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LEAF BUZZ
by Mike "In Buffalo" Augello
WILL BURKIE COME IN LIKE A LION OR LIKE A LAMB???
It may be a major miscalculation on my part, but I am going to assume that the speculation that has been spewed forth in the last few days is true and that Brian Burke will be the next president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs before I sit down at my dinner table for turkey and stuffing. If that does not happen, it will be a clarion call that incompetence still reigns in the boardrooms at MLSE. Cliff Fletcher has done an admirable job since taking over for John Ferguson, but he is not long-term solution. The answer to ending the streak of Stanley Cup ineptitude before it reaches the half-century mark is a strong manager like Burke, someone who will demand unfettered, absolute control of hockey operations and budgetary aspects related to the hockey department. If the board at MLSE lets Burke fall through their fingers, we will be debating for years whether his presence would have helped reshape a once proud organization.
If Burke takes over, the next question is what will happen in the immediate future. Will he analyze methodically and take stock of the assets and liabilities that are currently on the Maple Leaf roster, judge them accordingly and then decide a course of action? I think not. Being an active general manager for as long as Burke has, he already knows what pitfalls await him on this roster and in this organization. For example, I would not be surprised in the slightest if one of Burke's first maneuvers would be to banish Jason Blake to the minors, relieving the Maple Leafs of the burden of his $4 million salary cap hit. Blake is an example of the errors of past administrations, which Burke holds no responsibility for. Removing an element of distraction from the locker room in a decisive way would show the board members, the organization, management and the players who is boss.
Burke will not act precipitously and slash and burn the Leaf roster of valuable commodities such as Antropov, Kaberle and Toskala. He will determine a value for these players and if the return in a trade would benefit the organization going forward, then a deal or deals will be made prior to the March 4th trade deadline. But Burke is a pragmatist and more than likely will come to the conclusion that before this team can ascend to a higher level to compete for the Stanley Cup, they must strip down the organization, trade some or most of the veterans on the current roster, bring in young, hungry and inexpensive players to build towards a strong, talented nucleus of players. This will not be a process that will take one year or two years, it will take at least three and perhaps four years to be done properly. One thing that I think has very little chance of happening is Burke bringing the prodigal son Mats Sundin back to Toronto.
The presence of Brian Burke, along with his compatriot Ron Wilson is not a guarantee of the championship in Toronto, but it will greatly enhance their chances of it happening. At the absolute least, it will be entertaining for the next three or four years to watch Al Strachan's face turn red with aggravation during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts at the mention of either man's name.
Listen in to the next edition of Leaf Buzz, Wednesday night at 7:30 pm on Talkshoe. If you would like to call in, the phone number is 724-444-7444, talk cast ID is 20944.
by Mike "In Buffalo" Augello
WILL BURKIE COME IN LIKE A LION OR LIKE A LAMB???
It may be a major miscalculation on my part, but I am going to assume that the speculation that has been spewed forth in the last few days is true and that Brian Burke will be the next president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs before I sit down at my dinner table for turkey and stuffing. If that does not happen, it will be a clarion call that incompetence still reigns in the boardrooms at MLSE. Cliff Fletcher has done an admirable job since taking over for John Ferguson, but he is not long-term solution. The answer to ending the streak of Stanley Cup ineptitude before it reaches the half-century mark is a strong manager like Burke, someone who will demand unfettered, absolute control of hockey operations and budgetary aspects related to the hockey department. If the board at MLSE lets Burke fall through their fingers, we will be debating for years whether his presence would have helped reshape a once proud organization.
If Burke takes over, the next question is what will happen in the immediate future. Will he analyze methodically and take stock of the assets and liabilities that are currently on the Maple Leaf roster, judge them accordingly and then decide a course of action? I think not. Being an active general manager for as long as Burke has, he already knows what pitfalls await him on this roster and in this organization. For example, I would not be surprised in the slightest if one of Burke's first maneuvers would be to banish Jason Blake to the minors, relieving the Maple Leafs of the burden of his $4 million salary cap hit. Blake is an example of the errors of past administrations, which Burke holds no responsibility for. Removing an element of distraction from the locker room in a decisive way would show the board members, the organization, management and the players who is boss.
Burke will not act precipitously and slash and burn the Leaf roster of valuable commodities such as Antropov, Kaberle and Toskala. He will determine a value for these players and if the return in a trade would benefit the organization going forward, then a deal or deals will be made prior to the March 4th trade deadline. But Burke is a pragmatist and more than likely will come to the conclusion that before this team can ascend to a higher level to compete for the Stanley Cup, they must strip down the organization, trade some or most of the veterans on the current roster, bring in young, hungry and inexpensive players to build towards a strong, talented nucleus of players. This will not be a process that will take one year or two years, it will take at least three and perhaps four years to be done properly. One thing that I think has very little chance of happening is Burke bringing the prodigal son Mats Sundin back to Toronto.
The presence of Brian Burke, along with his compatriot Ron Wilson is not a guarantee of the championship in Toronto, but it will greatly enhance their chances of it happening. At the absolute least, it will be entertaining for the next three or four years to watch Al Strachan's face turn red with aggravation during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts at the mention of either man's name.
Listen in to the next edition of Leaf Buzz, Wednesday night at 7:30 pm on Talkshoe. If you would like to call in, the phone number is 724-444-7444, talk cast ID is 20944.
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