McCabe is on his way out the door soon after the Leafs pick up the 2 million dollar contract bonus that activates on Sept 1st. The question now is what we will be getting in return, and from whom?
It's now out in the open that McCabe has agreed to waive his no-trade clause. Fletcher had been in a stalemate with McCabe's agents over the course over the summer as to what the next move would be.
It is evident that McCabe's agents knew the Leafs would not be having him back, and threatened that if they asked McCabe to stay at home and not show up for training camp, they would file a grievance with the NHL Player's Association.
McCabe's agents then pushed for the Leafs to buy out the contract, knowing that with that money in his pocket he would be willing to continue his career elsewhere.
Well, with training camp around the corner, it seems McCabe's camp has lost this battle. McCabe unofficially waived his no-trade clause this past week and told the Leaf's he would be ready to move on to a team of his choice.
On that list is Florida, which right now seems like the team that is going to take him in along with his contract. In Florida he gets a team with much less media attention, a team with players on it he has played with before, and most importantly a chance to start again.
Although he didn't exactly fall off the face of the earth this year, he had fallen so out of favour with the fans that it was beginning to effect his game.
He went from an offensively gifted defenseman and a competent all around player to a mistake prone, irresponsible player who was over-relied upon. He lost confidence to make high-risk plays because of these mistakes, and slowly retreated into a defensive mode. As a person who watches most Leaf's games, it's notable to mention that this is not the strong point of his game, at all.
Wherever McCabe goes, I wish him the best of luck in returning to the great player he was only a few seasons ago.
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