Kukla's Korner Hockey
Experienced Players Needed In Toronto
by Paul on 06/21/12 at 01:14 PM ET
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from Mike Brophy of Sportsnet,
...At the end of the day, however, Burke has not kept his word. The Leafs are not a big team. They are not hard to play against. More importantly, they have not made the playoffs in Burke’s three-and-a-half years on the job. Goaltending cost them a playoff spot this past season and penalty killing continues to be the club’s downfall.
Burke is no fool. He knows as well as anyone else that a failure to make the playoffs next season would lead to his demise in Toronto. No playoffs—no job; it is that simple.
“He’s no different than any other GM in the league,” said a rival general manager. “This business is about winning. We all feel the pressure to win. Think (Detroit’s) Kenny Holland isn’t feeling pressure to win? He has won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings, but the pressure to win never goes away. There just may be a little more desperation for Burke, though.”
That’s why Burke will do everything in his power this weekend to make significant changes to his roster by adding veterans who can give coach Randy Carlyle the best opportunity to succeed playing his puck-control system. He’ll have the same agenda come July 1 when the free agency madness kicks in.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
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As much as I dislike Burke for his bluster, I don’t see how 3 years is enough to turn around the Leafs franchise. If he is atempting of the media believes you can build a winner in 3 seasons then they are all delusional. The biggest hope for the rest of the NHL is that Burke attempts every shortcut to build a winner, since it will put them back to where they started in no time.
Posted by hockey1919 from mid-atlantic on 06/21/12 at 02:34 PM ET