When Wasting Time Might Be Worth It

In the final analysis, these were 10 wasted months in the history of the Maple Leafs.

Of course, within the context of 41 years without a Stanley Cup, it seems like a momentary lapse of attention.

It all, the "transition" from the final dying moments of the John Ferguson Jr. regime to the Brian Burke era took all those months, killed thousands of trees to support the newspaper speculation rumour mill, permitted dozens of talking heads to claim "breaking" news and included more gruelling scrutiny of an incoming Leaf hockey boss than most U.S. judicial appointments.

You heard it here first - Burke will wear a red tie for his coronation tomorrow. Will it be the same red tie he wore when Anaheim won the Cup? Should he be wearing a red tie? Was Lou Lamoriello the first to get him to wear a red tie? How will Ron Wilson feel about the red tie?

All this is vital stuff, of course. Unless he goes with the blue tie.

Still, it's been fun, better than that summer that Ken Dryden went searching for a Leaf GM and came up with himself.

So were these 10 months worth it? After all, the team itself really only went backwards, although last night's final effort with Cliff Fletcher at the helm was a memorable one in which Vesa Toskala dazzled, the Leafs hit as much as they were hit and the new tough guy, Andre Deveaux, actually looked like he might be a decent hockey player.

But was it all worth it to end up with Burke, one of the most highly regarded managers in the sport?

Probably. See, at the end of the day, this was probably less about the actual team and more about the way in which this team is owned, or more accurately, controlled by a group of executives who for the most part, represent large companies but themselves own nothing.

When the inexperienced Ferguson was hired five years ago and and forced to accept the very experienced Pat Quinn as head coach, it was an effort by Leaf ownership to manipulate the structure of the club rather than actually affect positive change. Putting Ferguson in place, as awkward as it was, allowed Richard Peddie and the MLSE board to meddle and have their say on all the important hockey matters. It kept them in control after several years of having Quinn report directly to Steve Stavro and no one else. After four mostly competitive years, it was their chance to participate more fully in the success they believed would continue.

But Ferguson couldn't learn or function effectively in such a climate. He didn't bring in his own people and he tried to get along with one and all inside the byzantine MLSE corporate structure rather than stand up and fight. That just got him steamrolled in the end.

So now that process, and the process of three years outside the Stanley Cup playoffs with a fourth consecutive non-playoff season at hand, has forced the MLSE brass to take their mitts off the operation and give Burke total control.

He'll bring in his buddy, ex-Vancouver GM Dave Nonis, and all the suits will be cut out of the process, although Burke will surely be canny enough to make friends in high places.

But rather than a 10-month process, this was really a five-year process, from Quinn losing his power through a lockout that revolutionized the industry in many ways to Burke getting all of his authority.

Ten months you can probably live with. Five years, in retrospect, was a terrible waste of time.

Thursday Mail Bag

Consider this the last mail bag of the pre-Brian Burke period in Maple Leaf history.

Some will find this exciting or hopeful, others - those who doubt Burke’s managerial abilities - might gloomily imagine that the Leafs are no closer to a Cup now than they were before the lockout. Then there’s the realistic notion that Burke will bring a style of hockey to Toronto, an aggressive, in-your-face approach that will prominently feature goons and lots and lots of fighting.

Let’s just say there’s no longer any chance the Leafs will become the Detroit Red Wings of the East.

That said, it wasn’t so long ago the Leafs had all kinds of muscle and used to regularly beat up on their Ontario rivals, the Ottawa Senators. Under Pat Quinn, the Leafs liked to goon it up a fair bit, and this year’s roster was really the first in a long time in which the Leafs declined to dress a recognizable enforcer.

But Toronto, for better or worse, has always loved the policemen, from Tiger Williams to Ken Baumgartner to Tie Domi. Even John Kordic, bless his heart, had fans chanting his name when he briefly wore No. 27 for the club.

Andre Deveaux, then, is the first step of a re-modeling of the Leafs, even though his promotion occurred before Burke has officially signed on the dotted line. We’ll see whether Deveaux can play at all, but we already know through his AHL “play” that he’s capable of doing some nasty stuff out on the ice.

This sure isn’t my preferred style of hockey, and the Red Wings proved last year emphatically that there is another way. Problem is, the NHL seems to be promoting the fights more than ever these days, and at the same time refuses to take tough new steps against head shots and hits from behind, so there’s a vigilante mood out there. While with Anaheim, Burke’s teams helped set the tone for the revival of this style of play and became the first team since the Flyers of the 1970s to lead the league in fighting and win the Stanley Cup.

Until the Leafs get better - and that’s going to take a while - you can bet they’ll take a black-and-blue approach first and foremost, working in the skill as they go along. Burke is expected to arrive Saturday, and the muscle soon after.

Now on to this week’s mail bag:

Q: Hi Damien,

I have had "75" birthdays, I don't expect to see a S.C. contender in my lifetime. Am I wrong?

Martin Bolger, London, Ont.

A: Martin, you look great! Of course you’ll be around in, um, ah, the short time it will take Burke to turn this mess around. Can’t wait ‘til we celebrate your 100th!

The question behind the question, of course, is how long will it take Burke to produce a winning team. This isn’t a quick turn around like last year’s Flyers, that’s for sure. But it is the Eastern Conference, will makes improvement easier. The decent start to this season had some imagining the club was only a few players away from being competitive, but the reality is, despite whether you think Cliff Fletcher has a done a great job, an average job or a poor job, he really hasn’t started the rebuilding. The fact remains this team has remarkably few top-quality prospects and only five picks in the 2009 draft and five in the 2010 draft. There’s some serious stockpiling of picks and prospects that has to start here before the discussion of producing a better hockey club can even begin. So exercise and eat well Martin - you’re going to have to be patient for a while yet.

Q: Hi Damien,

Now that the Leafs are playing like one of the worst teams in the NHL, losing (Tuesday) night to the dreadful Atlanta Thrashers 6-3, for instance, is there part of you that wants to say "I TOLD YOU SO!!!" to all those fans who slagged you for being a downer in the early parts of the season when the team briefly exceeded expectations?

Second quick question: do you think Vesa Toskala is as bad as he's been this year, or will he return to form?

