Why Brian Burke in Columbus Makes Sense

Reportedly, the Toronto Maple Leafs fired their GM Brian Burke. It was reported by Bob McKenzie and seconded by Nick Kypreos, two men who are not only in-tune the Toronto media, but hockey media overall. While the timing of this is very odd and the reports of why it happened is unknown....this is something that many owners should look at if they are unhappy with their GM.

The Burke name brings along a sense of attention, a sense of belonging, and a sense of change. There's one place that needs it the most and a place where I think Burke would thrive in with basically carte blanche-- Columbus.

Scott Howson has been a bit of a wreck for the Blue Jackets and the change of culture in Columbus with John Davidson coming into the fold could mean that Howson's days are numbered, especially after dealing their franchise player over the summer. Davidson and Burke are two powerful hockey guys and while they may have differences of opinion at times-- they both want to win and would do a lot in order to do so.

In a market like Columbus that could use a nice shot in the arm when it comes to loving professional hockey again, Brian Burke can create that. He'd be able to have some buzz around the team, get some players to come in and play for him, and put the right people in place in order to actually make it a great market. Plus, Burke has an idea of what to do in Ohio, as he late son Brendan attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Should Burke decide to wait it out until a better job comes along, TV would be the best bet for him. He doesn't have the big energy as some other personalities, his dry delivery and no-nonsense persona will make him a TV darling. He has done it once before at TSN when he was out of a job and the fans seemed to enjoy his take and the way he handle things when the camera was on him. His history from being in and out of the game is invaluable.

Whatever Burke chooses is something that people will keep an eye on and give attention to when he makes a decision one way or another. He's a persona the game cannot afford to let out of the limelight, especially not now.

The Maple Leafs' European Scouting Adventure

In an interesting story, it seems that the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to expand their network even more. From the IIHF website, the Leafs and the Zurich Lions now how a working agreement and will work closely together when it comes to scouting players from the Swiss league. The Leafs also have an agreement like this with German team Alder Mannheim.

While players who are draft-eligible aren't able to be plucked by the Leafs, all players who are older than 22 can be plucked up by the Leafs if they deem them to be worthy enough. Not only that, but Zurich and Mannheim can compare notes with the Leafs about other teams and players in their respective leagues.

First, I haven't heard this happen with many other teams-- so you have to respect the Leafs and GM Brian Burke for picking up this kind of idea and running with it. Though, it should be something expected, as Burke has gone for untapped markets before, mostly the US college ranks, and work to some success. Second, with the Swiss turning out some pretty decent NHLers (Jonas Hiller and Mark Streit) and prospects (Nino Niederreiter and Sven Bartschi), it seems like it could be the next, to pull a US college sports reference, "mid-major" country to be on the big map for development. Of course, many thought that Germany was going to be the next big thing and it fizzled a bit.

Yet, at the same time-- when it comes to European, undrafted players-- it hasn't turned out completely well. Both Fabrian Brunnstrom and Jonas Gustavsson have given less than stellar returns for the hype they got, which could turn some people off. Though, Burke is a guy who can sniff out solid talent, which could make these deal work more-- especially since he'll get notes and won't have to go on some hearsay and conjecture. Even so, you have to say that the put-off of what Brunnstrom and Gustavsson have brought could make this nothing more than a place for Burke to ship high-contract, underperforming players-- but that's just me.

All in all, it's another way for the Leafs, and mostly Brian Burke, to think outside of the box of professional scouting and also getting their foot in the door when it comes to untapped marketplaces for hockey talent. If this provides nothing of substance for the Leafs-- they still made the effort that other teams could be scared to do.

My Team USA and the Real One

If you remember last week, I talked about me and my boy J-Rock doing our picks for the Canadian team. We also did the USA team in whole and part of Russians team. Oddly enough, we did better in the USA team.

GOALIES (2 for 3)
Ryan Miller
Tim Thomas
Craig Anderson
Jonathan Quick

DEFENSEMEN (7 for 7)
Mike Komisarek
Brian Rafalski
Jack Johnson
Erik Johnson
Ryan Suter
Paul Martin
Brooks Orpik

FORWARDS (9 for 13)
Zach Parise
Phil Kessel
Patrick Kane
Dustin Brown
Ryan Malone
Paul Stastny
Ryan Kesler
Chris Drury
Jamie Langenbrunner
Brian Gionta
Mike Knuble
Erik Cole
Mike Modano
David Backes
Bobby Ryan
Ryan Callahan
Joe Pavelski

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Oddly enough, J and I realized that we couldn't come up with many Americans who would be worthy of a spot....and it looks like were were kind of right. Going 18 for 23 (78%) isn't too bad, but going all out for the defense was pretty sweet.

However, I'm surprised that Quick got the call over Anderson. Sure, it's really for the third goalie slot who may not play throughout the whole tournament; but still. Shocking how Anderson's quick rise really wasn't enough to counter Quick's rapid rise. It is what it is-- neither will play with Ron Wilson saying he'll probably ride one goalie the whole way.

