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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • Fan 590 •
TORONTO (June 30) – After hosting Hockey Central at Noon on THE FAN-590 Monday, I engaged in a brief debate with a colleague of mine at the radio station. Cornering me in a hallway outside the producers’ office, this gentleman asked, “So, what do you think of your pal Burkie?” in an obvious reference to last weekend’s National Hockey League draft in Montreal.
“My PAL, Burkie?” I replied, figuring such a term of endearment from Brian Burke – the Maple Leafs’ general manager – would never apply to me.
“Yeah, good old Burkie. The way I see it, he’s oh-for-two – at the trade deadline and the draft. Think he’ll make it oh-for-three in free agency?”
“You know what? You’re wrong,” I shot back. “As far as I’m concerned, Burke is a perfect two-and-oh so far. He’s gone through the trade deadline and the draft weekend without giving up any part of the Leafs’ future. When was the last time that happened?”
End of conversation.
If not for the bluster that emanates from Burke in every media gathering, most fans of the hockey team would likely be satisfied with the conservative approach he’s taken in his initial restructuring effort. Brian has only himself to blame for those in the club’s enormous group of worshipers that feel short-changed after the trade deadline and draft. That big-name players were not acquired by the Maple Leafs comes across as a flaw or point of weakness when, in fact, it is precisely the tactic Burke should deploy at this stage of the club’s development.
Now, Burke must quarrel with another of his recent claims… that the Maple Leafs will “spend to the cap limit” before next season, beginning with unrestricted free agency on Wednesday – echoing the words of CEO Richard Peddie from previous years. This has been a peculiar and thoroughly unproductive strategy by the club in the post-lockout NHL; it is somehow considered a badge of honor among those at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to exhaust their hockey payroll – perhaps as a way of saying “We tried, didn’t we?” when the inevitable downfall occurs.
Burke has to rise above such nonsense and continue on his current path. Building the club in a slow, methodical fashion may not generate the headlines he seems to crave, nor will it provide Leaf fans with a burst of artificial excitement that is common with the “quick-fix” slant. Imagine the attention Burke would command if he were able to wrest the Sedin twins out of Vancouver this week. He’d be trumpeted by print and electronic media across the land; his image appearing in newspapers in every province and territory. John Ferguson went after the same “jolt” when he broke into the vault to sign Jason Blake two summers ago. It was something the Maple Leafs just had to do.
But, no club in the modern-day NHL has failed so miserably and repeatedly by trying to “buy” a winner. Curtis Joseph, Steve Thomas, Gary Roberts, Shayne Corson, Alexander Mogilny, Eric Lindros and others provided the Leafs some star power through the years, but were never able to lift the club beyond the conference final. Purchasing such lucrative commodities in free agency allowed the franchise to display its financial might, but it came at the unlimited expense of player development. And that shortfall has been almost solely responsible for a record playoff drought since 2004.
It’s the reason Burke has to do his utmost to resist temptation this week. A number of distinguished names will be available on the open market, but none will lift the Maple Leafs into the Promised Land. At least, not yet. Furthermore, signing expensive free agents will diminish the ice time required for the club’s growing list of youngsters to prove whether they belong in the NHL.
Burke added college stars Christian Hanson and Tyler Bozak toward the end of last season. He’s made a strong pitch for Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson. He drafted a junior stud in Nazem Kadri over the weekend. Jiri Tlusty flourished in the minors last season and has earned a full-time shot at the big league. So has Anton Stralman. Windsor junior Dale Mitchell should make a strong pitch to earn a place on the club in training camp. Nikolai Kulemin showed promise as a rookie and Burke would do well to retain Mikhail Grabovski.
These are the players the Leafs have to build around in the coming years. More prospects will likely be acquired in exchange for veteran parts on the current team; addition through subtraction should be a major part of the Leafs’ restructuring. Most of all, Burke must hang onto every bit of the club’s future. He acquired Hanson and Bozak; drafted Kadri, and would land Gustavsson without giving up a living, breathing soul. Tlusty, Stralman, Mitchell, Kulemin and Grabovski were dropped into his lap by prior regimes. This is the way to build in the post-lockout NHL, but it isn’t an overnight venture.
Nor is it a suggestion that Burke sit out the free agent sweepstakes on Wednesday. All I’m recommending is that he continues down the path of conservatism, as monotonous as it may seem. If I were Burke, I’d attempt to add a solid defenseman and some toughness up front. Francois Beauchemin and Chris Neil would do the trick and would leave the club plenty of cap room. If he wants to add some punch to the club’s attack, Richmond Hill native Mike Cammalleri would probably listen to an overture, and is young enough to be part of a contending Leafs team in the next half-decade.
But, Burke has to be careful when adding veteran players. If the Leafs, say, improve by six points next season and still miss the playoffs by seven, they’ll remain in competitive limbo and continue to hover in the worst strategic place in the standings. Putting together a club for 2009-10 is therefore an inexact science and that’s why I’d throw open the door to any and all youthful elements – the sort that can be obtained by trading the likes of Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina. Other parts can be exchanged for still-young players such as Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky — both of whom need a change of address.
Brian Burke has a number of options available to him.
