 | Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild |
 The first thing Brian Burke says is that he is not done.
There are still free agents who intrigue him. And there are still offers out there for Tomas Kaberle. But after a busy week of free agency in which the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager achieved his goal of bolstering the team’s forward corps, all Burke wants to do is sit back, loosen his tie and take a breather.
Looking at what the 55-year-old has managed to accomplish not just in the last two weeks, but the last six months, he seems long overdue.
Beginning on Jan. 31, Burke has made seven significant moves: there were the trades to acquire captain Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and veteran goaltender J-S Giguère. There was the trip to Finland to recruit free agent goaltender Jussi Rynnas. And then there were the moves that landed the Leafs forward Kris Versteeg, Colby Armstrong, Mike Brown and defenceman Brett Lebda.
So Burke is serious when he says his next move is to take his family to some beach in Southern California where he can dip his toes in the water and sip on a drink with a tiny umbrella in it. After that, he is heading off for his annual fishing trip with right-hand man Dave Nonis and some other friends.
The BlackBerry will be on the whole time, but Burke does not expect to receive any calls.
The question then is: What if the phone does not ring again between now until the start of the season. What if this is it?
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/Burke+takes+break+from+Leafs+rebuild/3262078/story.html
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| "Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild" | Login/Create an Account | 41 comments |
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Re: Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild (Score: 1)
by Leafland on Sunday, July 11
(User Info | Send a Message) | | I said it before, I think this group, as is, is good enough to challengefor a playoff spot, but I don't think Burke is done yet, because outside Kessel, the Leafs still don't have a go-to offesive threat. Bozak, Kulemin, potentially Kadri, and Versteeg are good secondary scoring forwards, but they lack the 1-2 punch that so many of the best teams in the league have like Chicago (Kane/Toews), Detroit (Datsyuk/Zetterberg) Pittsburgh (Crosby/Malkin), etc. Perhaps this season Bozak will break out or Kadri will step in and be that guy right away, but in reality, it's not likely. Personally, I think Kadri would benefit from a season in the AHL (unless he goes there and absolutely dominates and shows it's a waste to have him there) but I seem to be in the minority there. |
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Re: Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild (Score: 1)
by PatsLeafs on Sunday, July 11
(User Info | Send a Message) | Burkie seems like one of those guys who's always working even when on vacation.
If we go into the season with what we have, Kaberle still on the team, I think Boston will be a happy team again come June, but our younger players will have gained another year of experience and chemistry. In all honesty, I seriously doubt Burke is done
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Re: Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild (Score: 1)
by LeafsneedSteen on Sunday, July 11
(User Info | Send a Message) | All he has to do is make one call to Ilya's agent and we'd finally have a someone to build a statue of in front of the ACC. He could take the season off after that for all I care.
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Re: Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild (Score: 1)
by nordiques100 on Sunday, July 11
(User Info | Send a Message) | The Leafs have roughly 2.8 mil in cap space. Having about 2 mil in cushion is pretty good for use during the season.
they have 20 players under contract. 10 forwards, 8 defensemen, 2 goalies.
there are players who will be challenging for jobs that are not included among these 20.
they include Hanson, an RFA, Kadri, Caputi, Irwin, Rosehill. the 4 guys closest to a roster spot.
they have other prospects. but they're likely not going to make it such as those on D where the team is currently 8 deep.
the two blueliners who seem almost certain to not be in the teams plans are Kaberle and Finger.
their removal would add 7.75 mil in cap space.
Finger seems likely to be here in camp. no team will want him, including toronto. But, he may still survive cuts and be on the roster should the leafs have the cap space to fit him in. he would be the 7th dman albeit a 3.5 mil of a cap albatross of a 7th defenceman.
but, if future acquisitions eat into their cap number, finger will almost certainly be the first to get dropped.
this is what many in leaf nation is expecting.
the key date is August 15th. that is the date where Kaberle's NTC goes back into effect. With about a month to go, there is certainly a window there for Burke to sit back and wait until he can see if he can get what he wants.
Many assume its a top centre. but i believe Burke simply wants another top 6 forward. It need not be a big, skilled, top centreman that is clearly one of the Leafs biggest needs.
The team does also need more size up front, and could use it on the wing as well. they do need another impact forward to help take some pressure off of Kessel.
There is a deal to be had i think. its just that there are a few loose ends that need to be tied.
1. Kovalchuk.
once this is resolved, this should impact the Kaberle proceedings. Say he goes to jersey. If so, the devils will need to clear cap space and here, the Leafs could get involved. But in terms of Kaberle, teams could be interested in the next biggest name available, that being him, as there are teams out there who havent done much and may be looking to make a big impact move.
Lets take LA for example. if they lose Kovalchuk, they may instead turn their attention to kaberle and add depth on D with possibly bringing back Frolov too to aid up front. they have some decent prospects like a Teubert or a Hickey or an Oscar Moller to package.
2. Hjalmarsson
if the hawks match, the Sharks could be looking at kaberle as option B. maybe here the Sharks use someone like Clowe, or Setogutchi who is a RFA as part of a package.
