Tomáš Kaberle

Toronto Maple Leafs

Kaberle was drafted 204th in the eighth round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and saw limited playing time in the 1998–99 season. After being eased into the Leafs lineup, he saw a significant increase in playing time in order to help fill in the gap on the Leafs after an injury to Bryan Berard in the 1999–2000 season. By the 2001–02 campaign, Kaberle had improved enough to be selected to the World team at the 2002 NHL All-Star Game. Later that year, he was named to the Czech national team for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kaberle started the 2001–02 campaign as a restricted free agent without a contract, and ended up playing in the Czech Extraliga for HC Rabat Kladno while a new contract was negotiated. Ultimately, he signed a contract with the Leafs, who secured his services through 2005–06. On February 11, 2006, Kaberle was re-signed to a five-year contract extension worth $21.25 million with a no-trade clause for the first three years of the contract, effective July 1, 2006. This deal locked him in until the end of the 2010–11 season.

On October 28, 2006, Kaberle scored his first career hat-trick against the Montreal Canadiens. He also scored in his first shootout attempt that night. Kaberle was named as an Eastern Conference All-Star Game participant for the second time in his career on January 12, 2007.

During a March 2, 2007 game against the New Jersey Devils, Kaberle suffered a concussion and was carried off the ice on a stretcher, as a result of a late hit to the head by Cam Janssen. While no penalty was called on the play, Janssen was assessed a three-game suspension. In an interview, Kaberle mentioned that Janssen had not contacted him for reconciliation, and went on to say, "I don't care [to hear from him]. He doesn't respect me and I don't respect him." After missing eight games, he returned to the Leafs lineup on March 23.

Although Kaberle has scored relatively few goals, he has scored seven times in overtime.

During the 2008 NHL All-Star Game Skills Competition, Kaberle became the fourth player, after Ray Bourque, Mark Messier and Jeremy Roenick, to hit all four targets in four shots in the accuracy challenge. Kaberle again participated in the accuracy challenge during the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, although he was unable to defend his title against Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

During a losing streak at the start of the 2009–10 regular season, Kaberle, along with Niklas Hagman, led the Leafs to their first victory of the season, a 6–3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Kaberle had one goal and four assists, and earned the second star of the game. He began the season on a hot streak, scoring 22 points in the first 20 games while leading the NHL in defenceman scoring. On December 1, 2009, Kaberle passed former Leaf great Tim Horton for second on the franchise all-time scoring list amongst defencemen with his 459th NHL point.

Later years

On February 18, 2011, in a well-publicized trade, Kaberle was sent to the Boston Bruins in exchange for prospect Joe Colborne, Boston's first-round draft choice in 2011 and a second-round choice in 2012, conditional upon the Bruins reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals or re-signing Kaberle. He ultimately won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins on June 15, 2011, prevailing over the Vancouver Canucks.

On July 5, 2011, Kaberle signed a three-year contract worth $12.75 million with the Carolina Hurricanes. He played in 29 games for the Hurricanes, registering nine assists and a plus-minus rating of –12.

On December 9, 2011, Kaberle, in only the first year of his contract, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jaroslav Špaček. He recorded two assists in his first game in a Canadiens uniform, a 2–1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Kaberle returned to his native Czech Republic to play for HC Kladno during the 2012–13 lockout. After playing ten games in the Czech Extraliga, he decided to cease playing and spend more time with his family on October 25, 2012. However, having returned for the shortened 2012–13 season, Kaberle was primarily a healthy scratch amongst the resurgent Canadiens blueline. On March 30, 2013, he was placed on waivers by the team, going unclaimed by any NHL club. He finished the season appearing in a career-low ten games for three points.

On June 28, 2013, Kaberle was given a compliance buyout by the Canadiens to be released as a free agent.

In September 2013, Kaberle signed a one-year contract to return with his hometown club, HC Kladno.

In September 2014, Kaberle was invited to attend the New Jersey Devils training camp for the 2014–15 season on an unsigned tryout basis, where he was later released.

On September 22, 2016, it was announced by HC Kladno that Kaberle has officially retired from professional hockey.

International

Kaberle was selected to the Czech national team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Kaberle and his older brother František were members of the Czech team at the 2005 World Ice Hockey Championships in Vienna, where they won gold. While František won the World Championships for the fifth time, it was the first victory for Tomáš. In December 2005, they were both named for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, where they won bronze medals with the team. The next year, Kaberle accepted his nomination for 2006 World Championships in Riga, where the Czech team won silver. Tomas also played in the 2010 Winter Olympics, but rejected an invitation to play at the 2010 World Ice Hockey Championships held in Germany.

Honours