He should not feel compelled to try and fast-track a winning team via free agency.
Those that preceded him in the Maple Leafs’ highest chair proved the folly of that plan.
E-mail howard.berger@rci.rogers.com
“My PAL, Burkie?” I replied, figuring such a term of endearment from Brian Burke – the Maple Leafs’ general manager – would never apply to me.
“Yeah, good old Burkie. The way I see it, he’s oh-for-two – at the trade deadline and the draft. Think he’ll make it oh-for-three in free agency?”
“You know what? You’re wrong,” I shot back. “As far as I’m concerned, Burke is a perfect two-and-oh so far. He’s gone through the trade deadline and the draft weekend without giving up any part of the Leafs’ future. When was the last time that happened?”
End of conversation.
If not for the bluster that emanates from Burke in every media gathering, most fans of the hockey team would likely be satisfied with the conservative approach he’s taken in his initial restructuring effort. Brian has only himself to blame for those in the club’s enormous group of worshipers that feel short-changed after the trade deadline and draft. That big-name players were not acquired by the Maple Leafs comes across as a flaw or point of weakness when, in fact, it is precisely the tactic Burke should deploy at this stage of the club’s development.
Now, Burke must quarrel with another of his recent claims… that the Maple Leafs will “spend to the cap limit” before next season, beginning with unrestricted free agency on Wednesday – echoing the words of CEO Richard Peddie from previous years. This has been a peculiar and thoroughly unproductive strategy by the club in the post-lockout NHL; it is somehow considered a badge of honor among those at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to exhaust their hockey payroll – perhaps as a way of saying “We tried, didn’t we?” when the inevitable downfall occurs.
Burke has to rise above such nonsense and continue on his current path. Building the club in a slow, methodical fashion may not generate the headlines he seems to crave, nor will it provide Leaf fans with a burst of artificial excitement that is common with the “quick-fix” slant. Imagine the attention Burke would command if he were able to wrest the Sedin twins out of Vancouver this week. He’d be trumpeted by print and electronic media across the land; his image appearing in newspapers in every province and territory. John Ferguson went after the same “jolt” when he broke into the vault to sign Jason Blake two summers ago. It was something the Maple Leafs just had to do.
But, no club in the modern-day NHL has failed so miserably and repeatedly by trying to “buy” a winner. Curtis Joseph, Steve Thomas, Gary Roberts, Shayne Corson, Alexander Mogilny, Eric Lindros and others provided the Leafs some star power through the years, but were never able to lift the club beyond the conference final. Purchasing such lucrative commodities in free agency allowed the franchise to display its financial might, but it came at the unlimited expense of player development. And that shortfall has been almost solely responsible for a record playoff drought since 2004.
It’s the reason Burke has to do his utmost to resist temptation this week. A number of distinguished names will be available on the open market, but none will lift the Maple Leafs into the Promised Land. At least, not yet. Furthermore, signing expensive free agents will diminish the ice time required for the club’s growing list of youngsters to prove whether they belong in the NHL.
Burke added college stars Christian Hanson and Tyler Bozak toward the end of last season. He’s made a strong pitch for Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson. He drafted a junior stud in Nazem Kadri over the weekend. Jiri Tlusty flourished in the minors last season and has earned a full-time shot at the big league. So has Anton Stralman. Windsor junior Dale Mitchell should make a strong pitch to earn a place on the club in training camp. Nikolai Kulemin showed promise as a rookie and Burke would do well to retain Mikhail Grabovski.
These are the players the Leafs have to build around in the coming years. More prospects will likely be acquired in exchange for veteran parts on the current team; addition through subtraction should be a major part of the Leafs’ restructuring. Most of all, Burke must hang onto every bit of the club’s future. He acquired Hanson and Bozak; drafted Kadri, and would land Gustavsson without giving up a living, breathing soul. Tlusty, Stralman, Mitchell, Kulemin and Grabovski were dropped into his lap by prior regimes. This is the way to build in the post-lockout NHL, but it isn’t an overnight venture.
Nor is it a suggestion that Burke sit out the free agent sweepstakes on Wednesday. All I’m recommending is that he continues down the path of conservatism, as monotonous as it may seem. If I were Burke, I’d attempt to add a solid defenseman and some toughness up front. Francois Beauchemin and Chris Neil would do the trick and would leave the club plenty of cap room. If he wants to add some punch to the club’s attack, Richmond Hill native Mike Cammalleri would probably listen to an overture, and is young enough to be part of a contending Leafs team in the next half-decade.
But, Burke has to be careful when adding veteran players. If the Leafs, say, improve by six points next season and still miss the playoffs by seven, they’ll remain in competitive limbo and continue to hover in the worst strategic place in the standings. Putting together a club for 2009-10 is therefore an inexact science and that’s why I’d throw open the door to any and all youthful elements – the sort that can be obtained by trading the likes of Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina. Other parts can be exchanged for still-young players such as Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky — both of whom need a change of address.
Brian Burke has a number of options available to him.
He should not feel compelled to try and fast-track a winning team via free agency.
Those that preceded him in the Maple Leafs’ highest chair proved the folly of that plan.
E-mail howard.berger@rci.rogers.com
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