A: Nah, nobody likes an I-told-you-so. I’ll leave that to the guy on Saturday night to tell you how he had it right all along. For me, I’ve been frequently dead wrong on matters of hockey, and I appreciate fans and readers not throwing that stuff in my face. It’s the right of fans to be ever hopeful and my job to point out the reality as best as I can see it at the moment. Many Leaf supporters just would rather not accept the fact that their team is a long, long way from being good again, but I would also say accepting mediocrity and simple effort the way it was heralded this season simply allows the Leafs to get away with being crappy. The way in which this team was patted on the back for just trying hard this season was quite remarkable. But then, I’ve realized over time that many Leaf fans - not all, but many - aren’t focussed on winning championships, they really just want to win the next game. So a victory or two sends them into a state of euphoria.

On Toskala, he’s better than he’s showing. But he really has never established himself as a bona fide starter capable of playing 60 games or more, and he’s not a kid anymore. Perhaps that adjustment to being the unquestioned starter this season has caused him to unnecessarily adjust his play. I would say that other teams watch the films too, and Toskala’s aggressive tendency to play well out of his crease has exposed him on a variety of situations, allowing teams access to essentially uncovered nets too many times. In the end, he can be a solid NHL starter in a conference that boasts much better goalies like Martin Brodeur, Ryan Miller, Henrik Lundqvist and, it would seem, Tim Thomas.

Q: Hi Damien,

Please explain to us all, if Brian Burke is really that great where are all the other teams lining up to get access to his services?

Zeya Alikhan, Peterborough, Ont.

A: Well, I guess the simple answer is that no other team has an opening a GM right now. I’m certain that if Burke waited until next June he’d have a few more suitors, albeit probably not offering the salary that the Leafs are offering. It’s rare for a quality GM just to spring free in the first quarter of a season like this, so even if there are teams out there who would be interested in Burke, they’re not in a position to do anything about it right now.

Q: I know a lot of Leafs fans who aren't particularly pleased with the work Brian Burke has done in the past. I'm not one of those people.

That said, do you think his presence will dramatically change the infrastructure of this team? Will he speed the operation up, or slow it down using a mindful, methodical process?

To me, the fact that the Leafs have signed Burke means they are not only comfortable with a new regime, but are ready to acknowledge the mistakes of MLSE.

Is there reason to be hopeful?

Anthony Lopopolo, Richmond Hill

A: I truly believe he’s going to revamp the scouting team, both pro and amateur, and aggressively try to re-stock the talent cupboard before moving to add free agents or veterans. This is going to take some time, and I would imagine that if there’s a logical hockey person among the MLSE suits, they understand that Burke is the man who will allow the team to patiently pursue such a strategy. That’s the whole idea - hire a big-name front man and let him take the heat. The issue will be whether they try to convince him to simply get back to the playoffs and the land of post-season revenue rather than patiently building, over time, a truly good hockey club. That’s unanswerable at this moment.

Q: Hi Damien,

If Brian Burke becomes the GM, would he go and sign Sundin? Who you think he will make the team’s captain? Thanks.

Kirupa Kathir, Brampton

A: It would make no sense to sign Sundin from a variety of standpoints, and I can’t imagine Burke would pursue that strategy. What would be the point? As far as team captain, unless it’s Luke Schenn somewhere down the road, the Leafs probably don’t own a player capable of wearing the “C” right now.

Q: Why haven't Toronto given Jeremy Williams a full-time chance in the NHL? When he was in junior hockey he was lighting it on fire. In the few NHL games he has played, he has shown that he can score. Do you see him getting a chance if (when) Brian Burke is hired?

Patrick Savoury, Rose Blanche, NL

A: Sure, he might get another chance. The problem for a young player like Williams is that he’s an offensive player who needs to be put in offensive situations. Unless the Leafs or any club give him a long look in their top six forwards, he’ll never put up the numbers to stay. And it just doesn’t seem likely he’ll get that shot in Toronto, but then again, the new regime may look upon him more fondly, and if bodies start flying out of the city, somebody’s going to get a chance to play.

Q: Hi Damien,

As a snowbird living in the south for the winter I still keep up on the hockey stories, wars, trades etc. I think the trade this week with St. Louis was a good one - both Leafs never ever got it going! Now that Burke is in place, my question is do you think he will be one to pull off a blockbuster in the near future? Blake, Toskala, Kaberle all for mainly draft picks. Enjoy your columns from deep in the south.

Curtis Sleeman, Mesa, AZ

A: Thanks, Curtis. If by a blockbuster, you mean a deal that brings some big names back to the Leafs, then no, I don’t think Burke will do that. But he will be moving veteran bodies to try and stock up on picks and prospects, and I would imagine Tomas Kaberle and Nik Antropov would be at the top of that list.

Q: Hi Damien,

Here's a couple non-Burke questions:

First, any thoughts on why Toskala's been a bit inconsistent? He seems to be able to still put in great games (ie. the 1-0 loss to the Rangers a while back) but now he's letting in soft goals. What's up?

Second, what's up with Dallas this year? They had a great playoff run last year (remember the triple overtime with San Jose? Fantastic) but now they're not so great. Any idea why?

Jonathan Charlton, Springfield

A: Well, we talked about Toskala, and I really believe the time has come to bring up Justin Pogge for a look, if only to put a little urgency into Toskala’s game. Let’s face it, he’s hardly going to be threatened by the presence of Curtis Joseph.

Re Dallas, two factors. Marty Turco has been just terrible in net so far, and many believe the acquisition of Sean Avery has had a major, negative impact on the Stars’ chemistry. Losing Brenden Morrow is just going to make things tougher. That said, they won over a good Minny team on Wednesday, and it certainly can’t get worse this season.

Q: Hi Damien,

Assuming Wilson and Burke can strip the team of any potential this year the Leafs do end up with a shot at the number one draft pick, would they even consider Victor Hedman (defenseman, Swedish) or is John Tavares (centre, Canadian) still the ultimate goal?

Rob N., Halifax

A: Interesting question. When in possession of top picks previously, Burke has drafted a towering defenceman (Chris Pronger) and top-end skill (the Sedin twins). It’s just way too early to begin handicapping this one.

Q: Damien,

Since you answered a question about the Isles recently, I figured I'd ask a question about the Montreal Canadiens, because despite the fact they are still fifth in the East, the team seems to be in a funk.

