Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Dominic Moore and Matt Stajan should be the most uneasy Toronto Maple Leafs players leading up to next Wednesday's NHL trade deadline.
Leafs general manager Brian Burke revealed yesterday, before his team beat the New York Rangers 2-1 in a shootout at the Air Canada Centre, that as many as 20 teams have called to inquire about the cost of certain players on his roster — and gossip around the league indicates that the aforementioned foursome has garnered the attention.
Antropov remains the best bet to be moved because the veteran forward is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Moore is also slated to become an unrestricted free agent, but would remain with Toronto if he signs an extension before next Wednesday's 3 p.m. EST deadline.
Burke likes Ponikarovsky and Stajan, but plenty of teams have interest in Ponikarovsky and there is at least one team mulling over a move to acquire Stajan.
"A lot of the calls that I've gotten have been parameters, like 'Who are guys you would move? What are approximate price ranges you're looking for back? Can you take money back?' Those type of, I guess, preliminary discussions to set some parameters," Burke said. "I'd say probably 20 teams have checked in on that basis or I've checked in with them and gotten their parameters."
So where does that leave veteran defencemen Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina? Both have no-trade contracts, but can be moved in the summer if the Leafs don't make the playoffs.
Kaberle wants some control over a possible change of address. So rather than wait until the summer and have no input, Kaberle has provided a list of 10 Eastern Conference teams he would agree to be traded to if Burke was presented with an offer he couldn't refuse.
What would it take for a team to snag Kaberle?
"The minimum would be this: A minimum of a first-round pick, a guy that can play on our team right now and a top prospect," Burke said. "It would be a package just like I paid when I [was the Anaheim Ducks GM and] got Chris Pronger from Edmonton. I'm not putting a price on it that I haven't paid myself in the past."
Burke believes this trade deadline period will be a sellers' market.
He was buoyed by the Atlanta Thrashers picking up second- and third-round picks for defenceman Mathieu Schneider and a conditional draft pick. The New York Islanders received a first-round pick and Dean McAmmond from the Ottawa Senators for defenceman Chris Campoli and forward Mike Comrie.
But will Burke be busy, wheeling and dealing in the next week?
"I don't think it's going to be as active as people think," he said. "I've been trying to manage those expectations the last few days with my comments, which are I don't think the changes will be as widespread or radical as people expected. I'm trying to manage those expectations so people aren't disappointed."
The Rangers have high expectations under new head coach John Tortorella. But none of the six midseason coaching changes has resulted in a win in the coach's debut.
After a goalless first period, struggling New York defenceman Wade Redden scored on a blast from the point for his third goal of the season and first since Oct. 10. It was also on the power play, an area the Rangers struggled in under former coach Tom Renney, who was fired on Monday, the day after the Leafs downed the Rangers 3-2 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.
The Leafs, who lost John Mitchell and Jeff Finger with upper-body injuries, waited until the 10-minute 21-second mark of the third to tie it as Niklas Hagman walked out to lift a shot over Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Nikolai Kulemin was the only player to score in the shootout.
