Someone asked me an interesting question recently. They asked what I thought of Brian Burke as a GM and my immediate response was “so far, so good.”
My friend responded by telling me that that summation wasn’t fair because it left the door open for me to change my mind if Burke screwed anything up. He was right, it does.
It got me thinking though. I understand Brian Burke has won a cup, I also understand that he helped build what was in most hockey circles considered a heavy contender in Vancouver, but I wonder if Toronto Maple Leaf fans aren’t enamored with him for all the wrong reasons.
He hasn’t done or won anything here yet.
I wonder if Leafs fans judgments aren’t so clouded by their collective overwhelming desire for a GM with any amount of experience or credibility after the whole Pat Quinn and John Fergusson JR experience.
Before you jump all over me about Quinn, towards the end of his tenure in Toronto, he simply wasn’t effective at his job. Whether as a GM or as a coach. End of story.
As I said, I wonder if it’s because of Toronto fans desperation that Brian Burke has been placed on such a high pedestal.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Burke and have spoken very highly of him in previous articles, but I’m also very careful of placing people on pedestals.
All that being said, Brian Burke and his family finally took some much needed time off. For his part though, according to the National Post , Burke says he is not done.
There are still several free agents out there that intrigue him and there are still offers out there for Tomas Kaberle.
For now though, he just wants to put his feet up and loosen his tie.
Trade Rumors
Look for Simon Gagne of the Philadelphia Flyers to be on the move sooner rather than later. The Leafs could work a straight swap with Philly for Kaberle though Flyer fans would argue that they aren’t getting equal value in return.
A major issue with this scenario is Gagne has a no trade clause; however, if he refuses to waive it, he will likely end up on waivers so this is one of those rumors that just isn’t going to go away.
Tomas Kaberle has of course been the focal point of most Leafs rumors.
- Kaberle to the Washington Capitals for Alexander Semin
- Kaberle to the Boston Bruins for Marc Savard
- Kaberle to the Anaheim Ducks for Bobby Ryan (Ducks GM Murray says he won’t be trading Ryan)
- Kaberle to the Philadelphia Flyers for Simon Gagne
If Tomas Kaberle doesn’t get traded, there are several fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs who will likely have a meltdown.
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