What do you think is the main problem with the Habs this season? My theory is that Alex Kovalev this season isn't the same Alex Kovalev as last season, and that's hurt Tomas Plekanec and to a lesser extent, Andrei Kostitsyn.

I think the additions of Robert Lang and Alex Tanguay were good moves, especially now with Kovalev's funk. But I have a concern about Price and despite his pedigree, I just have a feeling he doesn't have the experience to win the big game.

Do you think the Habs have what it takes to win it all this season? If not, what sort of tinkering would you try to do with their lineup?

Kevin Kelly, St. John's, Newfoundland

A: Well, the Habs certainly feel better about themselves after their big road win in Detroit last night. Certainly, Kovalev hasn’t been anywhere near as dominant this season as he was last year, and some of their other skill players are still finding their way. Losing Mike Komisarek on the back end for an extended period of time is going to require others, like Francis Bouillon and Josh Gorges, to really step up their play. But this is a really good team, and GM Bob Gainey will be trying hard over the next three months to find a way to make it better. As far as Price goes, I wouldn’t worry about. He’s just getting better and better.

Q: I am a Sabres fan in Florida and wondering what pieces you believe are missing from the team. They started off strong and are now struggling. They have goaltending, strong offence, and a decent defence. Is it time for Lindy Ruff to hit the road? It seems he can get them close but never seal the deal with a Cup.

Also, why do they sit on their players in the press box when they can package a couple of them for a defenceman or a scorer?

Justin Hacker, Orlando

A: I think this is a good Sabres team with decent depth, but one that doesn’t have a strong identity. Buffalo is middle-of-the-road in everything - 13th in team defence, 19th in goals-for - and not nearly the explosive offensive team it once was. Some forwards - Tim Connolly, Maxim Afinogenov, Drew Stafford - aren’t producing what many believed they would. Goaltender Ryan Miller, meanwhile, is 18th in the league with a .909 save percentage, and they need him to be high-ranked than that. As far as spare players, I’m not sure they have much that would bring big returns at this moment.

Q: What has happened to Anton Stralman? At the end of last year he looked so poised to breakout.

Patrick Savoury, Rose Blanche, NL

A: I think what happened with Stralman is what happens with many young Leafs - people exaggerate signs of promise and expect that a prospect will become a proven player in no time flat. Stralman had a lot of trouble with his defensive game last year and that hasn’t changed. He has skills, particularly speed, but until he can be trusted when the other team has the puck, he’s going to have a hard time staying in the lineup.

Q: Damien,

I think it's great you answer people's questions like this on a weekly basis. I wish more writers would take the time to do this.

I had a conversation with a friend at the start of the season about how far the Canucks are from contending for the Cup. I believed they were one star forward away given the changes Gillis made. That star forward would be Sundin. But now, I still want to see Sundin come to Vancouver, but I'd rather see the Sedins traded for players like Lucic or Jordan Staal. Do you think the Canucks could go over the top with Sundin and would you trade the Sedins? Thanks.

Jacob Lee, Victoria

A: Jacob, I’m assuming you wrote this before the Luongo injury, and obviously the health of their netminder is the No. 1 issue for the Canucks. They beat Detroit this week 3-2 in OT and looked pretty good doing it. If I was running the Canucks, I’d keep the Sedins AND try to bring in Sundin. Then again, if Boston offered Lucic, I might give up both Sedins to get him. This guy’s special, and you can expect he’ll be a Bruin for a long, long time.

Every Thursday, Damien Cox answers your questions in The Spin, only at thestar.com.

Click here to submit a question.
**Note: please follow the link above to send a question to Damien. Questions posted in the comments section may not make it to the mailbag. Thanks.**

Bonus Mail Bag

Nothing like a trade to stir up debate. Not that there’s ever a need to try and stir up debate when it comes to the Maple Leafs, still by far the greatest focal point of GTA fan intensity.

So we thought we’d mix things up a bit today with a Tuesday mail bag, giving you, the reader, some extra opportunity to get things off your chest and offer up a query or two. Every week, unfortunately, we get a lot more questions than we are able to publish, so an extra mail bag here and there is probably a good idea. Sometimes readers seem frustrated with simply being able to comment on the blog, but sometimes I really think people need to be able to speak their minds without me responding or commenting in either way.

So hopefully between the blog and a few extra mail bags, we can keep everybody happy. It’s not easy, though!

So the Lee Stempniak era begins, just in time to see the beginning of the Brian Burke era. Outside of this specific deal, I actually quite like Stempniak as a player. Good shot, good wheels, pretty creative. A lower draft choice who worked his way to the NHL, a story people always like.

The problem is, of course, that players aren’t rated in a vacuum, but rather, when traded, in terms of their salaries, the players for whom they are dealt, the needs of their new teams and their upside.

That’s where it gets a bit tricker here. And for me, it’s very difficult to get past the fact that Cliff Fletcher is pulling the trigger on deals while the team finishes its negotiations with Brian Burke. It’s just weird.

That said, it was interesting to hear Fletcher on the FAN 590 this morning with Gord Stellick and Don Landry saying he believes it would be a “great move” for the Leafs to sign Burke and put him in charge of the hockey club.

That’s a pretty classy comment from a veteran hockey man who has clearly been enjoying his last kick at the can. Can’t say I agree with much of what Fletcher has done, but to clear the path for Burke’s coronation in that way requires a selflessness that’s pretty impressive.

