The Toronto Maple Leafs lost again last night seeing their record fall to 8-11-4. The fans were obviously not happy with coach Ron Wilson, expressing their feelings in a “Fire Wilson” chant during the game. Is it really Wilson’s fault, he has to work with what is given to him. It’s not like a coach can be given a AHL team and make them win against NHL Allstars. The talent on Toronto is mediocre at best and it’s not Wilson whom fans should be turning on it’s General Manager Brian Burke.
Burke constantly preached patience and his philosophy of bringing in truculence, belligerence, and testosterone, but it hasn’t worked. It’s just past the two year mark of Burke’s tenure in Toronto and he hasn’t rebuilt the team, just repaired it. It’s true almost all of the players on the team are players he brought in, however for a team that is in a “unofficial” rebuilding stage the future is not looking too promising. Two first round draft picks have been traded away to bring in Phil Kessel, a struggling scorer that isn’t a backbone of any franchise let alone Toronto. Constant rumored Tomas Kaberle trades have fell through because Burke stated he didn’t want draft picks in return. If you’re a struggling team it’s constantly shown that the best move is to build through the draft. Collect draft picks and experience growing pains. Prime examples over the past 10 years; Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Anaheim, Carolina, Tampa Bay (all teams who won the Stanley cup recently too). Many other teams like Vancouver, St.Louis, and Edmonton are on their way as well.
It’s time for Burke to stop kidding himself and trade for some draft picks. Fully commit to the rebuild and not another repair. GM’s have tried to repair Toronto for 50 years. Swallow your pride Burke, admit your mistakes and start from scratch.
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