The one thing that people never mention is name someone (who is avaialble) that would do or would have done a better job.
Saying, "Well whoever it was would have done better because they wouldn't have done what Burke did" doesn't count.
It is also annoying to see people complain that picks have been traded away BUT don't acknowledge the ones that have been brought in. I'm sorry but that is not fair and agenda driven. You want more picks to develop, yet when they are acquired, you don't acknowledge them and only harp on what is gone.
I see it from both sides. Two first have been traded, and yes they were traded at the wrong time. But 5 firsts have also been acquired. Yes not the quality of the two gone, but they are there, and need to be acknowledged.
Also JFJ got the Leafs close cause he inherited reminants of Quinn's playoff teams. Burke inherited JFJs wet turds of a team. People with an agenda always fail to acknowlege that, and spin it around. Ya people with opposite agendas spin it too much the other way, but seriously, JFJ inherited gold compared to Burke.
Also, had Burke traded Rask and made the Toskala trade, people with anti-Burke agendas would be up his ass so bad, but because it was JFJ who did it, not as big of a deal.
People also harp on the results. Yes they suck, and last year we saw a regression. Remember New Jersey? They saw a regression. Should Lou be fired? Before you say, well ya they were good before. Well, its cause Lou did a great job inheriting the team from.... Lou. Burke inherited a **** team from a **** GM.
And Burke's picks not making it? Cmon that is not fair. Burke's oldest pick is what, 22? And one of them, Kadri would like be in the show if not for the lockout.
Once again I invite everyone to look at everything from both sides. Burke dealt two picks that had poor timing and judgement. He still got Kessel and made deals for Phaneuf and Lupul and Gardiner.
I'm not happy we stink. But I also know that us sucking pre-2009 is not Burke's fault, so I don't put the blame on him for that. And you can't become a contender overnight. So even 2010 and 2011 its tough to blame him. Maybe he made poor decisions, but he also can't turn something around overnight, especially the junk he inherited.
I also find it unfair to the people who get mad at what he says and then he contradicts himself. Sometimes he does a piss poor job with that for sure. But also, things change, you need to adjust. It happens in real life. You are building a house and want it one way and say that his how u want it. Half way through, you run out of that style of bricks, the only thing you can do is adjust and get different bricks. I for one try not to put stock in what he says long term, cause you know what, things change and you have to adapt. I like that the man also has balls to make a move, whereas what when did JFJ make a game chanigng deal mid-season?
We screw up vs the Canucks, Burke sees enough and deals for Phaneuf. JFJ wouldn't have done that, he would have waited til the offseason and still not made a ballsy trade, but instead a medium sized one with little impact or of negative impact. Kessel deal may have a negative impact, but he had the balls to actually do it, while at this point Phaneuf and Lupul deals have been positive, and they were midseason.
Any Burke thread (or related thread which will be shifted to Burke) just ends up the same anyways. As for me, If we play hockey this year and by this time next year it is still crap, maybe I will be more angry like Bomber, Hotpws, Camacho, Disgruntled etc..
But for now I find it unfair to put the blame on the man this soon. He's made some mistakes but also done some good things. Call it luke warm.
Just look at both sides people, and don't throw the other side out the window cause you are sticking to an agenda.