As Tomas Kaberle enters the final year of his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the veteran defenceman has been stripped of his alternate captain duties.
Leafs head coach Ron Wilson has announced that defencemen Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin will serve as alternates this season, leaving Kaberle — the longest-serving Maple Leaf on the current squad — without a letter.
Kaberle, the second-highest scoring defenceman in Leafs franchise history, was one of three alternates last season and has worn the ‘A’ for several years. He has spent all 11 seasons of his NHL career with the Leafs.
Kaberle’s future with the club has been a hot topic in Toronto since his no-trade clause was lifted for the summer after the Leafs failed to make the playoffs last season, the fifth straight year the club missed the post-season.
Shortly after his no-trade clause kicked back in, Kaberle’s father Frantisek Sr., told a Czech Republic hockey magazine that he was surprised his son was still a member of the Maple Leafs because Tomas had a strained relationship with Wilson. The veteran defenceman later downplayed his father’s comments.
In 820 games with the Blue & White, Kaberle has 80 goals and 402 assists.
In the off-season, the Leafs named defenceman Dion Phaneuf as team captain, a role that was vacant since the departure of Mats Sundin at the end of the 2007-08 season.
