Burke out - Good or Bad?

[SprDaVE]

The job he did just wasn't good enough.

But like other people said, the timing wasn't right.

 

[achtungbaby]

The job he did just wasn't good enough.

But like other people said, the timing wasn't right.

Agreed, the timing stunk. However, if the Leafs were a better team today, Burke doesn't get fired, end of story. We can come up with conspiracy theories until the cows come home, but this team simply wasn't good enough.

 

[Smif]

I can't figure out why'd you be fine with taking on Luongo's contract but be against signing a player like Brad Richards to the same contract.

 

[Pyrophorus]

I am irate at MLSE!!!!!!!!!!! How do they fire a guy who helped craft this new CBA!!!!!!!!

I bet that they were negotiating his contract extension and Burke wanted 5 years and MLSE would only give him 2 or 3 years... Then it got ugly and they decided to axe him...

So Fing stupid!!!! We are going to regret this move for decades....

I can definitely see this. The last thing the ownership needs to be
are the loudmouths on Leaf talk.

 

[ULF_55]

The firing brought back many posters, so it is good to see the names again.

 

[ULF_55]

The job he did just wasn't good enough.

But like other people said, the timing wasn't right.

I wonder if the timing is perfect.

A short season so it he missed the playoffs the argument is it was a short season so can't judge him on it.

If he got in the playoffs the same argument applies.

If they are wanting to change direction, perhaps a short season insulates the product, and people are just glad hockey is back so there's that short period of time where results are kind of irrelevant.

And of course there is all the other stuff that won't be brought into the light of day that some people have hinted at. If some of this is true then there was never going to be a good time.

 

[daveleaf]

It doesn't matter about timing. This is about winning a Stanley Cup. How many fans honestly believed Burke would build a cup winner here? I will back Nonis, seems like he was behind most of the deals anyways. We have some good pieces, I hope he continues on the process and building.

 

[Commander Clueless]

I'm mostly indifferent about Burke being fired.

When he came in, Fletcher had stripped the team bare and without much in terms of young assets to show for it except for one Luke Schenn. This was the beginning of the process.

When Burke came in he changed the direction and moved us towards a young playoff team. He tried to get the best of both worlds - a young team that could compete - without waiting. He failed to do this.

To me Burke lacked direction. It was confusing for a fan like me to understand where he was going. Was it rebuilding? Was it "re-tooling" on the fly? Was it an immediate push for the playoffs? No, it was all of the above.

It was chaos.

My issue is the timing makes no sense although Dreger made a few good points on TSN about why they would do it now...but still, they should have done it earlier if they had already decided.

Nonis has a history of good trades but bad contract signings. Hopefully, his support staff can help him with the latter and hopefully he can do what Burke did not and instill a team direction and stick with it.

Despite the chaos Burke did a lot of good for the team. He did some questionable things too. Hopefully Nonis can build on what Burke did.

My two cents.

 

[ACC1224]

It doesn't matter about timing. This is about winning a Stanley Cup. How many fans honestly believed Burke would build a cup winner here? I will back Nonis, seems like he was behind most of the deals anyways. We have some good pieces, I hope he continues on the process and building.

Isn't that contradictory? Did the fire the wrong guy?

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

(...)
All in all, I still see Burke as a good GM. I just think he started from the wrong premise. If he'd rebuilt, he'd have been successful. He was successful in Vancouver and Anaheim... 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

What about Hartford?

 

[MapleLeafGardens*]

So what happens to Burkie's Dog House? lol

 

[Frankie]

I can't figure out why'd you be fine with taking on Luongo's contract but be against signing a player like Brad Richards to the same contract.

easy answer to that one. you think luongo can help your team more than richards can.

 

[JEI]

I would have liked to see what Burke could have done with the new CBA. Just due to the fact the new CBA has some features in it that he seemed to push the last few years - so I wanted to see how creative he could have been.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

(...)
When my son was born... that was a special day. But it didn't feel NEARLY as special as today.

