The Sports Corner

A new era in Toronto: How will it affect Leafs nation?

The contract is signed, the press conference is held, and the news is official: Brian Burke is now the new Toronto president and general manager.

While Leafs fans now have another reason to gloat and brag, the hiring of Burke might not be as promising as it seems - at least not right away.

Maybe he has made his mark by turning around the Vancouver Canucks, and worked his magic by leading the Anaheim Ducks to a championship, but Toronto is a whole new show.

Time will tell if Big Daddy Burke can satisfy the hockey-crazed Leaf nation but for now, how will the addition of Burke affect the Leafs? Here’s TSC’s top-10 expectations:

1. No Sundin - Burke has already addressed this issue, and says Mat Sundin is not a right fit for T-dot, or better yet T-dot is not the right fit for Sundin. So sorry Leaf fans, but it looks like the Swede won’t be coming back to save the “centre of the universe”.
2. No major moves until after December - As Bob McKenzie of TSN pointed out, Burke is not a man who trades away players two weeks before and after the NHL Christmas freeze, out of respect for his players. So any chance of an immediate fix is probably out of question, however, it gives B.B. time to truly assess his team.
3. Tough guys - Burke likes to add toughness and grit to his squad, as shown with his Anaheim team. As of this moment, Toronto lacks a true tough guy/enforcer so it’ll only be a matter of time before the new GM deals for one, or two. There needs to be some protection for their stars - or lack of stars.
4. Rebuilding time - As much as Leaf fans hate to hear this, Burke just might, and should, take the rebuilding route. Interim GM Cliff Fletcher never fully went down this road as he patched up certain areas to keep the team somewhat competitive, but it’s time for Burke to begin the process. Having said that, this means that it’ll be another three to five years before we see Toronto as contenders.
5. Prospects needed - Entering Toronto will be much different for Burke then when he entered both Vancouver and Anaheim. The Canucks had players like Naslund, Bertuzzi, McCabe, Bure, etc., while Anaheim had Perry, Getzlaf, Giguere, and so on. The Leafs have very few building blocks, especially in their prospects pool, as Tlusty, Kulemin, Pogge, and Schenn tops the list. Burke does not have a strong drafting record either so this will be a challenge, since the Leafs might need to bomb a couple seasons in order to earn some high draft picks.
6. Dominic Moore? - This is more of a dead storyline then anything else, but fans might be interested to watch the relationship between Moore and Burke. It just so happened that Burke was managing the Canucks when the Bertuzzi-Steve Moore (Dominic’s brother) incident occurred.
7. Time over for Toskala - A Brian Burke team has strong goaltending. He learned his lesson from a certain Dan Cloutier. So unless Toskala raises his level of both skill and consistency, his time in Toronto might be short - at least as a starter. Don’t be surprise if focus in the crease for next season revolves around Justin Pogge, or he takes a shot at UFA goaltenders (Fernandez, Thomas, Khabibulin, Backstrom, Legace, etc.). Of course, you can never eliminate the trade route, but Leafs don’t have much to give back in return.
8. Discipline - It’s no secret. Burke won’t take crap from players that takes the night off - unless their last name is Bertuzzi - so the Leafs can expect to work hard or else Burke will drive them to the airport. This might be a reason why experts state that he’ll remove most of the European players, but those non-Canadians won’t have to worry if they stay disciplined night in and night out. Plus coach Ron Wilson will make sure of that. 
9. Classic moments - Most importantly, quotes. Whether it be witty playoff rants or media spats with other GMs, Burke never disappoints when it comes to entertainment off the ice. And being in Canada’s media capital, it’s going to be Christmas all year long for Toronto . Maybe Burke needs his own camera crew, recording every word coming out of his mouth.
10. Trading troubles? - Burke’s bullying nature has been well documented, and it has rubbed other GMs the wrong way. He was able to use it as an advantage though in both his previous teams but it’ll be tough tactic to continue, especially with not much leverage in Toronto. Burke is a strict and stingy GM, as he won’t make room for greedy players or teams looking to rip him off. The big man will run a tight ship in Toronto, and it’ll be up to him to dispel any notion that refers to Toronto as a joke.

Adding Burke by Toronto ownership means asking the Leafs fan base for patience. They have probably the best man possible heading the team but that doesn’t guarantee a cup, although they’ll have six years to try for one.

The first goal by the new management will be to make the playoffs, no doubt, so every move made by Burke from now on will be deeply critiqued by fans and media alike.

It’s a new era in T.O., but will it be one to remember, or one to forget?

We’ll have to wait and see.