The group of Maple Leafs who refused to waive their no trade status at the trading deadline have been dubbed by the media as the Muskoka Five - because their desire to stay with cosy, country club Leaf environment rather agree to move to a contender. The label is a little unfair because most players in the league will not waive their no trade contract because its something they feel they earned through negotiation. It is rarely given up.
When Cliff Fletcher announced that he had given the Montreal Canadien permission to negotiate a contract with Mats Sundin before he became a free agent on July 1, I think the media is correct to label it as the end of the Sundin era in Toronto. Although Fletcher would dearly like to re-sign Sundin, it has become evident that Sundin plans to look elsewhere. Giving another team exclusive rights to negotiate prior to July 1 will at least bring the Leafs some compensation. Last year the Flyers sent Nashville a first round draft pick when they were allowed to negotiate and sign Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell prior to July 1. It has been suggested that Sundin wants to stay in Eastern Canada so that explains why Montreal has exclusive negotiating rights. It's going to hard to watch Sundin in a Hab sweater.
As for the remain members of the Muskoka Five (Tucker, McCabe, Kubina, and Kaberle), the agents of Tucker and McCabe have already responded to suggestions that they might now agree to play elsewhere. In both cases, the agents have suggested that if management no longer wants their clients they would have to buy them out. This is why few players ever waive their no trade contract. A buyout provides you with 2/3 of your remaining contract and allows you to negotiate with any team. In the case of Darcy Tucker, if the Leafs hand him $6 million dollars and he can negotiate a 3 year deal with another team at $1.5 million per year, he will actually end up earning more that his original contract. So why not hold out for free agency? It is unlikely that Kaberle will agree to move and the Leafs are less inclined to want to move him.
But as of yesterday, Fletcher has a 6 week window to trade Kubina. San Jose was interested in February so they still may be interested. The Muskoka Five may be down to Three by early July.
