needs, but with the Ilya Kovalchuk saga looking more and more like it will end soon, that all may change.

Until next time,

Peace!