Now on to this week’s bonus mail bag:

Q: What the heck? better yet, WHO the heck is Lee Stempniak?
Are the Leafs giving up on getting Burke? why would Fletcher pull the trigger on a deal right now before, most likely, a new boss has the chance to come in a view his assets.
Sure, it was highly likely Burke would have traded Steen, A Canadian born Euro, "Euro" being a 4 letter word in Burke's dictionary. This was a player, touted at one point by the media as possible the successor to Mats Sundin's captaincy. He has not played well, on a team that's not playing well. I'm not sure if the timing is right.
Colaiacovo obviously does not fit into Burke's concept of a "Big Tough Defenceman" what with his frequent and sometimes bizarre injuries, but he still had so much potential. I remember his first Leafs camp, and the excitement around him. I remember him being embarrassed by Pavel Bure, the Russian Rocket, but that was to be expected.
They blame his bench warming, and lower production, and probably his current injury, on a lack of conditioning. Is St. Louis about to get its own steal a la Kyle Wellwood in Vancouver? Conditioning is something that can directly be affected and improved between a player and his coaches/trainers. The Leafs need to learn this.
Stempniak is almost a point per game player, but appears to be more of a play maker with only 3 goals, and I don't think we need another player who can pass.
I don't like this trade. I think the timing absolutely stinks. While others had given up on Steen ever producing up to his potential, or Colaiacovo ever playing close to 82 games in a single, I think not only is it too early, it should be decided by Burke, or whoever the GM will be in a week or two.
And now I don't know what to do with my Steen Jersey. Maybe mail it to Fletcher and ask him to change the name on it to a player who might still be a Leaf in 3 weeks.
What's your opinion on the trade?
Arthur Bailey, Toronto

A: Well Arthur, this one’s got you worked up, and I don’t blame you. The difficulty is trying to separate the various issues, from Stempniak’s value, the decision to cut Colaiacovo and Steen loose, the needs of the team, the overall direction/philosophy of the Leafs and the logic of letting Fletcher make deals. So let’s try.

For starters, Stempniak’s a solid hockey player who has scored 27 goals in the league but dropped to 13 last season. He’s making $2.5 million this year and jumps to $3.5 million next year, and then becomes an unrestricted free agent. He should add offence to the Leafs, but that’s not really their biggest need at the moment. He’s a good power play guy, but the power play’s been working pretty effectively. Steen was actually making Ron Wilson happy with his concientious defensive play, so its a move that seems largely short-term in nature but runs counter to the apparent needs of the team.

With former first round picks, it’s hard to know when its time to stop being patient and realize players just aren’t going to blossom. The Leafs have made that decision with Steen and Colaiacovo, and they’ve had many years to look closely at this pair and evaluate them. Neither was drafted by the current adminstration, which makes it easier to cut them loose. Just as you don’t really know whether Stempniak will flourish in Toronto, you don’t really know whether the ex-Leafs will find new life in St. Louis. But given the overall direction of the Leafs, it seems to me that this was not the time for this deal, and that dumping former first round picks should have been a decision for Burke, not Fletcher. More specifically, right now is not the time to be making swaps designed to make the team more competitive immediately, particularly without a full-time GM in place to articulate a long-term plan. That said, I wouldn’t be shocked if Burke gave a wink to this deal, or at least, that Fletcher was smart enough to at least run it past him under the guise of simply asking another hockey executive about a player, which NHL managers do all the time.

As far as your Steen jersey, keep wearing it. The ACC is filled with folks wearing the numbers and names of players who were once their personal heroes with the Leafs. Unfortunately, this has not been an organization where players stick around, or are allowed to stick around, very long.

Waiting for a Blast of Burke

The Grey Cup is over, and the cold winds of November have already delivered snow and harsh reality to the city and the Maple Leafs.

Despite the best efforts of some hard-working, hopeful players, facts are facts and talent, both individual and organizational, will eventually rise to the top in a league as difficult and competitive as the NHL.

Seven losses in nine games and the NHL's third worst defensive record have sunk the Leafs in the NHL standings. No longer, one should think, will folks blithely extoll the virtues of this team as a wonderful surprise, admirable for its work ethic and enthusiasm. That, folks, is the bare minimum for any team searching for success in the NHL, and giving this team so much early season credit for trying really hard just shows you how expectations have plummeted in hockey's Centre of the Universe.

That's okay. This is what was expected, and rabid Leaf fans just got a little excited, thinking Luke Schenn and Mikhail Grabovski were good enough that the team would get to skip three or four steps on the route back to competitiveness.

But surely even MLSE understands that now, this week, is the time to crown Brian Burke. The dreams of Richard Peddie, that he could hang on to the team presidency and ride the coattails of the amazingly popular Cliff Fletcher indefinitely, are over.

Burke's not perfect, and he may not turn this team into a winner. Nobody comes with guarantees.

(Ed. Note: Burke did not fly to Toronto as expected today after arriving in Boston to find the furnace in his home broken. It's unclear whether he will make it to the GTA in the next day or so.)

But after five years of basically wandering in the hinterland, changing directions every two or three months, patching the roster here and there in a desperate attempt to convince people that this hockey club was focussed on winning, Burke will give this organization real direction. He will, finally, get Peddie's fingers out of the mix, and that was always the prime benefit of hiring a new president/GM to run the hockey club.

If this was a condo deal, the suits at MLSE would have it locked down and completed by now. It's been 10 days since Burke was cleared to talk to any NHL club, and the Leafs haven't yet sat down face-to-face with him to hammer out a deal. They seem to be labouring under the illusion that they have options, that Burke isn't the best opportunity they've had in a while to add a bold, experienced hockey man.

Larry Tanenbaum and Co. apparently figure that if they honour enough players, as they did with Wendel Clark on Saturday, maybe it'll distract people from the fact that the team has steadily deteriorated over the past five years. Hope springs eternal in the hearts of dedicated Leaf fans, but even they, when they gaze upon the NHL standings this morning, have to notice that their favorite team has fewer wins than all but two other clubs this season.

In November, 2008, they are by far the worst of the Original Six, with Boston and Chicago having risen out of their self-imposed doldrums to join the Rangers, Canadiens and Red Wings as strong clubs in the league this season.

This we know for sure. Brian Burke cannot make things worse.

We Interrupt This Program. . .

MONTREAL--Everything was going along swimmingly for Mark Cohon.

The CFL, Cohon pronounced during his second state-of-the-league address as commissioner, is doing gangbuster business these days. TV ratings are up, offence is back, penalties are down, neutral site games are in the offing and so is expansion to Ottawa.

Recession, what recession?

Then it all ended with a thud. Literally.

As Cohon was going through his question-and-answer session, a freelance TV cameraman at the back of the room collapsed in the overheated room, crashing to the ground. An ambulance was quickly called, and while the cameraman seemed to be okay as he was taken to hospital, Cohon was left looking a little lost while none of his handlers seemed to know what to do.

