The Brian Burke Thread

[crazyperfectdevil]

Just watched the press conference. I've never, ever heard more complacency from a team in this sort of situation.

is there an example of a more appropriate press conference that you'd like to share?  because i can't say i remember too many teams using such an occasion for the GM to come out and say ...this team is crap..it's not going anywhere ...we didn't make any deals today and that's because i ..brian burke...hate the people of toronto and want to see the leafs fail ...

like i don't know ...i just haven't seen many of those

 

[Kin]

is there an example of a more appropriate press conference that you'd like to share?  because i can't say i remember too many teams using such an occasion for the GM to come out and say ...this team is crap..it's not going anywhere ...we didn't make any deals today and that's because i ..brian burke...hate the people of toronto and want to see the leafs fail ...

like i don't know ...i just haven't seen many of those

Oh I see. You've decided to take what i said and run with it to a humorous extreme! What a delightful way to start a discussion. No, you're right. I've never heard a press conference like that either. I must be wrong in what I said.

We've got a real Jonathan Swift on our hands here.

 

[Mikhail Bloodnovsky]

Just watched the press conference. I've never, ever heard more complacency from a team in this sort of situation.

Yeah, I agree. He's also very good at twisting the truth. "The team dominated for stretches." Not really, just at the beginning of the season. They've been a .500 team the rest of the way, and times even worse than that.

Did he mention again that our D's average age is 23? I remember last year he repeated that fabrication so many times.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't in this market!

I remember quite a few years where we would trade draft picks and prospects by the bushel for guys like Glen Wesley, Tom Barrasso, old Brian Leetch, Owen Nolan, ancient Phil Housley etc. etc only to fall short every time and be left with a bare cupboard.

Now we actually have a few draft picks and prospects stocked up and everyone wants to sell off a bunch so we can maybe squeek into a playoff spot!

I don't know about the rest of you but I don't want to see a 10th place Leafs team sell off 4 high picks and prospects just for a guy like Rick Nash! Its not worth filling 1 hole if you are going to open up 3-4 more IMO.

We've been out of the playoffs this long so whats another year or two and lets build this thing right?
I still think this years team may sneak into the last spot and hey if not I'm all for a coaching change at season's end.

I've seen the crazy moves that have been made over the last 10-15 years just to appease the fan base and so while I'm not Burke's biggest fan I have to give him credit for not giving into the enormous pressure this market generates.

Lets stay the course and do this thing right for a change!

 

[crazyperfectdevil]

is there an example of a more appropriate press conference that you'd like to share?  because i can't say i remember too many teams using such an occasion for the GM to come out and say ...this team is crap..it's not going anywhere ...we didn't make any deals today and that's because i ..brian burke...hate the people of toronto and want to see the leafs fail ...

like i don't know ...i just haven't seen many of those

Oh I see. You've decided to take what i said and run with it to a humorous extreme! What a delightful way to start a discussion. No, you're right. I've never heard a press conference like that either. I must be wrong in what I said.

We've got a real Jonathan Swift on our hands here.

yes Nik...i'm sure if we go back through your illustrous history of posting we'll never find the use of hyperbole ....  however before i advocate the eating of our young ..and perhaps our old .... maybe you could at least outline what you were really expecting burke to say ...because while i have to say ..i'm not exactly super excited about how today went ... i also can't say i expected the GM to say anything much different than this ..given how the day went ....given the outcome what should he have said? 

and oscar wilde ..now johnathan swift?  are we really so bereft of contemporary references?

 

[caver]

After making the Phaneuf deal, the Kessel deal and the Lupul deal does anyone think he would not have made a deal if there was a good deal out there? All the GM's said the dealing was tough and expensive today. 

 

[Kin]

yes Nik...i'm sure if we go back through your illustrous history of posting we'll never find the use of hyperbole ....  however before i advocate the eating of our young ..and perhaps our old .... maybe you could at least outline what you were really expecting burke to say ...because while i have to say ..i'm not exactly super excited about how today went ... i also can't say i expected the GM to say anything much different than this ..given how the day went ....given the outcome what should he have said?

Well, what I was expecting was for him to do something. You're right. That his press conference reflected his actions isn't surprising. That his actions were what they were is what is surprising and that's what I'm expressing my disbelief of.

But it's not like it's hard to imagine a press conference where Brian Burke said something along the lines of "I tried very hard to make improvements to the team because the performance of the team to date is unacceptable. This team needs to see an immediate and drastic improvement otherwise it'll look very different next year" instead of praising the guys in the room for how hard they've worked to get the Leafs into the lofty position they're in.

and oscar wilde ..now johnathan swift?  are we really so bereft of contemporary references?

Can't beat the classics when it comes to dismissive sarcasm.

