Comments on: Burke says he wasn’t given a “satisfactory explanation” for the timing of his firing

By: 1historian

1historian — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 18:18:45 +0000

When I saw the picture of this guy my first (and only) question was “What’s Tip O’Neill doing in a story about the Toronto Maple Leafs?”

By: acieu

acieu — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 12:40:02 +0000

Burke forever who doesn’t like hard drinking Irishmen.

By: ucaneverscorenoughgoals

ucaneverscorenoughgoals — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:37:28 +0000

My choices were Burke and Howson…….not any GM. So, I chose neither because having an experienced coach as a GM is better than those two.

Now, I agree with the notion that one needs both a GM and a coach….BUT if Burke and Howson are my ONLY two choices……I’ll pass.

By: theolgoaler

theolgoaler — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:04:37 +0000

Burkie might have fired ’cause he DIDN’T want to trade for Bobby Lu!

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 23:53:38 +0000

Lots of idiots get work, doesn’t mean they aren’t idiots. What’s your point?

By: 127taringa

127taringa — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 23:25:10 +0000

Brian Burke was fired because he is American. The new ownership are Canadian media and he doesn’t fit in with the “we are Canada image” that the Canadian media likes to sell.

By: canuckinamerica

canuckinamerica — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:39:09 +0000

And there lies the problem……Blustering Burkie calls himself a “brand”. No…..you are part of a team.

By: kitshky

kitshky — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:17:17 +0000

That’s the thing though, he’s not my GM so I’m just looking at it outside of results. He’s just entertaining!

By: somekat

somekat — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:57:51 +0000

Brian Burke and Drew Breese would both like an explanation!

By: dbarnes79

dbarnes79 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:42:37 +0000

I agree. I do like a bit of jackass too but you need to back it up with results. Rex Ryan should take note too cause his big mouth us running out of time as well.

By: dbarnes79

dbarnes79 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:36:40 +0000

Odd timing but justified. He did not get a number one center or number one goalie. And they lost a lot too. Kessel deal will always haunt him and this franchise. Also, not sure Louongo is the answer either.

By: cardsandbluesforever

cardsandbluesforever — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:19:25 +0000

ucanneverscoreenoughgoals- we tried that once with Mike Keenan. didnt go so well, he gutted the teams future for a short term plan. took us 10 years to recover from that.

By: misterchainbluelightning

misterchainbluelightning — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:50:24 +0000

Winning a cup with Bryan Murray’s team isn’t a bad job.
I mean he signed Niedermayer, something every GM was willing to do if they had the money and his brother and he made an even trade to get Pronger. So it’s t like he did anything special either.

More like a job….done.

By: sampulls

sampulls — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:45:49 +0000

Spin Burke’s personality any way you want. Bottom line, he was a jerk!

By: kitshky

kitshky — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:24:33 +0000

I have no idea why, probably nostalgia from him in Van when I was a kid, or just the fact that I like guys that (even if I disagree with them 80% of the time) speak their mind and are a lil jackass-ish (real word look it up) … but I’m still kind of a fan.

By: cardsandbluesforever

cardsandbluesforever — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:12:08 +0000

i would choose neither- let Armstrong run the team.

By: caucasian1975

caucasian1975 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:40:40 +0000

He did a good job with the ducks.

By: stebutt

stebutt — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:39:00 +0000

Strange timing. But yeah, you’ve got the biggest team in the NHL and you didn’t make the playoffs. In any season. That’ll generally get you fired.

By: ucaneverscorenoughgoals

ucaneverscorenoughgoals — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:22:21 +0000

I agree with everything you just said. I simply don’t think Howson or Burke are such awful options that complicated or not an experienced coach who installs his own system and brings in his own players could do a better job as GM than either of them.

I’m not saying it would be my choice is a realistic scenario but your question wasn’t in regards to a realistic scenario.

By: nothanksimdriving123

nothanksimdriving123 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:16:36 +0000

ucan: The most recent Leafs coach to sip from the Cup was also their GM. However, in that era, there were just 5 other NHL teams, no union, so no CBA, and damn near no rules about how a team could treat a player. (So they could lie and say, yup, $8,000 a year makes you our highest paid guy, and we can’t afford a penny more.) It is infinitely more complicated now, and it’s unlikely we’ll see (m)any more coach/GM combo guys.

By: broadstbully33

broadstbully33 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:03:04 +0000

Say what you want but the guys gets work and has for along time now

By: ucaneverscorenoughgoals

ucaneverscorenoughgoals — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:58:02 +0000

I simply wouldn’t hire a GM in that case. If those were my only two choices I’d hire an experienced coach and give him GM responsibilities. That way he installs his system, picks the players he wants for it, and makes adjustments as he sees fit.

By: somekat

somekat — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:55:25 +0000

The first guy selling beer that I see

By: bcsteele

bcsteele — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:47:13 +0000

On another note…

Who would you choose as your teams next GM if you only had Burke and Howson to choose from?

By: bcsteele

bcsteele — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:45:28 +0000

Just make sure your brand stays away from my Blues Burke. Or I’ll be singing the blues…

By: ucaneverscorenoughgoals

ucaneverscorenoughgoals — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:45:04 +0000

I wish he would just shut up!

His team won fewer games than they lost during his time there, major trades didn’t pan out, and he shot his mouth off at almost every opportunity he had.

Why was he surprised?