Finally, they moved him to an adjacent room, where he did a short scrum, then was whisked away.

Hardly a triumphant moment for the commish, but peculiar circumstances can do that sometimes.

Here in sub-zero but sunny Montreal, its hard to detect Grey Cup fever, but its there and should expand over the next few days. The game isn't sold out yet, and cutbacks in newspapers across the country have put their own chill on the game from a media perspective, with several outlets recalling writers or deciding not to send them altogether.

Cohon seemed a little surprised when asked about that, and you can see his focus is almost exclusively on the league's TV ratings, which are strong, rather than newspapers, which are facing all kinds of economic challenges these days.

Cohon did surprise with his talk of possibly holding neutral site games at a new track-and-field stadium in Moncton, and a return to Ottawa by 2011 remains a possibility, if not a certainty.

The commish was able to create a sense of a league that is more than stable at the moment despite the disastrous seasons in Toronto and Hamilton that essentially took southern Ontario out of the mix for the post-season. He said ratings on TSN were up 14 per cent, including 31 per cent in the 18-34 age demographic, suggesting that the league may be making a connection with the next generation.

All in all, it was hardly doom and gloom, hardly a mirror reflection of the economic uncertainty out there.

Then it all ended. Maybe it was for the best.

Thursday Mail Bag

AP FILE PHOTO

Brian Burke to the Leafs could be a done deal this weekend.

Brian Burke could be in charge of the Maple Leafs by Sunday.

It could take a little longer, but talks between the former Anaheim GM and the Leafs, or at least between Burke’s lawyer and MLSE, are clearly heating up. Burke is spending much of today hunting ducks near Vancouver, but indications are from both sides that he’s likely to receive a full-blown offer from the Leafs by Saturday as discussions to get his name on a contract move on to the fast-track.

Clearly, the speed with which Anaheim CEO Michael Schulman released Burke to talk to other clubs caught both Burke and the Leafs off guard, at least in terms of sitting down and quickly hammering out a deal. Given that the timing of his arrival in Toronto isn’t critical - it doesn’t matter, really, if it happens in two days or two weeks - both sides have some time to work with and appear to be taking advantage of it. Logistically, both Burke’s lawyer and Gord Kirke, head of the MLSE search team, have been tied up with other non-hockey matters this week, but both sides have been exchanging information on what the parameters of a contract might be, including term and autonomy, and all the members of the MLSE board have signed off on the concept on trying to hire Burke. It appears likely the Leafs won’t want to waste time haggling but instead will present Burke with a serious first offer, likely to be at least a four-year proposal and possibly longer.

If Burke does sign on this weekend, it appears increasingly likely he won’t be coming alone. His visit to Vancouver this week will include a meeting with Dave Nonis, who worked with Burke in B.C. and was hired by Burke to work in Anaheim during the summer. Nonis had meetings with the Leafs last summer over their vacant executive position, but couldn’t come to an agreement, so clearly he’s already seriously considered re-locating east.

How that would affect the Leaf front office isn’t clear. Fletcher would likely stay on a consultant capacity at least until the end of the 19-month contract he signed last January, and Joe Nieuwendyk appears likely to be part of a Burke team. Burke didn’t immediately clean house when he took over in Vancouver or Anaheim, so he may be content with bringing Nonis in without dumping those already working in Toronto.

Fletcher had said publicly he’d like the entire Burke-to-Toronto business wrapped up as soon as possible. It appears he’ll get this wish.

Now on to this week’s mail bag:

Q: Hi Damien,

Brian Burke got way too much credit for Anaheim. Chris Pronger fell into his lap, and in drafting the GM relies heavily on other staff members' hard work. His management of the cap in Anaheim has been shambolic.

Burke is a middle of the pack GM with a talent for self promotion that has inflated his worth. Isn't that a fair midpoint between the two sides of the argument?

David R., Toronto

A: Disagree, although Burke certainly doesn’t need to go out and hire a promotional firm - he is media savvy enough for three GMs. I’ve heard the Anaheim argument many times, and I just don’t buy it. Players like Sammy Pahlsson were headed out of the Ducks organization when Burke took over, and he found new roles for them. He hired Randy Carlyle as head coach when there were lots of choices out there. Re the Pronger deal, any number of teams, including the Leafs, were in the bidding for the big defenceman, and Burke closed the deal. He helped give that team an identity as a big, nasty group. I may not likely his style of hockey, but there’s no denying Burke was as much an architect of the Anaheim championship as anyone else.

Q: Love the column. I disagree with you regarding Fletcher and his work so far with the Leafs. I have been living in LA for the past five years and last year was my first chance to see the Leafs on the West Coast. Unlike the Raps or Jays who fought hard to win, the Leafs quit before the game had even begun. It was sad, especially since it seemed like half the people in the building were wearing Leafs shirts. Fast forward to this year and the club is skating and scoring and even fighting back when they are losing. It makes it fun to check the internet and watch games in progress and read the papers the next day. You can’t measure what Fletcher has done in terms of how many goals they’ve scored or how many wins. The guy has spiked the team’s water supply with hot sauce and the team is alive again. For that I say thank you Mr. Silver Fox.

Elliott Lefko West Hollywood, California

A: Well, you’re entitled to your opinion. And if you like what you’re seeing from the Leafs, Fletcher has certainly been influential. As I’ve said, I believe he’s done a capable job, so maybe we just differ in terms of the compliments we choose to use. I wouldn’t have squandered draft picks on Jamal Mayers and Ryan Hollweg, I wouldn’t have kept Luke Schenn in the NHL this season and certainly last spring, when Fletcher was running the Leafs, it was a complete waste of time to have Justin Pogge riding the pine with the Marlies during the AHL playoffs when a Leaf youth movement was about to happen. Fletcher’s best decision was to hire Ron Wilson, and to me, that has a lot more to do with the way in which the team has hustled and refused to quit in the early going.

Q: Not sure if you answer questions on other teams but I may have seen it on occasion in here. I'm a New York Islanders fan and wondering what is your perspective of my favourite team? Is Garth Snow a legit GM and where would you rate him amongst other GM's? And aside from the young talent the Isles have in Kyle Okposo and others, who might other teams be interested in trading for. One last question, I read many good things on Rick DiPietro as being a top ten goalie and I think he's great when he plays, but outside of L.I. what do hockey minds think of him?

