Hold Please

Doug Gilmour did it. So did Felix Potvin. Bryan Berard and Dimitri Yushkevich did it at the same time.

When Keith Tkachuk did it, Cam Neely went to the media to question Tkachuk's values.

Petr Nedved once did it for nearly 18 months straight and Alexi Yashin did it so frequently fans, GMs and team-mates were more than a little sore.

But nobody seems to be doing it much anymore.

For much of the 1990s, it was commonplace for NHL players to hold-out or even walk out on their teams as part of contract negotiations. If a player was represented by Mark Gandler it was almost a certainty that they'd do it each time they even so much as heard the word "contract."

But the hold-out seems to have gone the way of the 125+ point season. What was once an annual occurrence for a handful of players is now a rarity.

A quick google news archive search revealed that almost every player who has held out since the new CBA was signed was a Restricted Free Agent at the time. Gaborik might be the lone exception.

With NHL camps set to open in the next week, Bobby Ryan is the only big name player without a deal that I can think of - and if you believe what you read on twitter, a signed contract is imminent. There may be others, but none spring to mind...

What killed the hold out?

Was it the CBA with it's hard cap, ascribed amount for total player salaries and set values for ELCs and max salaries?

Was it the emergence of the KHL as a viable alternative for players?

Or is it a little bit of both?

I certainly don't miss the hold-out, but I'd love to know what has made it disappear.

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Kaberle and the Cat

Long serving Toronto Maple Leaf Tomas Kaberle's no-trade clause has an interesting wrinkle - it includes a short window each summer where the Leafs can trade him without his approval. This window opens on July 1 and runs to mid-August [or earlier/ later depending on the source]. It's very likely that Kaberle will be moved when his trade window opens, consider:

• What little organizational depth the Leafs have is on the blue line;
• In order to compete, the team needs to add quality forwards;
• Kaberle's age profile doesn't quite fit with the Leafs (hoped for) window of opportunity; and
• Kaberle seems to be the only asset of value on the roster that's even somewhat expendable.

I've been trying to think of an equivalent deal from the Leafs' past and I'm coming up short.

The Leafs have turned over their roster many times in the three decades that I've been following them but it's not often that such a long-serving player, drafted by the club, is so transparently put in position of waiting on a trade.

In terms of parallels, the only situation I can think of is Felix "the cat" Potvin.

Potvin and Kaberle's CVs cover some similar ground...

The Cat was drafted by the Blue and White and played eight seasons in Toronto after winning the starter's job over Hall of Fame goalie Grant Fuhr.

In his eight seasons as a Leaf, Potvin was a member of the NHL all-rookie team in 1993 and a finalist in the 1993 Calder voting. He made the NHL All Star team twice, led the NHL in goals-against in 1996-97 and had the best goals-against average in 1992-93. In his first full year as a Leaf, he backstopped the Leafs all the way to the Conference Finals.

Kaberle made the club as a surprise rookie and in his 10 seasons as a Leaf was a four time all-star. In his first full year as a Leaf, the team went all the way to the Conference Finals.

In 1998, the signing of UFA goalie Curtis Joseph created a log-jam in nets, making Felix expendable. After just five starts, Potvin left the Leafs in frustration and was AWOL for five weeks before being traded.

The signings of Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin, along with the emergence of Luke Schenn, created a log-jam on the Leafs' blue line, making one Leafs' D expendable. The odd man out appears to be Kaberle.

Potvin, it was claimed, was never the same after a cheap goal that came late in a game against the St. Louis Blues who were leading the league at the time. An Al MacInnis slap shot from out near centre ice beat Potvin over his glove, the Leafs lost the game and Potvin lost his mojo.

Kaberle, it has often been claimed, was never the same after a cheap hit by New Jersey Devil Cam Janssen.

In the end, Potvin went to the Islanders for former top draft pick Bryan Berard. The Islanders felt that Berard's offense would never make up for the defensive deficiencies in his game. The Leafs were looking to add more youth to their system and thought their coach, former defencemen Pat Quinn, was perfectly situated to help Berard develop into a top flight defenceman. Tragically, Berard's career was derailed by an errant high stick.

If, and when, Kaberle is moved in the next few weeks, in keeping with his similarities to Potvin, I wouldn't be surprised if the return to the Leafs is once again a flawed young prospect with lots of upside.

I do hope that a Kaberle trade has a happier ending than the Potvin deal for both the Leafs and whomever it is that they acquire.