Brian Burke: change agent for Leafs
Architect of Ducks’ Stanley Cup team aims to bring Toronto back to the top
The scene, to be acted out tonight, usually goes like this: Toronto fans, plentiful in number, will file into HSBC Arena. They’ll be loud. For a while, they’ll be boisterous. Then, when their team lets them down, they’ll trudge back across the border.
But even if the Maple Leafs follow form and lose to Buffalo tonight, Sabres fans might see a sly smile spread across the faces of their rivals. It’s because, thanks to Brian Burke, they have hope.
Leafs Nation has been dreaming of Burke for years, and the wish was granted Nov. 29 when he assumed the roles of president and general manager. The highly regarded hockey guru, who built a Stanley Cup winner in Anaheim, was hired to bring the Centre of the Hockey Universe back to the top of the hockey world.
Most believe he will.
“Brian’s got a reputation, that he’s earned, that he’s a guy who gets things done,” Sabres television analyst Harry Neale said this week. “Sometimes not the smoothest way and sometimes offending people, but I think over the next two or three years, that team will be one that’s a lot more competitive than it is now.”
Burke creates a winning attitude, which Toronto desperately needs. The Leafs haven’t made the playoffs since 2004, and they aren’t expected to make it this year, either. They are 3-6-2 in the past 11 games, including losses in three of four. They have long been abysmal in Buffalo, with the Sabres holding a 29-12-4 edge at home since 1985.
Even the 53-year-old Burke, as self-assured as they come, knows he can’t change things overnight.
“It’s daunting at the same time as it’s exhilarating,” he said at his introductory news conference. “Rebuilding this team is not going to be easy. Cliff [Fletcher, the previous GM] has made some positive steps. But changing the general manager doesn’t change the team, and it doesn’t change a lot of things. It’s going to take some time and some patience.
“For me, we’re turning the page. Now we get to start to write on blank pages and make changes and get this team to where it needs to be, with the vision I have for it and ownership has for it.”
He’s got time. Burke signed a six-year deal reportedly worth $18 million. He’s going to spend this month analyzing the Leafs and their minor-league affiliate before making changes. He doesn’t believe in dealing players at Christmastime. But once the presents have been unwrapped, the rebuilding can start — provided he finds partners.
“It’s hard for a manager during the season because, there are trades, but not as many,” Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman said last weekend. “I think a manager’s effectiveness is more the offseason with the draft and free agency. You can make some moves, but it’s hard to make big moves.”
Burke has a way of making them. He turned the Ducks into champs by acquiring stud defenseman Chris Pronger. Burke certainly will need trades to transform the Leafs. They are devoid of stars and have few draft picks because of past deals.
“I think, by the trade deadline, he’s going to have made a decision on who’s going to stay among the older players, and I think you’ll see the Leafs do a lot of things to get younger or draft picks,” Neale said.
Burke’s blueprint for winning is no secret. He gets 10 skill players, six for the top two forward lines and four to patrol the blue line. Then he wants eight “plumbers,” six forwards and two defensemen who make the night miserable for opponents by blocking shots, killing penalties and fighting.
“We require from our team proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence,” Burke said. “That’s how our teams play.”
They did it so well in Anaheim the rest of the Western Conference had to mimic the framework. Teams got tougher to combat the bruising Ducks, and the style of play changed. If Burke turns Toronto into Anaheim East, teams like the Sabres — fast and skilled up front and on defense — could need to tweak their design.
Sabres forward Drew Stafford has no doubt about Burke’s ability to put a team together. Stafford and Burke are highly invested in USA Hockey. The winger played in the world championships last spring on the squad Burke managed.
“After meeting him, you can tell he’s knowledgeable, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” Stafford said. “He understands the players. [Burke was an agent before going into management.]
“You look at the way the organization’s been going for the past year as far as rebuilding, they’re definitely on the rise. New coaches [Ron Wilson], now Brian Burke, some new players, it’s definitely a different team. I think they’ve been getting the reputation as a pretty hard-working team, so that’s going to make it tough for us.”
It’s why Leafs Nation is smiling, even on days when things look bleak. The fans believe in Burke, and they aren’t alone.
“He’ll make a difference there,” Neale said.
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