Toronto Maple Leafs: Tomas Kaberle Nice, But Luke Schenn Nicer

I recently read a well-written piece by the folks, specifically Matt Bracken (AKA @tdotsports1), over at MapleLeafsHotStove.com. The piece analyzed what defenseman Luke Schenn could earn with his next contract, discussing term and value. The post also included few comparisons to fellow young defensemen who also recently signed their second NHL contracts. Bracken suggested roughly a $4 million salary, and despite some disagreement from the comment board, the assessment he made was quite realistic and fair. This is proven by the value Schenn has to our franchise:

• Luke Schenn is one of only two first-round draft picks in the last four years; yes, FOUR years.
• He’s been our most technically sound defenseman this season, by far.
• Though often criticized last season, he’s put together solid rookie and sophomore seasons, not often seen by younger players nowadays.

Schenn has an abundance of potential and skill, both of which are recognized and valued by Burke and Co., and should he continue his solid play this season, a $4 million salary is a lock. However, Luke Schenn isn’t the only defenseman seeking a payday.

Tomas Kaberle’s four-year deal is coming to an end this season, and it’s fair to suggest that he will seek upwards of $5 million per year. Whether Kaberle wants to re-sign or not—because of the embarrassment he endured in the offseason—is an entirely different story, and keeping Kaberle at around $5.5 million and Schenn at roughly $4 million will be an unfeasible task, because combining that with Dion Phaneuf’s $6.5 million, Beauchemin’s $3.8 million and Komisarek’s $4.5 million cap hits will leave pennies for Burke to deal with the lackluster offense. To further prove this, here a few stats that should convince you:

• Awarding both healthy extensions will eat up the Jeff Finger cap relief the Leafs currently have, leaving no room to wiggle around the cap.
• Having upwards of $31 million committed to their D will leave Toronto with a maximum of $28 million to deal with six more players on their forward corps, roughly $7 million less than some of the top teams commit to their forwards.
• The Leafs haven’t had a forward who’s posted more than 60 points since Mats Sundin; they need that extra cash for their forwards.

People have seemed to forget about Luke Schenn’s entry-level contract coming to an end, as the non-stop trade rumors surrounding Kaberle have negated anything else that has happened in Leaf-land for sometime now. Though many, including myself, would absolutely love to retain Kaberle’s skills for our power play, I just can’t justify keeping him at the expense of one of our brightest stars in franchise history. And I can’t see many Maple Leafs fans disagreeing with me.

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PS. Since I mentioned him, I figured I’d credit Matt Bracken's article.

Follow them on Twitter as well: @KatsHockey + @tdotsports1