THN.com Blog: Brian Burke to Leafs not a dead deal
Brian Burke still has one year remaining on his contract with the Ducks. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Ken Campbell
2008-05-27 13:19:04
Conventional wisdom has suggested the Toronto Maple Leafs have moved on in their search for a GM, but there’s a very sizeable segment of the hockey community that believes Brian Burke will be running the Leafs before training camp opens in September.
Every executive I’ve spoken to over the past month says they’re convinced the Anaheim Ducks will at some point this summer free Burke from his obligations and allow him to join the Leafs.
“He’ll be there,” is a common refrain, “and he’ll be there this summer.”
Sometime around June 25, five days after the draft, is the over-under date for most executives.
Burke still hasn’t signed his contract extension and apparently has no intention of doing so. The thinking is that rather than having a lame-duck GM hanging around who clearly doesn’t want to be there, the Ducks will finally tell Burke if he wants to go to Toronto that badly, then he’d best be on his way.
And that’s a shame because not only will the Ducks lose Burke, they won’t have been able to demand any compensation for the Leafs essentially poaching him from their organization. (As an aside, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is reportedly not at all pleased the Leafs made their pursuit of Burke so public.)
It was Bettman who, three years ago, quashed the notion of compensation for hiring people under contract when Peter Chiarelli went from the front office of the Ottawa Senators to become GM of the Bruins. Suffice it to say it was something of an ugly affair and Bettman ruled then that compensation would no longer be forthcoming to teams that allowed their executives to speak to, or be hired by, other teams.
It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the law of unintended consequences is kicking in. Now the Ducks have a GM who clearly doesn’t want to be there and the only thing keeping them from letting him go where he wants is compensation.
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Makes you wonder why any team in the league would ever let one of its front office people interview with any other team.
After all, what is the upside for them? And in the end, the league ends up losing out because people who might be qualified to come in and help a team aren’t doing so because there is no compensation going back the other way.
A NOVEL IDEA
The NHL might want to consider using two pucks for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final. That way the Pittsburgh Penguins might get to play, too.
The Detroit Red Wings are two wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup not because they’ve choked the offensive power out of the Penguins, but because they’ve choked the will out of them.
And because of that, it’s going to require a choke of cataclysmic proportions for the Red Wings not to win their fourth Stanley Cup in the past 11 years.
The Red Wings haven’t allowed a goal in this series largely because the Penguins have essentially been spectators through the first two games. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin do their best work when the puck is on their sticks.
Their problem is that the Red Wings have it all the time and it’s frustrating the living daylights out of the two stars. Crosby has been valiant, but utterly flummoxed, in his attempts to get something going offensively, while Malkin hasn’t looked this bad since he lollygagged his way through the YoungStars Game at the all-star festivities in 2007.
Ken Campbell is a senior writer for The Hockey News and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears Tuesdays and Fridays and his column, Campbell's Cuts, appears Mondays.
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Maverick (Posted 2008-05-29 21:45:19)
I never really saw Montreal as a really bad team prior to the beginning of the season. They got into some kind of funk at the half way point last season, and that was the main reason Montreal missed the playoffs. All those "experts" picked Montreal so low for w/e retarded reason when the real the reason was not to get into that kind of funk last season and for Kovalev to step up.
Matthew Roberts (Posted 2008-05-29 11:09:48)
Go leafs Go....*sniff*
Maxime (Posted 2008-05-29 10:25:20)
Message to Leafs Nation : We all know that the Leafs are going down the drain for the next few years. Let's see this from another angle. You have no expectations whatsoever! Thats wonderful, and i'll tell you why. First and foremost : you never set yourself up for disappointement! If they lose, it's ok, that's what they are supposed to do. If they win, hurray, it's a good reason to celebrate. I'll use the Habs as an example. At the beginning of the season, we were supposed to be the bottom-feeder. No expectations, we were supposed to play 82 games and fold. Not only did we not fold, we won the Eastern Conference Title. Talk about gravy! Next, we got 2 rounds of playoffs. Yes, it is a small disappointement to have lost to the Flyers (when we should have lost against Pittsburgh lol), but let's face the facts. Our guys gave us an incredible season because whatever was predicted for them, we never let them down all year long. The Leafs players see the chaos their organisation is in. That chaos can stress players, whose game play will suffer. The gameplay being down a notch, it angers the fans, puting more stress on the Leafs to win. The wheel keeps on rolling, and the more the fans get angry, the more stressful it is to play, and the harder it becomes to win. So to all who talk about a boycott. Boycott Shmoycott. Get in there, chant their names even in defeat, become the 7th player the Leafs need to push themselves the extra mile. Constant bitching and moaning won't help the cause. By the way, the 7th player INCLUDES the media...
