Friday, November 13, 2009

Isn't it time the Maple Leafs name Kaberle captain?


Tomas Kaberle is in his 11th season with the Leafs and probably enjoying his best season ever. He is the team offensive engine with 20 points. Considering the Leafs have only scored 41 goals this season, he has gotten a point in just under 50% of the team's goals. The only players who has been as important to his offensively is Anze Koptar of the Kings who has gotten 30 points out of his team's 63 goals.

Kaberle leads all NHL players with 18 assists and is also leads all defensemen in scoring. He also quarterbacks the NHL's second best powerplay and is second in the league in powerplay points. He averages over 24 minutes in ice time per game. Kaberle is on pace to easily exceed his best single season in scoring (67 points in 2005-06). Just imagine how many goals the Leafs would have scored this season had they traded Kaberle last summer.

Kaberle has been an NHL all-star on four occasions. Isn't about time he got appointed captain? Not just based on tenure but he is one of the only true stars on the team. Those who think Luke Schenn should be the next Leaf captain are getting a little ahead of themselves. Schenn is 6th on the Leafs' depth chart for defensemen while Kaberle is 1st. Luke is years away from being captain material. In the meantime what about Tomas?