3. Bieska
there are team certainly in the running for Bieska, the other big name blueliner available via trade so the rumours say. that sweepstakes doesnt have a deadline however. though the nucks are really deep on D and expensive and really need to move a contract on D out to get forward help.
i think a team or teams in the running who lose out on bieska will maybe turn to kaberle if they havent gone there already.
i am pretty anxious to see the kaberle saga end. i pretty confident burke will get a good deal. but i dont expect jeff carter, alex semin or bobby ryan to be wearing leaf blue next season. same goes with Kovalchuk.
i am not anticipating backes, simmonds or neal either.
savard is a longshot but still likely available.
clowe? maybe. ribiero? maybe. flieschmann? maybe. even perhaps gagner, cogliano, hodgson, are possibilities but still remote.
regardless, toronto is getting a good player or at least a good number of assets for Kaberle.
i also feel the leafs will find a way to add Torres.
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Re: Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild (Score: 1)
by Kramer on Sunday, July 11
(User Info | Send a Message) | If my sources are correct, the Leafs are not gonna make a move tonight.
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Re: Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild (Score: 1)
by TheLeafNation91 on Monday, July 12
(User Info | Send a Message) | Rumor has it that theres an offer that Burke likes for Kaberle...But he wont accept it unless someone ups the anti, so we can wait another month???lol
BTW, Jerry D'Amigo is looking unreal. He might be one of those gems that teams get lucky with, rookie of the year in the ECAC, 34 points in 35 games for RPI, an unreal tournament in 2010 juniors and being one of the most promising prospects in the camp a few days back...
Scary he's already 6 foot and 210 pounds with unreal speed and grit |
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Re: Burke takes break from Leafs' rebuild (Score: 1)
by DannyLeafs (dude@dudemail.com) on Monday, July 12
(User Info | Send a Message) | I think Burke has done an excellent job, as with any GM he has made moves that will not work out in his favor, but his good moves far outweigh his bad ones.
The team is bigger, faster and younger than the team he inherited, and also has much better prospect depth. I don't know if people really understand how bare the cupboards really were before Burke came on board.
His so called big blunder will be the Kessel deal. However as I have said before, that deal had more potential to go bad for Boston then it did Toronto. Even now, even if Seguin turns out to be a point per game center who puts up 25-30 goals a season, the Leafs won't have really lost out on that deal unless another of those picks turns out to be a solid NHL'er.
The Phaneuf deal was excellent, the Giguere deal was great, I think Caputi is worth more than any team's second, and bringing in guys like Bozak, Gustavsson, Irwin, Rynnas, and Scrivens for nothing cannot be argued as anything but positive. The Versteeg deal was great, the fact that we got another prospect back was just gravy.
In my opinion his biggest mistakes were the ones he made in his first year. He didn't get the return for Antropov he was hoping for, and he treated Kubina like a salary dump. While it's true that Kubina was making way too much, I still think they could have got something a little more from him. But these are minor gripes considering the job he has done.
Personally I think a more interesting question would be "Fletcher as interim GM, Success or failure?"
Personally I don't think he did a very good job with the Leafs in his stint in this role. First off, he never moved any of the big salaries he promised. Instead he actually pinned us with one of the worst signings in recent years (Finger). The Hagman signing was solid, but not spectacular. He then traded two struggling young roster players, for another slightly older struggling roster players. People may point out at the time he was traded that Stempniak had 13 points in 14 games, but being that he was a goal scorer having only 1 goal in that span does not look like a sign that he was coming around. I know that assists are important, but he isn't a playmaker, and wasn't likely to keep up that pace. Now Steen is finally looking like the player we hoped he could be, and Coloaicovo is finally looking like he could be a solid powerplay specialist. Meanwhile we recieved a 4th and 7th round pick for Stempniak. I think the big error in this deal was that despite their struggles, Steen and Coloaicovo weren't hurting the team by being there.
Finally, while it could be argued that going after Schenn was his most successful move, I would argue that moving up in the draft may not have been the wisest choice. First off, the team had no prospect depth, so trading away two additional picks doesn't seem like the smoothest move. Second, at the time I think he should have went with a more offensive player. It's great to get a shutdown defensemen, but when you are trying to rebuild, it's nice to start with an offensive player. With Sundin with one foot out the door, and good centers available, I think it could be argued that Fletcher would have been better off not trading up, and seeing what was available. Colin Wilson is a center with size and skill,and would have been a great addition. Cody Hodgson could have been had, and even Josh Bailey has been able to show signs that he could be a solid center. Also, if a defender was a must, he could have selected Tyler Myers 7th overall, a defensemen that was actually ranked higher then Schenn by the NHL central scouting. I am not putting the selection of Schenn down, just pointing out that it wasn't as brilliant a move as some like to think, mainly because that draft was deep, and staying where we were would likely have landed us a solid prospect no matter what. That being said, I don't look at it as a bad move per se, just not sure I agree with the logic employed at the time. I will
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