This is a piece I wrote entitled "Evaluating the Hype" during the peak of the Brian Burke speculation last April. I'll further update my argument afterward:
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For many reasons, Brian Burke is a viable candidate as the Maple Leafs' next front-office orchestrator.
He's versed in the hockey-crazed atmosphere as the previous ambassador in Vancouver, a hockey hotbed in its own right. As a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, Burke will be well-liked by the Toronto media for his penchant for caustic one-liners. He carries a boatload of experience. Additionally and most importantly, Burke would muzzle the ubiquitous MLSE board members as he would undoubtedly require written and full autonomy to even consider the position (as would be a requirement of any GM who knows his hand from his ...).
After several failed seasons in Vancouver, Burke reached the hockey pinnacle with a Stanley Cup win in sunny California.
Burke's accomplishments were sudden (it was only his second season in which the Ducks won the Cup), which may mislead many into believing he worked miracles upon his arrival in Anaheim. While I don't mean to completely downgrade Burke's accomplishment, his influence in Anaheim is somewhat overrated.
Brian Burke walked into a gold mine in Anaheim which only required the final piece or two to complete the Stanley Cup puzzle. The nucleus of the squad was already assembled by previous general managers, who made shrewd mid-to-later round draft selections in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and some wily acquisitions in Sammy Pahlsson, Rob Niedermayer, Andy McDonald and of course, J-S Giguere.
Such substance simply does not exist in Toronto. The Vancouver team he inherited in ’98 would be a more telling touchstone. Burke must be recognized for reviving a moribund team with poor attendance records into a playoff participant with flourishing fan support. As a hockey market, Vancouver may be somewhat non-traditional but has certainly seen a proliferation in its fan base. (The World Juniors of ’06 was a smashing success and the city provides strong support for the Giants). On-ice, however, Burke’s success only went as far as a division title and one second round appearance. It’s not as if Burke left behind a legacy upon his exit in 2004, as the team has proceeded to either flop in the playoffs or miss the post-season all together.
Burke’s biggest mark in Anaheim is the triad of veterans he’s added to the mix in Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. The addition of Selanne was a good-heart signing more than anything. Selanne narrowed his options to either returning to the city where he experienced his best days as a player or calling it quits. The Finnish Flash was even willing to take a million-per for his Ducks swan song. Does it take a particularly sapient mind to judge the team’s all-time top point scorer a worthwhile investment at 1 million dollar, one year deal?
The acquisition of Scott Niedermayer wasn’t exactly a masterstroke either. One of the NHL’s most coveted blue-liners, Niedermayer was seeking a reunion with his brother as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2006. Niedermayer could’ve easily demanded top dollar on the open market, but instead elected to take a pay-cut to join his sibling on a Stanley Cup quest. Burke did get the deal done, but would’ve been hard pressed to make the signing if Niedermayer wasn’t willing to take that pay-cut.
The Chris Pronger acquisition is really Burke’s only stake to fame. Unquestionably, Kevin Lowe would not have shipped off his big-name blue-liner if it wasn’t for the off-ice issues that to this day have remained unexplained. But Burke was one of 20+ GM’s who likely had interest in the number-one defenseman and he must be praised for consummating the deal. There was, however, a set price for all teams interested and it was really a matter of who was willing to roll the dice. For the Maple Leafs, it was Alex Steen and Tomas Kaberle in the place of Joffrey Lupul and Ladislav Smid. You can certainly commend Burke’s aggression in the risky undertaking, but it’s arguable as to whether or not the move can be classified as brilliant.
Perhaps more relevant is Brian Burke’s record at the draft. Burke’s maneuvering at the ’99 draft which landed the Canucks the 2nd and 3rd overall picks consecutively is the creative thinking the Maple Leafs could use at the upcoming Entry Draft. However, he doesn’t exactly boast a sparkling draft record. In fact it’s rather Leaf-like:
Burke’s Draft Selections in ’99: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Rene Vydareny, Ryan Thorpe, Josh Reed, Kevin Swanson, Markus Kankaanpera, Darrell Hay.
’00: Nathan Smith, Thatcher Bell, Tim Branham, Pavel Duma, Brandon Reid, Nathan Barrett, Tim Smith
’01: R.J. Umberger, Fedor Fedorov, Evgeny Gladskikh, Kevin Bieska, Jason King and Konstantin Mihailov (he fumbled contract negotiations with Umberger who then walked).
’02: Kirill Koltsov, Denis Grot, Brett Skinner, Lukas Mensator, John Laliberte, Rob McVicar, Marc-Andre Roy, Ilia Krikunov, Matt Violin, Thomas Nussli and Matt Gens
’03: Ryan Kesler, Marc-Andre Bernier, Brandon Nolan, Ty Morris, Nicklas Danielsson, Chad Brownlee, Francois-Pierre Guenet, Sergei Topol, Nathan McIver and Matthew Hansen
A viable candidate? Yes.
The next messiah of Bryan Colangelo-like proportions? Not exactly.
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Since that article in April, evidence to support the overvaluing of Burke as a GM has continued to amplify. His cap mismanagement has come to the fore, initially with the waiving of Ilya Bryzgalov almost a year ago, and most recently with the Mathieu Schneider situation. Over the summer, Burke was forced to buy out the exorbitant contract of Todd Bertuzzi, a player he overpaid in hopes of re-kindling past achievement - a theme rather familiar for this fan base. But it's not only the lingering buy-out cap hit that is cause for regret, but also the fact that Burke was partly forced to trade the talented and rising Andy MacDonald last December in order to accommodate Bertuzzi's pricey inclusion.
The decision to re-sign 39-year-old Teemu Selanne again put the Ducks above the Cap and meant that youngster Bobby Ryan wouldn't be given his first opportunity at an NHL roster spot from the outset. True, the Ducks are in a much different position than that of the Maple Leafs (should he take the reigns this summer), but even competitive teams must invest faith in their youth, renew their manpower and look beyond concerns of the current season when the time is right, as the Detroit Red Wings did when GM Ken Holland made the tough decision to go separate ways with Brendan Shanahan in order to signify a change in guard (with Zetterberg and Datsyuk taking prominence).
Additionally, the need for Burke's take-no-shit demeanor seems to be less of a necessity now that Ron Wilson is behind the bench, a man who's both surly and truculent in his own right when dealing with the media.
A man whose greatest accomplishment seemed largely the result of being in the right place at the right time seems to be the wrong GM at the wrong time for the Maple Leafs.
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