 

[Andy007]

Just watched the press conference. I've never, ever heard more complacency from a team in this sort of situation.

is there an example of a more appropriate press conference that you'd like to share?  because i can't say i remember too many teams using such an occasion for the GM to come out and say ...this team is crap..it's not going anywhere ...we didn't make any deals today and that's because i ..brian burke...hate the people of toronto and want to see the leafs fail ...

like i don't know ...i just haven't seen many of those

Actually Burke kinda has been the guy to spell things out rather bluntly. Whether it's announcing the current market for Antropov, Grabovski, promising to make a push for John Tavares, insulting other GM's, media figures, he doesn't seem to hold back.

Acceptance of the team's current standing is a bit surprising, if not disappointing.

 

[crazyperfectdevil]

Just watched the press conference. I've never, ever heard more complacency from a team in this sort of situation.

is there an example of a more appropriate press conference that you'd like to share?  because i can't say i remember too many teams using such an occasion for the GM to come out and say ...this team is crap..it's not going anywhere ...we didn't make any deals today and that's because i ..brian burke...hate the people of toronto and want to see the leafs fail ...

like i don't know ...i just haven't seen many of those

Actually Burke kinda has been the guy to spell things out rather bluntly. Whether it's announcing the current market for Antropov, Grabovski, promising to make a push for John Tavares, insulting other GM's, media figures, he doesn't seem to hold back.

Acceptance of the team's current standing is a bit surprising, if not disappointing.

I guess there's two separate issues here:  1.  what burke did today 2. what burke said today.

I feel like the 1st part had a big impact on the latter.  And while yes, as a fan, it may have been somewhat cathartic to hear him rattle the chains and decry the team's place in the standings.  I have my doubts about how effective that would have been.  Especially since the rhetoric out of the leafs lately is centered around the team being plagued by these horrible trade rumors and their fragile psyches.  It's hard to hold to that while at the same time reeming out the players in the media. 

Burke for whatever reason has decided that since he's going forward with the same group that he's had all season that it would be better to be supportive than undermining them.  Maybe it's a good cop, bad cop thing he has going with Wilson.  I guess I don't worry about it too much either way because really I'm not sure a speech given in either direction would have a measurable effect on the game's outcomes but that of course is left up for speculation. 

At the end of the day I think it's issue #1 that's far more frustrating than #2.

 

[Tigger]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

Probably just the Hodgson trade. But I don't think we had what Vancouver was looking for.

 

[Guilt Trip]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

Probably just the Hodgson trade. But I don't think we had what Vancouver was looking for.

Unfortunately true. Would have loved Hodgson....now we'll have to hate him.

 

[bustaheims]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

Probably just the Hodgson trade. But I don't think we had what Vancouver was looking for.

Pretty much. Hodgson or Kassian would have been nice, but, there probably wasn't a way to make it make sense for the Leafs. No one else that was moved today particularly interested me, and, out of everyone that moved over the past few weeks, I'd really only add Carter to that list, and maybe Bishop, but, only maybe.

 

[Tigger]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

Probably just the Hodgson trade. But I don't think we had what Vancouver was looking for.

Yeah, I mean if the Gaustad trade says anything it's that prices were realllllly high and that was the only one that could have made some sense but I agree we didn't have a dog in that hunt.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

Probably just the Hodgson trade. But I don't think we had what Vancouver was looking for.

Yup, I'm kind of upset about that, however I don't think Gillis would have dealt with Burke anyway and he would have jacked the price IMO.

 

[Kin]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

No. But the consensus seems to be the prices were too high today. Burke, I think, was uniquely situated to say "Eh, I've got to get something done anyway."

 

[Tigger]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

No. But the consensus seems to be the prices were too high today. Burke, I think, was uniquely situated to say "Eh, I've got to get something done anyway."

Like what?

 

[Kin]

Like what?

It's kind of tough to say without knowing what was out there.

 

[Mack674]

I'm with Nik on this actually, Burke conveyed to me a very "meh" attitude about the whole thing and almost seemed like hed rather not make any deals simply out of spite because of how overblown the deadline is and the stress on the players.

Theres no sense of urgency to be found anywhere in this organization - the players, the coaching staff, the management. That my friends, is how a bad team stays bad.

I'd be accepting of the "good enough" attitude if the leafs were currently sitting in 3rd in the East, but when I glance at the standings, oh gee, there we are. Outside the picture, again. Did I mention I was two years out of high school the last time I witnessed a playoff game with the Maple Leafs?

After Florida makes it in this year, the Leafs will not only have the longest Stanley Cup drought in the league but also the longest time running without the playoffs to boot.

Oh, happy joy.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Were there any deals that people here wished Burke was in on today?

Probably just the Hodgson trade. But I don't think we had what Vancouver was looking for.

Pretty much. Hodgson or Kassian would have been nice, but, there probably wasn't a way to make it make sense for the Leafs. No one else that was moved today particularly interested me, and, out of everyone that moved over the past few weeks, I'd really only add Carter to that list, and maybe Bishop, but, only maybe.

If the price for Kassian was a Hodgson-like player like Kadri (although it can be argued Hodgson is superior) then I wouldn't have been interested. But I haven't been a big Kassian fan since his draft.