Defenceman Tomas Kaberle was willing to waive his no-trade clause for a move to one of three teams, according to Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, who ultimately settled on a series of lesser deals at the NHL trade deadline.
Confusion arose in the hours before the 3 p.m. ET cutoff, when Kaberle suggested to reporters he would consent to a trade. That represented an abrupt change of face for the 32-year-old, who had steadfastly refused to entertain the notion of moving away from the only NHL franchise he has known.
"There wasn't a deal to be made, and that was the end of it," Burke said after the deadline had passed. "We were truthful. We never got a list, but we did explore three avenues that the player's agent asked us to explore as recently as this morning."
He would not name the three teams. Burke said he generally does not accept such lists from players unless they include a minimum of 10 teams, but made an exception for Kaberle in light of the player's service to the Leafs. Burke also made a point of repeating he never approached Kaberle to waive the clause.
"Tomas Kaberle has a no-trade clause, and that was given to him in good faith," Burke said. "I think players can only get them if they have a certain level of seniority and a certain level of expertise. And I think organizations are bound by those things, whether it's the same GM who gave it to the player or not."
In the end, the Leafs made their biggest splash on the eve of the deadline, trading winger Alexei Ponikarovsky to Pittsburgh as part of a three-player deal. Toronto acquired 21-year-old forward Luca Caputi and defenceman Martin Skoula from the Penguins, but flipped Skoula to the New Jersey Devils for a fifth-round draft pick on Wednesday.
It was also reported Burke shipped forward Lee Stempniak to the Phoenix Coyotes for a pair of draft picks. His final move of the day was to ship defenceman Chris Peluso to Pittsburgh for what TSN reported as a sixth-round draft pick.
Stempniak and Ponikarovsky were both set to become unrestricted free agents this summer. Burke said Ponikarovsky was traded after the two sides could not come to terms on the length of a new contract.
"His agent said he wants a four-year contract extension, and I'm not interested in that," Burke said. "When I see some of the contracts that are being awarded, my guess is that this is the right way for Poni to go, too. He thinks he can get a four-year deal somewhere, and my guess is, he probably will - but I'm not giving him a four-year deal."