William Houston: Toronto media soft on Burke

William Houston was a long time sports columnist for the Globe & Mail and has now started blogging on his own... his first entry is pretty good, and to the point.

http://www.truthandrumours.net/2009/10/15/toronto-media-soft-on-burke/

Can't really argue too much with what he said.

wow, I bet the Leaf organization won't like to hear about this, especially MLSE, who will have to deal with the fact they have failed again by hiring Burke and enabling Wilson. I have heard that Wilson might have lost the respect of his players, and if that is the case, then it will be a long season in T.O.

He makes no real surprising remarks/points here to impartial fans.

I knew that the trading of two first-round picks (not to mention a 2nd) from a team likely to finish in the bottom for a former 1st round pick (5th overall), who is injured, is a huge risk and potential career killer for a general manager. But not Burke apparently.

It's kind of like, but much more worse than, Murray selling his extra first (San Jose's) for Campoli and Comrie, when we were not in a real position to push for, let alone a playoff position, but a Stanley Cup run.

Is Campoli really worth a 1st round pick at this point? He's young, has some offensive skills we needed, but really? And Comrie who we moved on from, not once, but twice?

The Leafs will very likely finish bottom 10. They might finish bottom 5. They may even finish dead last. Fans should be outraged about that, and have nothing to show for it.

The Leafs could have made an offer sheet for Kessel, knowing the Bruins were in tight cap wise, and given up less than what they did, but that would have seen Burke putting himself in a hypocritical position. Is that more important than doing what';s best for your team? They also could have used the abundance of cap space to their advantage later on in the season and taken draft picks and salary back from teams in need of making big moves. They also could have sold valuable assets (Kubina) for 1st round pick(s) + to contending teams needing that extra bit of an edge.

This was a team that could have been set for the future with a rock like Schenn on the blue line and offensive weapons like Hall upfront.

So poorly run, it is unbelievable.

Dash wrote:He makes no real surprising remarks/points here to impartial fans.

I knew that the trading of two first-round picks (not to mention a 2nd) from a team likely to finish in the bottom for a former 1st round pick (5th overall), who is injured, is a huge risk and potential career killer for a general manager. But not Burke apparently.

It's kind of like, but much more worse than, Murray selling his extra first (San Jose's) for Campoli and Comrie, when we were not in a real position to push for, let alone a playoff position, but a Stanley Cup run.

Is Campoli really worth a 1st round pick at this point? He's young, has some offensive skills we needed, but really? And Comrie who we moved on from, not once, but twice?

The Leafs will very likely finish bottom 10. They might finish bottom 5. They may even finish dead last. Fans should be outraged about that, and have nothing to show for it.

The Leafs could have made an offer sheet for Kessel, knowing the Bruins were in tight cap wise, and given up less than what they did, but that would have seen Burke putting himself in a hypocritical position. Is that more important than doing what';s best for your team? They also could have used the abundance of cap space to their advantage later on in the season and taken draft picks and salary back from teams in need of making big moves. They also could have sold valuable assets (Kubina) for 1st round pick(s) + to contending teams needing that extra bit of an edge.

This was a team that could have been set for the future with a rock like Schenn on the blue line and offensive weapons like Hall upfront.

So poorly run, it is unbelievable.

I like what you said except I disagree with the bolded part. Murray didn't trade away Ottawa's first round pick, he traded away San Jose's first which was almost guaranteed to be a bottom 5 first round pick at that point of the season, and he traded it away for the chance at a player who might have just needed to play on a better team to maximize his abilities.

Two COMPLETELY different scenarios.

I realize that, but it's essentially the same thing - you really don't trade away picks for players that are not guaranteed studs when you are out of the playoffs. Look what Murray's been able to do with late picks, imagine what an extra 2nd would have gotten us?

Not turning this into a Murray/Senators debate, but using a, somewhat similar, scenario to explain how poor Burke's managerial skills are.

Imagine Pittsburgh had given up Crosby or Malkin in a similar deal (to what Burke has basically done for Kessel)?

Actually, Burke could have done the offer sheet with a clear coscience. His problem with Lowe's offer sheet was the size of the contract for -- at the time -- a young, unproven player. His contention was that Lowe was driving up salaries for everyone by giving Pennter as much as he did. Of course he goes and gives Kessel too much as well (IMO), but via the offer sheet he could have given him less for one year (maybe only high enough for a 1st and 3rd picks) and then extended him. Kessel would not have cared very much, but it could have been a huge difference to the Leafs (and Bruins). The only potential problem was that the Bruins could have matched by dumping some salary -- would have been great for the rest of the division.