(...)QUOTE]

Hopefully, that's a literary device.

Otherwise, it's pathetic and I wouldn't want to be you when he grows up and reads this...

 

[Bleed Blue and White]

Well I was disappointed he was fired the way he was. If MLSE had waited 5 months and we missed the playoffs then they could have easily said, the results weren't there, it's time to make a change. The way this was done they didn't even try to pass this off as a hockey decision. Essentially it came across as, someone (people) on the Board didn't like him, so he has to go. In my view, that's not a legitimate reason to fire someone (call me an idealist). Seeing as not many here believe we were going to make the playoffs anyways, what difference does waiting 5 months make? Especially since Nonis is taking over anyways, it's not as though we're going to see a monumental shift in direction. Waiting would have given the board a legitimate hockey reason to fire him with no controversy whatsoever, outside of the usual debate, should he have been fired that is.

 

[JSn0w93]

So what happens to Burkie's Dog House? lol

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Thoroughly ECSTATIC that Burke is no longer the Leafs' GM! lol

I never wanted him as the Leafs' GM in the first place. Too bad he's not completely out of the organization yet, though.

They simply put him on a shelf... Gainey was also a "special advisor" for the Habs.

He has a contract and still need to pay him.

 

[TrueBlue86]

I wonder why they removed it. Isn't he still a special advisor with the franchise?

 

[Snow Dog]

The Sens seem like a great turncoat option right now...

Save for the fact that the NHL blacks out all the games.

You just can't win as a person in this region.

The NHL doesn't black out the games,not enough fans in the seats is what blacks-out the games.All games vs the leafs or habs are televised because they are sold out.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Real Leaf fans aren't happy. Poll speaks volumes. (...)

Way to demonize part of the fan base...

 

[RonEllisFan]

It's a touch naive to think that this was all based on a draft pick centered in a Luongo deal.

When Tanenbaum has a rueful smile on his face entering a Governer's meeting in NY knowing that he's on camera and that the Leafs are holding a press conference at the same time, you know that this is very personal.

Also - if Burke wanted conditions on the pick, there's absolutely no logical reason for ownership to have prevented that. There's probably no way ownership even get involved in a decision to protect a pick

I said one of the points, not all of it.

 

[Johny Drama]

So what happens to Burkie's Dog House? lol

Dave's Dogs?

 

[trellaine201]

Hate theoll question and lack of wording :-p, hate rogers/bell more. Way to corporate. It will be 9 yrs and counting.

 

[4evaBlue]

Agreed, the timing stunk. However, if the Leafs were a better team today, Burke doesn't get fired, end of story. We can come up with conspiracy theories until the cows come home, but this team simply wasn't good enough.

I get that the "realists" love the fact that Burke's fired because he chose not to tank 4 years ago. What I don't get is how they do not realize that had he decided to tank, and try stockpile #1 picks (would have been tough with Oilers winning all the lotteries), he would have been fired, anyways.

It was clear from the presser that the issue wasn't with direction the team was taking, and the team would not "change gears". We essentially have the same franchise mindset with a different figurehead/puppet in charge.

 

[Espher]

I really don't want to wade into this self-congratulatory, masturbatory "I told you so" happening going on, but I just want to say that my vote is "bad", and not necessarily because of anything having to do with Burke going out (even though I was one of the people who wanted to give the short season to see how things progressed).

It's a "bad thing" for me because of the timing, the circumstances, and the entire vibe of the press conference. Screaming meddling ownership, and after how things went with TFC of late -- and with the Leafs last time we had meddling ownership (sell all youth to make playoffs, miss playoffs, end up with very limited prospect pool/declining NHL roster) -- I'm less than optimsitic about how things are going forward.

Probably wouldn't have cared if they'd turfed him at the end of last season and/or at the end of this one and made a push for a new direction, but shoving him out the door and changing nothing else worries me quite a bit.