Maverick (Posted 2008-05-28 19:04:31)
This Leaf club is just a piece of sh*t. They will not win a Stanley Cup in my lifetime if this sh*t keeps up. So what if they get "good"? It won't be enough to win a Stanley Cup unless they can get Crosby like calibre players and a good supporting cast. That hasn't happened since the 1992/93 and maybe 1993/94 season. Player salaries were much lower in that day so it was much easier to build really good teams than it was today. And let me tell you people, the Leafs were good in the 1993 playoffs! They challenged teams better than they were, and did very well. But since that year, I've never saw that same energy and skill or even the fact that the Leafs were actually very close to the cup finals. 1999? 2002? Nope. Now, as I and many people see it, the radar is showing NOTHING. There is not much hope for this Leaf club. Drafting isn't good, developing is ok, team management and staff intelligence in doing the job is just horrible, and scouting is bad. You have to be good at all areas in order to win the Stanley Cup. If you hire Burke, you just partially solved the retardedness of the team management and staff intelligence. More work has to be done. Hiring Burke isn't even close to enough. I was a Leaf fan, and I stopped being a Leaf fan when I realized this MLSE is just catering to us and not trying to build a good team. A good example is when the Leafs had the chance to hire JFJ or Jim Nil (sorry if I mistyped your name) and the Leafs chose the scout with no gm exp. to an exp. assistant gm working alongside with a very good and exp. partner. Now Jim Nil says he is fine in Detroit, and has no intention of leaving. Score 0 for hiring intelligence. So you see, the Leafs are a joke, and will be for many years to come, unless some change is initiated.
Caz (Posted 2008-05-28 16:40:30)
It doesn't matter who's GM as long as Peddie and Tanenbaum are running MLSE. They are only concerned about making money for the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and Leaf fans are willing to pay huge amounts of money for a lousy product and sellout every game. I respect Leaf fans for supporting their team wether they win or lose but they need to unite and boycott games. This will never happen but they have the power to affect the bottom line and force ownership to change their ways and focus on icing a decent product.
Leafssuck (Posted 2008-05-28 15:26:47)
Even though the "Center of the Hockey Universe" is now home of the basement dwellers, we still need to hear about rumours and possibilities instead of focusing on hockey that really matters. 41 years and counting without a Cup or even Cup final, and now 3 straight years on the outside looking in when the playoffs roll around.... thats just pathetic. Burke can't save this laughing stock of a franchise, so stop praying to the hockey God's for him to be your savior.
Caz (Posted 2008-05-28 12:44:22)
Matt Roberts - The reason people spend time hating the Leafs so much is because all we read and hear from the media in the self proclaimed "center of the hockey universe" is about the Leafs regardless of wether they are winning or losing. This article is a perfect example of a hockey writer who has nothing better to write about in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs and thinks fans of 29 other teams should care about their GM situation. The Leafs will not be much better this time next year and your false sense of hope is why I feel sorry for you Leaf fans. And when they eventually do turn it around, I won't be the least bit surprised that you Leaf fans will throw it back into our old wrinkly faces. I personally hope they never become a contender because that will just give the media ammunition to provide more Leafs coverage if that's possible.
Brian (Posted 2008-05-28 12:39:03)
IS the headline to this story a typo? Did you guys actually mean to write the more approriate "Burke To Dead Leafs Not A Deal"?
Jim Reinecke (Posted 2008-05-28 11:47:37)
A little history lesson regarding the Leafs and execs jumping from one team to another: John Ferguson, Jr. was the assistant GM of the Blues when Toronto offered him the chance to be his own boss as opposed to Larry Pleau's grand vizier. . .that worked out EXTREMELY well for the Leafs, didn't it? Perhaps there's some fresh blood in the Ontario Jr. League who could bring a new perspective to the franchise. . .rather than reaching into the dubious grab-bag of the NHL's Good Ole Boys network.
Matt Roberts (Posted 2008-05-28 08:40:05)
I just love reading all the leaf bashing that goes on. I swear, people spend more time hating the leafs than they do cheering their favorite team. I just hope that they all realize that the Leafs will not remain in the sad shape they are in right now for very much longer. By this time next summer there will be the makings of a solid team in place and the club will begin its upswing. I can't wait until the Leaf fans have their turn to throw it all back in your faces.
matt (Posted 2008-05-27 21:44:33)
even with burke the leafs are not going to get any better any time soon.
Not a Leafs fan (Posted 2008-05-27 16:22:12)
I'd like to see Burke in Toronto ... and fail. Technically, his ego has already arrived to TO.
Ken (Posted 2008-05-27 14:34:07)
I'm glad Bettman doesn't like that the Leafs have been open about their pursuit of Burke. It's about time Bettman gets his dues. There is nothing and I mean absolutely nothing that Bettman does that anybody in the hockey world likes. People do things the way they do because Bettman has made such a mess of the whole league. Please make your next article about the firing of Bettman. At this point of time there is nothing as important, not even the 4 game sweep of the cry baby penguins Crosby finally finding out what it takes to be a real MAN
Jay R (Posted 2008-05-27 13:56:17)
Who cares? I hope Burke does go to Toronto because you guys will never get an interview and you'll have to write about other teams!!!!
Maxime (Posted 2008-05-27 13:52:28)
The pens are overwhelmed by the Red Wings will to win. I don't think i have seen a single player on the Wings roster taking it slow. They understand it's the final stretch, and the not holding anything back anymore. There is no way a team can hold that pace for a whole season, but the Wings understand they will have a whole summer to rest. If the Pens want to win this, they're gonna have to show it. When you get to the Finals, you don't keep some for the end. You give it all until it hurts, and when it does, you give some more. The Wings know that. The Pens will learn.
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