Pronger a Leaf - Part Two

I just read a blurb written by Kevin Gibson on Eklund's blog. Apparently, Pronger could still be coming to Toronto (yeah, I just spit coffee all over my monitor too):

"Tucker and Telqvist Offered In A Deal For Pronger

Obviously the Leafs would have to offer more then these two, what? I don't know. With the Leafs having Raycroft and Aubin between the pipes, Toronto won't be able to send Telqvist to the minors without somebody grabbing him and you don't carry three goalies. With JFjr. signing Aubin to a two year deal at the end of last season and trading for Raycroft, who's the odd man out? Telqvist. After last seasons offensive output, Tucker has never been worth more. "

Before yesterday, with Kaberle and McCabe already inked for next season, and prior to Kubina's signing, Pronger coming to Toronto had to rate as a pipe dream. And even before McCabe finally agreed to his contract, a casual observer would still have rated it as unlikely - who would Toronto trade to the Edmonton Oilers for one of the top-3 defensemen in hockey?

But now, after having dedicated an incredible $17.1 million dollars annually to McCabe, Kaberle, Kubina and Gill (39% of a $44 million payroll, and that's not even taking into account Belfour's and Domi's buyouts, and Sundin's heavy salary), we're supposed to believe that Pronger is on the way for Toronto's third-string goalie (which is what Tellqvist would be in Edmonton behind Roloson and Markkanen) and a rapidly aging third line agitator (Tucker). There's no chance, not with how the team is presently constituted.

Of course, the trade could not be limited to just those two players. One of Toronto's defense would have to go back in the deal to even out the talent and salaries, and it would have to be Kubina.

I'm not saying it makes much sense. It's considered a major no-no in hockey circles to sign an unrestricted free agent, only to trade him again days later. It would severely cripple a teams ability to recruit future free agents. That is, unless Kubina knew he'd be trade bait in a Pronger deal from the outset. From the reports I read in the papers this morning, Kubina simply signed with the highest bidder, since Tampa offered him $2.5 million to stay in Florida, and Toronto was the first team to step up and show him the money. So maybe Kubina would be all right with a move to the Oilers, and his signing makes sense in that it's part of a larger move.

And on Thursday, McCabe was announced this week as a "cornerstone" of the Leafs defense. In a rare fit of pique, Kaberle announced through the media that he would be very unhappy with a move to Edmonton, so it is unlikely he'd be willing to give up his no-trade clause. These two should be the odds-on favourites to stay. The wild card though is Kaberle's very reasonable salary, which would definitely be of interest to Edmonton. Good luck convincing Kabby to give up his no-trade clause.

But if Ferguson did manage to land Pronger for a package including a defenseman - who is going to play forward?

I just can't see the trade happening. But if it does, I call shotgun on the John Ferguson bandwagon.