Leafs trade Colborne

[moon111]

It's crazy Colborne is gone and Orr and McLaren are still with the team.  The Leafs don't need fighters because fighting isn't allowed.  Gary Bettman said so.

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Well, like others, I'm a bit disappointed with how this turned out, I was pulling for Colborne. Burke's not an idiot, he knows Joe is just a late bloomer and he got him for a song IMO.

It's great for big Joe going home and all, but it doesn't feel right in my gut. We'll see how this plays out, but Joe was never going to dislodge anyone out of the top 6 or even top 9.

I would have been a bit happier with a 2nd though.

[pmrules]

To me, this really stings because it means Toronto ends up getting basically nothing for Kaberle.   :'(

Boston wins again.......NOOOOOOOO!!!

[Sarge]

To me, this really stings because it means Toronto ends up getting basically nothing for Kaberle.   :'(

Boston wins again.......NOOOOOOOO!!!

We still have two futures, no mater what you think of them. It's not nothing.

[Highlander]

Good luck Joe, hope you become great one day. 

[bakeapples]

To me, this really stings because it means Toronto ends up getting basically nothing for Kaberle.   :'(

Boston wins again.......NOOOOOOOO!!!

Kaberle proved since that he was basically worth nothing and he is not even in the league anymore. Trade was a wash.

[Highlander]

Hold on a minute, many 3rd (potential 2nd round) picks have been great in the NHL. Let hope we pick up a future star with this pick. It just could happen.

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Hold on a minute, many 3rd (potential 2nd round) picks have been great in the NHL. Let hope we pick up a future star with this pick. It just could happen.

Calgary isn't making the playoffs, so you bargain on a 4th rounder and they don't pan out the best if memory serves me.

[Jalili]

That pick is probably ending up in the 4th round, 90-100 range. The Leafs have had some success with picks in that area in recent memory, like Frattin and Reimer.

Also a few other prospects like Leivo, Granberg and Holzer were drafted around there as well.

The odds don't favour getting a really good player, but we just have to keep faith that our scouting staff can make use of the pick.

[CarltonTheBear]

I understand why the trade was made by this current management/coaching staff, but it again highlights why I'm not a big fan of those making the decisions right now. The Leafs traded him because A) they don't have enough cap space to carry a 23rd or even 22nd roster player and B) because they would rather have McLaren and Orr on the roster instead of him. Both of those reasons are pretty embarrassing if you ask me.

Colborne would have been a perfect 12/13/14th forward right now. He re-signed to a contract that was considerably less than what his qualifying offer would have been because a lower cap his would have meant a better chance of cracking the NHL roster. It was a very shrewd moved by he and his agent. In the end it didn't help but he did get a trade to his hometown so I'm sure he's not really complaining. Aside from his cheap contract, he's also the type of player who can fill in on pretty much any line in the NHL. Obviously, he would be less successful on the 1st or 2nd lines at the moment than he would be on the 3rd or 4th, but he had a lot more versatility than most spare forwards would have.

With the signing of Raymond it meant that any chance he had on the 3rd line was gone and with Carlyle's intention to play McLaren and Orr on the 4th line it meant best case scenario Colborne was stuck in the pressbox to start the season. Like I said, there was much worse players than Colborne to have as your 13th forward. But an injury to McLaren and a suspension to Clarkson meant that there were two openings that could be grabbed. While I fully admit that Colborne didn't exactly stand out during preseason, aside from their ability to drop the gloves I don't really think Ashton, Devane, Broll, or Bodie did either. But alas they are the guys that the Leafs will chose from to fill up their roster. Not the guy with more skill and potential than possibly all four of those players put together.

But I get it, from this organizations point of view Colborne was either going on waivers or had to be traded. I said before I would have liked to see Colborne moved with Liles in order to gain some cap space at least, but it's looking like Liles' contract is pretty much unmovable at this point. Another option would have been to move Colborne for a similar player, but that similar player likely wouldn't have had a spot on this team either. So a draft pick was the only way to go and you probably weren't getting much more than a 4th.

[Jalili]

To me, this really stings because it means Toronto ends up getting basically nothing for Kaberle.   :'(

Boston wins again.......NOOOOOOOO!!!

Kaberle proved since that he was basically worth nothing and he is not even in the league anymore. Trade was a wash.

Hold on... Kaberle did lead their D in scoring in their playoff run, on the way to winning a Stanley Cup. They definitely won that trade. Not that it really matters, but still.

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Yeah, Joe can thank Carter Ashton and Mason Raymond for his demise. Liles still has to go IMO. It actually pisses me off a bit that Nonis didn't buyout Liles when he had the chance.

[RedLeaf]

Yeah, Joe can thank Carter Ashton and Mason Raymond for his demise. Liles still has to go IMO. It actually pisses me off a bit that Nonis didn't buyout Liles when he had the chance.

Agree with the Liles buyout option. It was a real head scratcher.

On a different topic... Now that they have a gluten of prospects at D, do they start drafting by position now? Starting with the Gauthier pick, selecting forwards may be the plan for the next few years.

[Stronger Than All]

Lievo have a chance now?  maybe just Ashton.

[BlueWhiteBlood]

On a different topic... Now that they have a gluten of prospects at D, do they start drafting by position now? Starting with the Gauthier pick, selecting forwards may be the plan for the next few years.

I still think you probably go with the best player available, unless the choices in that area are so close that it probably wouldn't matter.