Maple Leafs coach Wilson seeks meeting with Kaberle to set things straight

Adam Proteau
2010-08-24 16:14:00

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson has heard all the rumors about Tomas Kaberle and Tomas Kaberle’s father. But he wants to sit down with the veteran defenseman and hash things out face-to-face before he believes any of it.

“All this has come from out in left field and until I sit down and talk about this with Kaba, there’s no point in commenting any further,” Wilson told TheHockeyNews.com Tuesday. “People are quoted in a foreign magazine – and this isn’t the first time something like this has come up. If Kaba wants to come and talk to me about some of this stuff, that’s the best way for us to address any of the issues he thinks he has.”

Frantisek Kaberle, Sr., Tomas’ father and a fixture around Toronto’s Air Canada Centre since his son became a Leaf in 1998, touched off a firestorm of controversy in an interview with a Czech publication last week; Kaberle Sr., told hockey magazine Hokej that his son Tomas would likely not return to the team once his contract expires at the conclusion of this coming season – that is, as long as Wilson was still behind the bench.

It isn’t a rumor that’s new, Wilson noted.

“Even last year, there was this perceived rumor with Kaba and I sat down with Kaba and he said ‘this isn’t true’,” Wilson said. “We’ll address it when we have a chance to sit down and face each other eye-to-eye and I’m sure (Leafs president-GM) Brian (Burke) will be a part of the conversation as well. That’s the best way to handle it.”