Burke Fired
- Thread starter dappleganger
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Sudafederov
New member
Rob said:
Probably because Rogers owns the Sun, Bell TSN. Maybe he wasn't too keen on giving the people who just fired him an exclusive. His issues with the CBC were well documented. At the Star, he had a problem with Feschuk, so that really only left Cox. Just a guess.
Sudafederov
New member
Zee said:
Yep. I hope that in a few years, he looks back and says that this one of the best things that could have happened to him from a personal growth perspective. A little introspection, reflection, and humility oftentimes makes us better people in the long run. In his case it might just be what the doctor ordered. He's a class act in my books and I'll miss him as our GM.
x.jr.benchwarmer
New member
In the aftermath of the surprise/shock/terrific news/ of the Burke dismissal, it seems that Burke's record has been contrasted with that of JFJ. Arguably, JFJ has been one of the worst GM's in recent history. And the fact that Burke did better than JFJ in terms of some of his drafts or trades or signings really isn't valid as to whether he should have been dismissed, IMHO.
Burke made critical mistakes, right from the outset of his tenure with the Leafs. His signing of Komisarik has been really weak, compounded by the fact that it was a 'no-movement' clause. And there are still 2 more years left of watching Komi, and his battles with the puck in his own end, and lack of agility, etc. etc. Komi was really mediocre in his last year with Montreal, and it was predictable that he wasn't going to be much better with the Leafs, nor has he been.
Burke's lack of foresight in lottery-protecting the draft choices in the Kessel trade was truly a terrible lack of judgment. He thought that the talent level on the Leafs was better than it was 3 years ago. In trading for Kessel, he also misjudged the fact that he really isn't a player that the Leafs can build around unfortunately. Although Kessel's upside is terrific, even with his goal scoring over the past 3 years, the Leafs of course haven't made the playoffs.
Burke could never get a goaltender after 4 years, and one commentator indicated it was the same thing with the Canucks when he stubbornly insisted on going with Dan Cloutier, who was mediocre.
And compounding everything, IMHO, is his ego, and hubris, and bombastic manner, which really didn't help the Leafs cause. In fact, challenging a GM to a fight cannot really help the Leafs making a trade with that team in the future.
In listening to XM radio recently, 'Boomer" [sic.] on the NHL channel was really upset with the timing of the firing. But, realistically, knowing more of the machinations behind the scene, and the fact that it took a bit of time for the owners, and by extension the Directors, to be on the same page, it now makes sense to terminate him when they did. And it is such a slippery slope, IMHO, to worry about the owners 'interfering' with hockey decisions, since every owner understandably had every right to challenge his decisions, and his direction, and plan, given his unquestionably poor 4 year record.
And finally, his teams only (I believe)had 1 season in which their record was better than JFJ's, so his dismal performance based on team standings alone justified the firing, if not even sooner.
I acknowledge that this has been somewhat of a rant, but it was after hearing so much from so many commentators about the fact that the timing and methodology of his firing was unfair.
Burke made critical mistakes, right from the outset of his tenure with the Leafs. His signing of Komisarik has been really weak, compounded by the fact that it was a 'no-movement' clause. And there are still 2 more years left of watching Komi, and his battles with the puck in his own end, and lack of agility, etc. etc. Komi was really mediocre in his last year with Montreal, and it was predictable that he wasn't going to be much better with the Leafs, nor has he been.
Burke's lack of foresight in lottery-protecting the draft choices in the Kessel trade was truly a terrible lack of judgment. He thought that the talent level on the Leafs was better than it was 3 years ago. In trading for Kessel, he also misjudged the fact that he really isn't a player that the Leafs can build around unfortunately. Although Kessel's upside is terrific, even with his goal scoring over the past 3 years, the Leafs of course haven't made the playoffs.
Burke could never get a goaltender after 4 years, and one commentator indicated it was the same thing with the Canucks when he stubbornly insisted on going with Dan Cloutier, who was mediocre.
And compounding everything, IMHO, is his ego, and hubris, and bombastic manner, which really didn't help the Leafs cause. In fact, challenging a GM to a fight cannot really help the Leafs making a trade with that team in the future.
In listening to XM radio recently, 'Boomer" [sic.] on the NHL channel was really upset with the timing of the firing. But, realistically, knowing more of the machinations behind the scene, and the fact that it took a bit of time for the owners, and by extension the Directors, to be on the same page, it now makes sense to terminate him when they did. And it is such a slippery slope, IMHO, to worry about the owners 'interfering' with hockey decisions, since every owner understandably had every right to challenge his decisions, and his direction, and plan, given his unquestionably poor 4 year record.
And finally, his teams only (I believe)had 1 season in which their record was better than JFJ's, so his dismal performance based on team standings alone justified the firing, if not even sooner.