Thanks, John Said, London

A: I love to answer questions on all things hockey - it just seems like most people want to chat about the Leafs! On the Isles, it sure seems that, like the Leafs, they’ve done better in the early going than many thought they would. Doug Weight and Bill Guerin seem to be providing good leadership and the club looked good in sweeping Ottawa last weekend. Other than Okposo, however, the Long Island roster isn’t exactly brimming with the kinds of “A” prospects you might expect. This year’s first rounder, Josh Bailey, is still around, although he may be returned to junior.

Re DiPietro, few doubt the raw ability. His penchant to wander far and wide in search of pucks to play doesn’t sit well with some, the 15-year contract became a lightning rod for criticism and his inability to stay healthy the last three seasons has injured both his consistency and the perception of him as a top-line goalie. He’s had three operations - two knee, one hip - in the last seven months and isn’t expected back in the Islander lineup until early December.

Q: Hello Damien, I'm pretty confident that nine-out-of-ten questions coming in now are about ol' Burke so I thought I'd make things interesting and ask a couple non-Burke, non-Leaf questions:

1) With the Hockey Hall of Fame rewriting the bylaws, it seems evident that females will be finally given a fair shot at induction. Which women do you believe deserve induction?

2) A rules question. If two teams play to a 0-0 draw through regulation and overtime and get to a shootout, is the losing goalie still awarded a shutout?

Mike Itler, Montreal

A: Well, Angela James would probably be high on my list, as would Cammi Granato and Geraldine Heaney. However, there may be other women from earlier eras in the women’s game who also deserve consideration, and I can’t speak knowledgeably on who they might be. But there’s more than a few of them.

On the rules question, the answer is yes. You may recall Vesa Toskala and the Leafs lost a 1-0 shootout decision to Steve Valiquette and the Rangers on Oct. 17. Both Toskala and Valiquette were credited with shutouts.

Q: Hey Damien,

Not a lover of your articles, but not a loather of them either. I think it's good that a reporter like yourself is in Toronto, adds to to controversy like everyone else.

My question is in regards to Dominic Moore. He was putting the puck in the net and putting up assists like a great third line centre. He's great defensively, and he plays very smartly. Maybe that's the Harvard grad in him (all the Moore's, Steve too, went there). Why is he constantly being pushed down to a fourth line centre role, when I, and I'm sure many, would love him as a third line, responsible, centre-man?

In addition, what is your view on Mayers? He seems like a solid 4th, maybe 3rd line winger, however he seems to put himself in awkward plays, and take penalties he doesn't meant to take. I don't think he's worth a 2nd round pick, however that is only what I feel visible on the ice to a fan, and I'm sure leadership means as much to the leafs at this point.

Andrew Pawlowski, Toronto/Guelph

A: On Moore, I think he’s being moved around less because of what he’s doing and more because the Leaf coaching staff is looking for answers elsewhere. That said, he’s getting his minutes (15:27 per) and is a favourite of Ron Wilson’s. He doesn’t have the offensive upside of Mikhail Grabovski or Matt Stajan, so he’s unlikely to get more ice than other of those two, but he’s probably moved ahead of Alex Steen on the depth chart of late.

Re Mayers, it was a third round pick, for clarification. I think Wilson would like him to be more physical in terms of the forecheck, and his minus-9 while averaging less than 10 minutes per game isn’t going to make any coach happy.

Q: Damien,

I have a question about the potential of this current Leaf squad. Everyone says this team is years away from contention, but I just don't see it that way. I'm sure you would agree that Grabovsky, Kulemin and Hagman make an excellent second line. That said, with Antropov seemingly finding his stride as a top six forward and a host of quality third and forth liners to choose from, aren't the Leafs two star forwards away from contention? I can't believe that there are many teams with a stronger defence core one thru six with Kaberle, Kubina and an improving Luke Schenn. If that's so, couldn't the Leafs sign two big money free agents ($10-15 mil per season) and contend next year? Dumping Blake would surely fre eup enough cap space. Am I overrating the talent? Am I missing something? Love to hear your thoughts.

Moe Green, Austin, TX

A: Two star forwards away from contention is a long, long way, and given his contractual situation, Antropov will be gone by March, so they’ll need three such forwards. And I do believe you are vastly overrating the talent, particularly the blueline talent. Neither Kubina nor Kaberle are having strong seasons, and if you notice, Kubina’s ice time has been dropping drastically in recent games. This is not a strong defence, and it will take some time to build it around Schenn. Jeff Finger appears solid, but unless Carlo Colaiacovo responds to Wilson’s tough love program, there’s little A-list talent on the backend.

So no, I don’t think they can “contend” next year, if you mean contend for the Cup.

Q: Hey Damien,

I thought I would give you a break this week by not asking a Brian Burke related question. I just read that the Sens might be looking to break up their big three in order to facilitate a shakeup of sorts with that team. I've always took an issue with Jason Spezza as I find him to be completely unmotivated and everytime I see him in interviews (win, lose or last place) with this goofy smile on his face thinking (and talking) that everything is ok? I would think he should be the first to go if Ottawa has a shakeup. Your thoughts?

Also, I know that for a long time Ottawa is/was known as a speedy team that could score but lacked toughness (until they got Chara and after he left). Is there something to the culture of the organization that might make things a bit too comfortable for players (ala the Maple Leafs and the Country Club atmosphere)?

Rob Kirsic, Brampton, Ont.

A: I don’t think Spezza’s going anywhere. They’ve committed $80 million to he and Dany Heatley over the next five years. Spezza’s their No. 1 centre, and with Mike Fisher out now, they don’t have a second or third line pivot capable to putting up numbers.

I can’t say about the culture, although it seems the party atmosphere got a bit out of control. I just believe this is a team that used to have great mobility and passing ability on the backend, but doesn’t anymore, leaving their talented forwards without the puck in places that will allow them to be successful. Why they broke up the blueline corps that got them to the Stanley Cup final is a mystery.

Every Thursday, Damien Cox answers your questions in The Spin, only at thestar.com.

Click here to submit a question for Damien's mail bag. **Note: please follow the link above to send a question. Questions posted in the comments section may not make it to the mailbag. Thanks.**

Rename the Game

There have been many who have suggested the sport shouldn't be called hockey, but rather, "goalie."

