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Burke Fired

cw said:
Look at the Wilson deal. Burke gave Ron a contract so he wouldn't be lame duck. Burke's contract was coming up.

Last summer, MLSE was sold. New management often want their own GM. I suspect that the board decided they would evaluate extending Burke this season.

Because of the lockout, no deep further evaluation of Burke could take place prior to making a decision on extending Burke.

In Vancouver, they left GM Burke hanging until the end of the season before cutting him loose. I strongly suspect Burke demanded an answer on his extension now (like the Wilson lame duck contract extension) which triggered the timing of this decision.

Burke's Kessel deal and his direction to retool vs rebuild along with his failure to make the playoffs cost him. His boisterous outspoken nature would fly in the face of the corporate world and they probably tired of that as well.

Burke's strength as a GM has been as a trader. The timing is arguably unfortunate because the new CBA offered some increases in a GM's ability to trade.

I still like Burke as a GM and because I liked him personally, I'm sorry to see him go. If he'd played it safe and passed on Kessel going for a true rebuild, he'd likely still be the Leafs GM. So that's a key chunk of the reason for his downfall in my opinion and his likely demand for a contract extension decision now would explain the timing.

I'm sure he'll be near the top of any team's list when the next round of GM firings take place. He's a classy guy. I wish him well.

I also like Nonis - not quite as much but he's a decent replacement.
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Good comments cw.  Probably all played a factor.  I think the Burke outspoken style coupled with lack of success on the ice sealed his fate.  If the Leafs were successful they would live with his "bigger than life" personality, but with all the talk and no results they grew tired of him.
 
Well, I changed it to Sportsnet for a few minutes but, as always, it only took about fifteen seconds of listening to Doug McLean advocate for acquiring Luongo to get me to flip away. Like seriously, what the eff do you know about putting together a good hockey team.
 
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
Nik Pollock said:
Man, they are just burying Burke on TSN.
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What's being said?

Thanks for the update in advance, I'm at work and can't tune in.
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Well, a ton of it is just talking about his failures with the club and they went into more details, criticizing the holiday trade freeze, his managerial style in general, the decision to stay away from long term backdiving deals, what his tenure with the club has done to their ability to attract potential UFA's and on and on.
 
Nik Pollock said:
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
Nik Pollock said:
Man, they are just burying Burke on TSN.
Click to expand...
What's being said?

Thanks for the update in advance, I'm at work and can't tune in.
Click to expand...

Well, a ton of it is just talking about his failures with the club and they went into more details, criticizing the holiday trade freeze, his managerial style in general, the decision to stay away from long term backdiving deals, what his tenure with the club has done to their ability to attract potential UFA's and on and on.
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Anselmi doesn't need to justify the firing when they own all the media.  8)
 
Nik Pollock said:
Well, I changed it to Sportsnet for a few minutes but, as always, it only took about fifteen seconds of listening to Doug McLean advocate for acquiring Luongo to get me to flip away. Like seriously, what the eff do you know about putting together a good hockey team.
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So, we shouldn't look to pick up Douggie Mac for GM of the Marlies? lol!

Does Nonis maintain his title with the Marlies?
 
Potvin29 said:
Anselmi doesn't need to justify the firing when they own all the media.  8)
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That was a little creepy, I thought, the whole "You all work for us" joke at the press conference.

Never forget, kids, we're cheering on corporations here.
 
Nik Pollock said:
WhatIfGodWasALeaf said:
Nik Pollock said:
Man, they are just burying Burke on TSN.
Click to expand...
What's being said?

Thanks for the update in advance, I'm at work and can't tune in.
Click to expand...

Well, a ton of it is just talking about his failures with the club and they went into more details, criticizing the holiday trade freeze, his managerial style in general, the decision to stay away from long term backdiving deals, what his tenure with the club has done to their ability to attract potential UFA's and on and on.
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Question. Was it solely Burke's refusal to offer the loaded deals that prevented the signings or was it the state of the club/pressure in Toronto? All we ever heard was Burke making all these personal policies (trade freeze etc) to protect the players. Wouldn't that make UFA's happy to come to TO?

If it was just his refusal on the deals then that was bad for the team in terms of building.
 
lamajama said:
Question. Was it solely Burke's refusal to offer the loaded deals that prevented the signings or was it the state of the club/pressure in Toronto? All we ever heard was Burke making all these personal policies (trade freeze etc) to protect the players. Wouldn't that make UFA's happy to come to TO?
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Well, the point being made was just how hard it is for losing clubs to attract free agents in general.
 
Rob L said:
FWFW, I wasn't serious... I was just taking a shot at Cherry.
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Actually, he's one of the few who could replace Cherry in that segment IF they want to keep the same basic tone.
 
Green Leaf said:
this is so sad..
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This is what it is to be a Leafs fan.  From having your Captain rip the "C" off his jersey to considering having your coach come out with a paper bag over his head, this ranks about 9th on the list.
 
I'm happy about it. I always said if Burke just kept his mouth shut, people would view his work in a more positive light. Bold proclamations and a gruff personality, along with the Kessel deal, sunk him.

I've never heard anything negative about Nonis's abilities as a GM. Mostly glowing reports about a calm, smart, patient executive.
 
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