Arena The Toronto Maple Leafs Thread

Well, since Boba_Fett_2001 is too shy, here it goes:

A once iconic franchise, reduced to desperate straits recently, mainly because of bad front office personnel.

Last Cup: 1967.

Unfortunately, suffered for years from ownership that knows that the team will make money no matter what, and therefore, they didn't bother to spend the money to make the team better.

Recently hired Brian Burke as GM, which is a step in the right direction. However, as any Canuck fan can tell you, Burke is a good trader, but is not much of a drafter; however, since he's starting at the bottom, he doesn't have to be good for awhile.

He says it will take five years.

What do you think?

Note: the Leafs are acutely unpopular in the rest of the country because HNIC is Leaf-centric, and we have to watch crappy Leaf games all season long. This is because the major population base is Southern Ontario. Ratings, you know. If the Leafs improved, it might not be so bad. We'll see. When asked how to improve hockey in Canada, Fred Shero once said: "Ban Leaf games." Snarky but true.

 

Why, WHY did you make this thread?

 

Thanks.

Burke no good with draft picks? Sedin twins, Jonas Hiller, Bobby Ryan....

Edit: And I'm not shy, it's just that I can almost guarantee it'll be mostly you and me posting here which is not what I want (nothing against you of course, I just want more people who will regularly contribute.

 

Because I'm nasty by nature. And because I used to be a Leaf fan.

 

Have the Canucks gone beyond the second round lately? Nope.

 

Has Anaheim won the Stanley Cup lately? Yes.

If Vancouver wins tonight, they'll win game 7.

 

Anaheim got to the Cup on the previous GM's drafts.

 

Every defenceman on the team was brought in by Burke. And like I said he drafted guys like Hiller and Ryan who have been amazing for the team this year. If they had just played Hiller in net throughout the year instead of Giguere they would have been a top 5 team in the West easily.

 

He's good at trades, and he's popular with players.

And the Toronto press will *love* him.

 

Evaluating a GM isn't just based on what they do, it's also what they don't do. Okay, he didn't draft a lot of the Anaheim players but he kept them. For all we know, previous management could have considered trading them.

 

I *never* said he was a bad GM; just that he's a poor drafter, especially if you need to find gold in the lower rounds.

 

But he's not a poor drafter. He may not be the best but he's far from poor and I gave you examples. I'm sure if I did a little research I could find more but those players immediately came to my mind.

 

Okay, look at the *total* Canucks drafts vis a vis the successful ones.

Burke no Draft Genius

 

Thanks for the thread Zaz, although it might be a little slow until the Draft/Free agency.

The Leafs will make the playoffs in 09/10. It is known.

If I were Tavares, I'd pull a Eric Lindros/Eli Manning.

 

That article is basically saying what I'm saying. He's certainly not the best at drafting but he is by no means poor.

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Not a fan?

 

Rumours of Burke trading for Tampa's 2nd overall pick and Ryan Malone. The road to Tavares has begun.....

 

The rumoured deal is the 7th pick, Kaberle, and Schenn for Tampa's 2nd pick and Malone. I'm okay with Kaberle going but I really don't want to see Schenn moved.

Personally I think he should try to get the 5th pick, which belongs to LA. They've been stockpiling young players for years now and could afford to give up the pick for some veterans like Kaberle. And there's a strong possibility they could get Schenn's brother, Brayden, at #5.

 

I would not make that deal. I would also not draft Brayden Schenn just because we have his brother. If he is a legitamate #5, then ok, but his last name should not raise his status.


Just heard on TSN that Burke phoned Luke and told him he would not trade him.

 

He is a legitimate #5 pick and more importantly he's the type of player Burke loves. A highly skilled forward with a strong physical presence.

http://tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=7045 (#6)

2008-09 Stats: 70 GP, 32 G, 88 PTS
Scouting Ranking
International Scouting Services: No. 5
Central Scouting Bureau: No. 4 (North America)

 

Did Burke keep the Leaf scouts?

 

God I hope not.

 

They were better than the ones he refused to change in Vancouver, believe me.

 

Peter Zezel passes away after long battle with blood disorder

R.I.P.