The identity of the player who fills the crease, after all, is the major determing factor when it comes to the success or failure of a hockey club.

It also may be the crucial issue when it comes to the raging debate over whether Brian Burke is a suitable candidate to take over and revive the ailing Maple Leaf organization.

Some argue that Burke turned around a struggling Vancouver team in 1998 and produced a series of winning teams, then went to Anaheim and turned a good club into a Stanley Cup champion.

Others, however, suggest that Burke's team in Vancouver were perennial springtime failures, and that all he did in Anaheim was inherit a solid roster, tweak it a bit, and reap the benefits.

I happen to support the first of these two theories. But there's some evidence to support the second, and that revolves around the issue of goaltending.

In Vancouver, Burke was never able to stabilize the position. He went through an astounding 13 goalies in six seasons, a list that included Garth Snow, Corey Hirsch, Kevin Weekes, Felix Potvin, Corey Schwab, Alfie Michaud, Dan Cloutier, Bob Essensa, Alex Auld, Petr Skudra, Martin Brochu, Tyler Moss and Johan Hedberg.

The main reason the Canucks couldn't convert 100-point seasons into significant playoff runs was, aside from being a team with a collective low IQ that always took stupid penalties, the fact Burke bet heavily that Cloutier could be a No. 1 stopper, and Cloutier was always either hurt or sub-standard.

Burke stubbornly believed Cloutier would eventually come through when few others outside the team supported that notion, and it led to his downfall in Vancouver.

Now compare that to Anaheim. While Burke did indeed put the finishing touches on a roster that weren't necessarily easy ones, such as luring Scott Niedermayer, dealing for Francois Beauchemin and trading for Chris Pronger, the key player he did inherit was netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Burke has repeatedly called Giguere one of the best money goalies ever, and he's not wrong. Giguere was dazzling in 2003 when the Ducks went all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final before losing to New Jersey, and captured the Conn Smythe Trophy.
When Anaheim did win it all in 2007, Giguere began the post-season on the sidelines but in the end supplied the necessary goaltending.

He's often not pretty to watch, but he's a rock back there who plays his best when it matters most, and the Ducks have been able to count on him year after year.

So if Burke had inherited a Giguere-like goalie in Vancouver, maybe the results there would have been different, just as they might have been in Anaheim had Giguere not been there.

Point is, goaltending usually determines the ultimate success of GMs. Coming to Toronto, Burke will inherit Vesa Toskala, Curtis Joseph and youngster Justin Pogge, a group which right now doesn't look capable of taking the club very far in the years ahead.

So if you wonder how Burke will fare running the Leafs, watch if he sticks with Toskala, and if Toskala turns out to be more Cloutier or more Giguere.

A Thick Coating of Teflon

It was intriguing to watch, hear and read all the flattering things about Kyle Wellwood on the weekend, and to see how he has apparently resuscitated his career in Vancouver.

What nobody seemed inclined to discuss, however, was what the Maple Leafs received from Vancouver in exchange for Wellwood and the name of the Leaf executive who engineered the transaction.

The answers, of course, are nothing and Cliff Fletcher.

Yep, the kid who scored Vancouver's pretty first goal on Saturday night was given away by Fletcher.

If you agree Wellwood looks reborn in Vancouver, then you'd have to say it was a bad deal by Fletcher.

Yet nobody, but nobody, covering the Wellwood story seemed to bring that point up.
It was, really, yet another example of the extra layer of teflon assigned to Fletcher in his second go around with the hockey club. Nothing bad that has happened since he arrived in January is attributed to him, and anything positive is wildly exaggerated.

Even now, with the team having won only seven of 18 games and having lost five of its past seven matches, the tributes to Fletcher's work are just pouring in by people who have been around the game for a long time and should know better.

It's hagiography, basically. It's also a measurement of the enormous circle of friends Fletcher has in the game and in the media that cover the sport.

The truth? Fletcher's done a capable caretaking job. Nothing great, nothing terrible. No strong new direction, no acquisition of major impact players.

He's been a useful caretaker, killing time until the next guy comes along.

But for people to say he's done a superb job, or for some analysts to suggest the Leafs would be wise to bypass Brian Burke and instead keep Fletcher on the job, is both absurd and an exercise in fact-twisting.

It's widely portrayed, for example, that Fletcher has directed a significant improvement with the Leafs.

It's just not true.

Under John Ferguson last year, the Leafs had exactly the same record after 18 games they do now, 7-7-4.

But they're a more exciting offensive team scoring more goals, right?

Wrong. After 18 games they've actually scored one FEWER goal than at this time last year, and allowed one more goal against.

Okay, but stats aside, he's effectively revamped the roster, right?

Well, sort of.

The team's top four scorers, starting goaltender and the majority of the blueline corps were all on the roster when Fletcher took over. Ditto for promising rookies Nikolai Kulemin and John Mitchell.

So the guts of the current team was inherited by Fletcher.

Fletcher has indeed added players of measurable impact in Mikhail Grabovski and Niklas Hagman. Grabovski was acquired for a second round pick, and while that still seems like a hefty price, we'll agree for the point of this discussion that was a good move.

Hagman (four years, $12 million) is overpaid, but he was a strong signing by Fletcher. Ditto for coach Ron Wilson, who will earn between $1.5-2 million this season as one of the league's highest paid coaches.

Fletcher traded three picks to move up and draft Luke Schenn, who appears to have a solid future as a stay-at-home NHL defenceman and possibly a future captain. Everybody likes the kid, and for good reason.

It was a mistake to keep Schenn in the NHL - minus-five on this western road swing - and burn the first year of his entry level contract, but again, we'll give Fletcher this one.
So he gets a big plus for Hagman, Grabovski, Wilson and Schenn.

Fair?

Now let's look at his other moves.

Wellwood was dumped with nothing acquired in return. Ditto for Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft, who were bought out and will cost the Leafs $1.7 million against the salary cap this season, and both are playing for the Colorado Avalanche.

