Maple Leafs Better Under Brian Burke?

by Alan Adams

Filed under: Maple Leafs

It's been two years since Brian Burke became general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. His arrival was akin to the election of a new Pope, minus the puffs of smoke that signal a new pontiff has been selected by the College of Cardinals.

The sad sack Maple Leafs, a team that last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, was getting more than your average hockey man.

They were getting one that had sipped champagne from the Holy Grail, a bona fide mover and shaker who showed he had a knack of making something out of nothing, and one that spoke in terms that impressed the dickens out of the members of Leafs Nation.

"We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence," Burke said then. "That's how our teams play."

That's a lot to live up to.

Two years into the Burke era, the affable GM is still trying to make chicken salad from ... well, definitely not that bad but you get the picture.

Two years into the Burke era, Leaf fans are still waiting for the turnaround to happen. They have seen players come and go, watched as Burke tried to change the culture, to bring in winners.

And the reward has been ... just check the standings.

 

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