No Easy Way Out

LONDON--Last summer it was Brad Richards going to the New York Rangers.

Last winter it was Yu Darvish becoming the property of the Texas Rangers.

This week, at least it wasn't a basketball version of the Rangers. Try the L.A. Lakers, who got Steve Nash to play for them when the Toronto Raptors really, really, really wanted him to come north to Toronto.

And once again, the sky-is-falling reaction in Toronto is typical. All Toronto teams stink, nobody good wants to play here, the executives running the teams in T.O. are full of hot air, Toronto teams in every sport are irrelevant, etc., etc.

There's certainly a lot of bottled up frustration out there. Lots of cynicism, too, and when you've got teams with the records of the Raps, Jays and Leafs, not just this season but in a number of seasons, all of this is understandable.

But perspective is necessary.

Nash wasn't going to turn the Raps into a winner. At best, he would have bridged the gap between the group of young players that GM Bryan Colangelo has put together and that group maturing into a decent basketball team. 

It would have been great to see Nash in Toronto. Certainly entertaining. But not getting him doesn't materially change what has to happen with the Raps. They've got to develop good young players and a reputation that makes players want to come.

Whether Colangelo is the right guy to do that is open for debate. But Colangelo's success, or failure, will have a lot more to do with whether Lithuanian youngster Jonas Valanciunas can become an NBA star than what Nash could've done for the team.

But there's no easy answer here, no quick fix. So all the moaning and gnashing of teeth over Nash is a little misplaced, or exaggerated.

But that's the way it is in Toronto right now. When the Leafs were in a playoff position in early February, Brian Burke was a genius for pilfering both Jake Gardiner and Joffrey Lupul out of Anaheim and good things were happening. Then the goaltending went south and analysts were popping up everywhere saying the Leafs had "nothing" and Burke needed to be replaced because he hadn't turned the team around in 3 1/2 years.

Meanwhile, the Rangers finally turned into a good team in the 11th year of Glen Sather's run as GM, while the Kings won the Cup nine years after beginning a rebuild.

But perspective is not what many Leaf fans are currently interested in. Forget the four first round picks - Nazem Kadri, Stuart Percy, Tyler Biggs and Morgan Rielly - taken by Burke currently working their way through the system. Forget the year the Marlies had. It's all "nothing," according to some.

All they see is Richards signing in New York and both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter going to Minnesota on absurd contracts and suddenly that's twisted into more Leaf failure. Justin Schultz signed in Edmonton, picking the Oilers ahead of at least 20 other teams, and there was actually a piece written saying Schultz's decision was indicative of the rot in Toronto. Forget the other 19 teams - just the Leafs looked bad.

Then there's the Blue Jays, out of the playoffs for almost two decades. In the winter, major league baseball analysts were giddy over the potential of this young team, but then the hitting didn't materialize in the early going and then the pitching got hurt and now this team is struggling to say above .500.

Sure, Darvish would have been a significant addition. But there's still lots of youth and potential. That hasn't changed. Nor has to be the path Alex Anthopoulos must follow, which is pretty much the same path that Burke and Colangelo are following.

Only Colangelo, just past his sixth year as GM, has had anywhere near the time necessary to build a winning roster. It's understandable why he wanted to inject some excitement with Nash and add a player who could mentor some of his young players. Depending on what the new ownership of MLSE, he might indeed be on the clock and felt the need to try and make something significant happen.

But Burke and Anthopoulos can't be on the clock yet. Or if one is, the other has to be.

Look, it's been a long time since Toronto has had a winner. A long, long time, and that bugs people.

But it really doesn't change what has to be done with any of these teams, and it shouldn't be used to torque the reality and make it seem worse than it is. Break down the rosters and the prospects, analyze the moves that have been made, critique the decisions made on coaches and personnel. But the all-encompassing sky-is-falling, everybody stinks approach is kind of pointless.

Agreed, there is precious little evidence that Rogers knows how to build a winning baseball team or that MLSE, under old or new ownership, knows how to build a winner.

But the Jays, Raps and Leafs are all at different stages of rebuilding, and all require time to get that done. We can say, with some certainly, that this is the low ebb for pro sports in Toronto, but that doesn't really change much what has to be done or how long its likely to take.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Jim]

I think the Raptors will make the playoffs next season. I also think Toronto FC will be playoff bound next season. The Leafs will miss out again and so will the Jays. My two cents worth.

[Big M]

Brian Burke has done a horrible job. Compare his 4 seasons to Pat Quinn's 4 seasons as a GM. Quinn took over a horrible team, just like Burke. Quinn had 100 point seasons, won Norris Division Titles and took the leafs to a couple Conference finals. That is a good job. Making lame excuses for Burke is pathetic reporting.

[AL]

as burke sits with his thumb somewhere the sun doesn't shine saying that he won't sign any long term contracts or that the free agents aren't worth what they are getting! i guess we will just have to keep are heads down like the sheep we are and eat the crap that the farmer is feeding us. LOOKS LIKE A COUPLE OF MORE YEARS OF HOPING WE WILL GET THE #1 OVERALL PICK. TO OMPROVE APPERNTLY FOLLOWING OILERS GAME PLAN IS WHAT BRIAN APPEARS SET ON. I GUESS I SHOULD EXPECT NOTHING LESS

[Chris Ashton]

As usual COX, you're a hypocrite. You're the one who is stirring the pot. You talk down about the Leafs and have made a career out of it. This week your saying the fans need more patience for the GM's of Toronto to build, and next week you'll be stirring up some more rubbish on why Burke should be fired.
I am a Leafs fan. I am a Burke fan. I wish the team could back him up and a coach could teach the physical style of play Burke has asked for from the beginning. I look at our farm club, and prospects and all the trades burke has made... Its unreal the work he's done. He will succeed.
For you Cox. Stick to being the rat... it suits you more. While I agree with the points you raise in this article, its as if someone has punched you in the face and knocked some sense into you for the first time. THe sky is falling because you always write that it is... what a joke.

[Ottawa Writer]

I don't know who has a shorter attention span, Leaf fans or Leaf journalists. For the first three years of his tenure Burke does everything but paint Draft Schmaft at center ice. He isn't interested in a five-year plan, he doesn't buy the notion that you HAVE to build through the draft - the All-Powerful Burke has a clean slate and is bound and determined to show the rest of the league what he can do with it. Well, turns out what he can do is not very much. As a judge of talent he makes a great lawyer - one would assume that an essential skill for any GM is being able to recognize when a certain player's success, or lack thereof, stems from the team/system he's currently toiling for, and thus knowing whether that success can, and likely will, continue when imported to Toronto. Komisarek anyone? Beauchemin...Versteeg...
Having made a complete balls up of the winning quickly approach, unless of course one happens to be a Bruin fan, Burkie spins 180 degrees on the thinnest of dimes and starts preaching patience and the virtue of taking the long-sighted approach. And guess what, instead of being laughed out of town with his velvet curtain tucked between his legs, Burke the all-powerful is cut as much slack as he needs by the media hordes who have the nerve to slam impatient, sky-is-falling fans!!! Give me a frickin' break Mini Me!
The only conceivable reason why 3 1/2 years isn't nearly enough time to judge the fruits of Burke's rebuild is because he only started it 9 months ago! Oh well, not to worry, new ownership is coming in, and let's face it what could possibly be dysfunctional about two mortal enemies steering the ship. Wow...thank God I cheer for a real team. Go Sens Go.