The Leafs paid $2 million just to be able to trade Bryan McCabe to Florida, and in return picked up the capable but wildly overpaid ($3.5 million per season) Mike Van Ryn.
Maybe McCabe had to go. But if that deal has materially benefitted the Leafs, I'd be interested to see the evidence, and McCabe has barely played for the Panthers. Actually, since he returned from injury, he's been a plus player and Florida has won three of five games.

Jonas Frogren was signed for two years at about $2.2 million, and while he seems rugged, Wilson has seen fit to dress him for only nine games. He looks like a fringe NHLer, at best.
Fletcher tried twice to trade Mats Sundin and failed. Now, if Sundin were to come back to the NHL, it seems there's little chance he'd pick Toronto. His former salary, meanwhile, represents basically all of the cap "savings" attributed to Fletcher.

Jeff Finger was signed for four years and $14 million, an amount that seemed outrageous at the time and equally so now that we've had a look at him in action. He's seems reliable and capable, nothing more.

Jamal Mayers was picked up for a third round pick and Ryan Hollweg for a fifth rounder. Value? Doubtful.

Alex Steen was, for some reason, awarded a new two-year contract by Fletcher with a nice raise to $3.4 million. He's been of no consequence at all this season. Mark Bell and Boyd Devereaux were put on waivers and dumped to the minors.

Finally, Curtis Joseph was signed for one-year at $700,000, which made fans happy but sure isn't going to help much with Vesa Toskala's game seemingly going south these days.

So when you add it all up, is this the work of a genius?

Fletcher has made far more moves that have proved to have either a neutral or negative effect that ones that have a significantly positive impact on the Leafs.

And the team is no better, no worse. Just about the same.

That Didn't Take Long

Wanna know why Barry Melrose got fired after only 16 games?
'Cause it's not 1993 anymore.
The league has changed in so many ways since Melrose coached the L.A. Kings to the Stanley Cup final, and one of the major ways in which it has changed is that players work 12 months a year to stay in shape and coaches and GMs work just as hard, or harder.
Unfortunately for Melrose, being a pal of one of the owners - Oren Koules - turned out to not be good enough once it became clear he wasn't prepared to put in the basic time and hours to be a successful head coach.
Just this week, Melrose took a day off from practice, suggesting the team needed not to hear from him for a day.
Last night, after the club blew a 2-0 lead to lose at home to Detroit, he gave the players AND the coaching staff a full day off on Friday.
In today's NHL, that's inexcusable. Now, he'll have all the time off he needs.
It didn't help Melrose that early in the season he was very reluctant to give much ice time to prize rookie Steven Stamkos when GM Brian Lawton made it very clear that he wanted Stamkos to play lots of minutes.
Lawton didn't hire Melrose, and when he began to believe the team wasn't prepared, or at least the coaches weren't, he went to Koules and co-owner Len Barrie and asked for permission to fire Melrose.
It's the second bold move of the week for Lawton, who wasn't officially named GM until September and has been aggressively unwinding some of the moves that were made between the time ex-GM Jay Feaster was fired and his ascension to GM, some of which were personally organized by Koules and Barrie.
Last week he dealt defenceman Matt Carle and his four-year, $13.75 million contract to Philly for rearguard Steve Eminger and winger Steve Downie. Carle had been the centrepiece of the package the Bolts had received from San Jose for defenceman Dan Boyle during the summer.
While the firing of Melrose is extraordinary, as newsworthy is the hiring of Rick Tocchet as head coach. Tocchet was banned from the NHL while working as an assistant coach in Phoenix in 2006 for his involvement in a New Jersey betting ring. Tocchet eventually pleaded guilty to felony gambling charges and was reinstated by the league last February.
After the Coyotes had stood by him during his two-year absence from the NHL, it was surprising when Tocchet agreed to join Melrose's staff in Tampa last summer.
Before his involvement with Operation Slapshot, Tocchet had been considered a prime candidate for an NHL head coaching job. Now, he gets his chance.

New Leafs By Next Week?

Crazy to think Brian Burke could be running the show with the Maple Leafs by this time next week.

Or earlier.

This thing's going to move very, very quickly, and Burke has made no bones about the fact he intends to not take even a single day off. He wants to get started on his next job immediately.

Two things we know, or at least most sensible people know.

One, Burke is the best man available to do the job. If not the best man period, he is available. Hockey isn't like the real world in which you can just go out and hire who you want. It's an industry filled with tampering rules, and one in which the best executives in the game shake loose only occasionally, and never in large numbers.

Two, there's no guarantee Burke will be successful in Toronto, at least if you define success as winning a Stanley Cup, not putting together three victories in a row in mid-December.

The same would be the case if it was Ken Holland or Doug Wilson or Jim Rutherford getting the job. No guarantees of ultimate success.

Burke might not be able to do any more with the Leafs than he was able to do with the Vancouver Canucks, which was assemble a good team that wilted in the spring.

But let's get one thing straight. He was very much the architect of the championship won in Anaheim.

It drives me nuts the number of people who have emailed and, in effect, stripped Burke of any credit for the Ducks winning it all. That argument suggests that Bryan Murray did all the legwork, that Jean-Sebastien Giguere was already there and both Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry had already been drafted.

It is an argument for utter morons.

Folks, every manager builds on what was done before. Well, every manager except Lou Lamoriello, who's been running the show in Jersey so long that every decision over the past 20 years has his fingerprints all over it.

But in Anaheim, Burke surely built on what Murray had established. He pulled it all together, hired Randy Carlyle to coach,brought in Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Francois Beauchemin for the back end and gave the teams it's rough-and-tumble personality.

Every success story in the league has its roots in what was done before. Even now, as Cliff Fletcher is getting all kinds of kudos for putting together a team that can almost win half its games, you'd have to give John Ferguson some credit for signing Nik Antropov, trading for Vesa Toskala and drafting Nikolai Kulemin. In San Jose, where the Sharks have the best record in hockey, some very good things were done before Wilson arrived as GM in 2003.

Its the same story everywhere. So while you might not endorse the choice of Burke as the next Leaf GM or like his preferred style of hockey, its just silly to try and rob him of any credit for what was done in Anaheim.

Can he win in Toronto? Don't know. The guess here is he can give this team a vibrant identity and make it into a solid playoff team in three years. Beyond that, who knows? He'll get his shot, and if he can't do it in five or six or seven years, somebody else will get their shot.