I acknowledge that this has been somewhat of a rant, but it was after hearing so much from so many commentators about the fact that the timing and methodology of his firing was unfair.
hockeyfan1
New member
x.jr.benchwarmer said:
From a pure hockey perspective -- a.k.a. winning/playoffs/on-ice success in all departments (coaches, assistants, players/prospects/drafters/acquisitions/trades,etc.) -- perhaps Burke's dismissal was in part justified. Perhaps the BoGs didn't see him having any greater success with the current team than he didn't already have before.
If there is one area where I fault Burke this season is the goaltending situation. This will turn out to be the Leafs 'achiles heel'
should James Reimer, whom Burke professed to harbour complete faith in, falters again. A huge question mark hangs here, what with backup Ben Scrivens still completely unproven in NHL terms.
A solid or semi- reliable starter is what the Leafs are in desperate need of -- someone who can take the enormous pressure off of other two netminders (Reimer & Scrivens) so that they can continue to develop at a better pace.
Luongo comes to mind, but his monstrous contract wouldn't make one feel comfortable in the $ department (in which Burke was an unwilling participant in on account of that as well). It didn't have to come down to a Luongo when there were other goaltenders available back in the summer that could have possibly been had for a lot less $.
Oh, well. Leave it up to Nonis to solve the goaltending puzzle, otherwise worse for worse, just take a chance on Reimer and hope & pray all is fine.
Well i just love the timing of this. Smacks of revenge from somewhere within the ivory tower of corp Bell/Rogers.
Who cares the Leafs are off to their usual start. Turmoil.
Expect more Turmoil.
Little results, but lot's of Turmoil.
Same ole same ole.
I won't be watching much hockey if any this season.
Who cares the Leafs are off to their usual start. Turmoil.
Expect more Turmoil.
Little results, but lot's of Turmoil.
Same ole same ole.
I won't be watching much hockey if any this season.
Exile on Bay St
New member
I'm of the opinion that the high-powered suits who just bought this shiny new toy wanted more control than Burke was willing to give them. It took the last bunch of "smartest guys in the room" about 4 years to figure out they should hire a hockey guy and then stand back and let him do his job. I wonder how long it will take this latest bunch? In any case, we're right back to where we started, and it's "deja vue all over again."
OldTimeHockey
Active member
Zee said:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W5pq4bIzIw[/youtube]
GhostofPotvin29
New member
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/2013/01/30-thoughts-corey-perry-ryan-getzlaf-take-priority-on-ducks.html
Zee
Active member
Deebo said:
Hopefully that's the case. It's all great to have "principals" and say you don't want to circumvent the cap, make offer sheets etc, but if there are ways of doing it under the current system, 29 other GMs are using those tools and one isn't. That puts the Leafs at a disadvantage. I never understood why Burke was so adamant on certain ways of going after players. Look at Sather, he throws money around like a drunk sailor but still finds a way to get rid of bad contracts and finally ice a good team (ok it took him a long time)
maplesyrup
New member
@mirtle
More behind the scenes info on the Burke firing: ?There is a war going on at MLSE right now.? http://bit.ly/X16XMK
"Firing Mr. Burke not only points to new management of Maple Leafs, but also to an act of solidarity against an MLSE shareholder who has been a dominant force on the board for years. Construction magnate Larry Tanenbaum, who owns 25 per cent of the company and has been chairman since 2003, was vigorously opposed to dismissing Mr. Burke, according to a source familiar with the situation."
Ugh.
More behind the scenes info on the Burke firing: ?There is a war going on at MLSE right now.? http://bit.ly/X16XMK
"Firing Mr. Burke not only points to new management of Maple Leafs, but also to an act of solidarity against an MLSE shareholder who has been a dominant force on the board for years. Construction magnate Larry Tanenbaum, who owns 25 per cent of the company and has been chairman since 2003, was vigorously opposed to dismissing Mr. Burke, according to a source familiar with the situation."
Ugh.
bustaheims
Active member
Rob said:
It's Mirtle, which means there's a lot of hyperbole going on there.
Corn Flake
New member
Rob said:
Ugh indeed. Here we go again with bizarro ownership issues. Almost makes the Teachers seem like ideal owners compared to this stuff.
BlueWhiteBlood
New member
bustaheims said:
Right, but I kind of knew from the start that this was George Cope and not Tannenbaum. Burke made a point of thanking the Tannenbaum's a few times during his presser, you just got the sense that this in-fighting was actually going on.
I think we're in for a whole list of new disasters with Bell and Rogers at the helm. When I first heard that the Teacher's portion was up for sale, I was hoping that somehow, Tannenbaum would come up with the capital to buy them out. I guess that is a lot for anybody to come up with, if he even wanted to own them outright.
We also knew from the start that there was more to this story.