The forwards were a crap shoot. I'm very surprised a guy like Gionta, who has a lot of scoring power, was overlooked. Knuble is a mucker and grind guy, but seems like Callahan is a bit more of a younger Knuble and will be in the system longer than Knuble would; which makes sense in terms of grooming him for the organization. Ryan hasn't had the best start to a year after a great rookie season, but Burke always seems to be high on him; since picking him second overall in the 2005 Draft. I guess the Backes thing is for the 13th position and can fit in anywhere. Pavelski is a under-the-radar pick that could definitely help for secondary scoring.

While we never got done the Russians, we did fairly well for guys biding our time stocking shelves. We just need a team to pick us up and make us part of management, and we're golden.

The Burke Era Begins

On Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs will announce Brian Burke as their new GM and president. Finally.

That's right, all the speculation has come to fruition and I have to say.....how anti-climatic. I mean, you would think to build up some suspense, other teams would talk to him about a front office or advisor position and really put whoever the GM was on the hot seat to actually make a move or lose their gig (COUGHbryanmurrayCOUGH), but for this to just be a matter of semantics; come on now.

But, the Leafs got their man a full half-a-season earlier than they expected. Burke will have full decision making abilities, which is something that he stated he wanted to have before he signed anything. A big question in this is the whole ordeal is who will be the first person gone once Burke takes over the position and what kind of overhaul he will make in order to make it his team and make it a successful one. Then there is the question of the clashing of egos of Burke and head coach Ron Wilson and if both can co-exist in peace.

Yet, the oversight about this could be whether this move is the best for the team right now. Looking at the team right now, they aren't doing half-bad. Sure, they're 11th in the East and the injury bug has took its toll, but all things considered-- it's better than some would have thought. If Burke comes in and makes drastic changes that don't help the team; will he still be hailed as the savior that the Leafs faithful wanted and will MLSE second guess their decision making process after all is said and done.

Of course, Burke hasn't yet taken over the helm and all scenarios are just hearsay. Burke has a Stanley Cup to his name and has been talked about like he's the greatest GM in the modern NHL, so you have think anything is a step-up from having an interim GM who is a puppet to the team's board of directors. If Burke can make the moves to make this a playoff team, then he could be the miracle man the Leafs were hoping would come free. Even if he comes close, they'll look at this as a genius move at the early jump upon things.

The thing that is known, at least for now, is that from this point until the foreseeable future; it'll never be a slow day when it comes to Toronto hockey news.

Burke Flying The Coop

In what would call a shocking move this early in the season, Brian Burke is out as GM for the Anaheim Ducks with Bob Murray replacing him in that capacity. Burke will stay on with the Ducks as a senior advisor, but will now be able to negociate freely with any NHL team for any job opening that may be available.

That's right kids, look for the Burke-to-Toronto rumors to heat up in a big way....mostly because odds are now these rumors could very well become reality in the near future.

For the Ducks side, Burke's contract was going to expire at the end of the season anyway and claimed family considerations as his excuse not to re-sign with the club after his current contract lapsed. May as well get Murray in there to learn the ropes and get the keys to the team earlier than this summer. Murray, who was a Hawks GM, was the assistant to Burke and is taking the Dave Nonis route to GMing and sliding in there due to a Burke departure. Murray just needs to hope his fate isn't the same as Nonis, who didn't have an impressive career in the Vancouver GM role.

For Burke, this will pretty much seal his fate on the worst kept secret in the NHL, which will see him in Toronto as the GM there, replacing the vintage Cliff Fletcher model-- who was just a stopgap until someone who didn't have one of the first AARP memberships that came along. It's what the media in Toronto will love because of the sound bytes that Burke will give out to the team, but it will also give the Leafs their first real, proven GM since Pat Quinn start there in 1999. Let's face it, John Ferguson Jr. really screwed over the Leafs in terms of being able to move people and Fletcher is.....well, Fletcher.

The real question is whether this is a good move for the Leafs and Burke. While it gives the Toronto fans a prominent figure in the GM role who has had a history of getting some good deals now and again; can he really make the Leafs a serious contender again?? There's plenty of claims to say that he will and that anything he can touch will turn to gold. There's the devil's advocate approach to say that this will work as well as other new, persumably high-priced talent that Leafs have brought in within the last few years....which is to say that it will turn to crap fast.

However, this is putting the cart before the horse. Burke's name hasn't even been taken off the GM's door and we're moving him to Toronto already. It's not a sure thing right now that he'll even go to Toronto, but it seems like a 85-90% chance that it'll happen sometime in the near future or end of the season. Then, if and when it does happen-- it will be disected further. And knowing the Toronto media-- it'll be disected to the littlest detail and the media vultures will enjoy every minute of it.