Over the past few weeks we have heard many rumors that Vincent Lecavalier would be wearing a Canadiens jersey before this year’s NHL trade deadline. Tampa Bay Lightning GM Brian Lawton has come out and publicly denied the rumors, but there is still a lot of smoke, and Lecavalier’s recent visit to Montreal for the NHL’s annual All-Star game kept the rumor fires stoked.

However, Vincent Lecavalier isn’t the only one rumored to soon be donning a Canadiens jersey. Another All-Star defenseman - Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs - has also been mentioned in trade rumors, and more and more speculators in mainstream media are mumbling about the possibility of this move happening.

Strangely, Vincent Lecavalier’s name is also attached to this particular hockey trade rumor. NHL’s own All-Star defenseman, Andrei Markov, has been mentioned more than once as potential trade bait for Lecavalier, and should the Canadiens decide to deal him they would naturally need to fill the gap left on the blueline by the departure of that talented puck-moving defenseman. Tomas Kaberle could potentially slide into that role, and this natural fit has been adding more fuel to the trade fires.

Now it may sound like a stretch for all this to occur and for Habs fans to see Kaberle in a Canadiens jersey before the NHL trade deadline has come and gone, but stranger things have certainly happened. These days, with the salary cap in the NHL, trades have become a rarity, and a straight player for player trade is not always possible due to the finances involved. I suspect we will see more of these types of deals where players are acquired from multiple teams to make both the hockey aspect and the financial aspect make sense for all teams involved.

So will we see Kaberle in a Canadiens jersey this year? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, Toronto is building for the future and Kaberle is most certainly on the trading block. Habs fans might not be anxious to see a hated Maple Leaf come to Montreal, but if he can bring Lecavalier with him I’m sure even that bitter rivalry can be forgiven.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 4:53 pm and is filed under Canadiens Jerseys, Canadiens news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.