The amount of work that the Toronto Maple Leafs still have to do to become a quality hockey team is staggering. So don’t take the following thoughts I have as an indication that I think the Leafs are going to be a powerhouse any time soon.
But based on the two years that Brian Burke has had on the job, I have to say that I think the Leafs are a lot better than they were before he arrived, and that they finally have a young nucleus in place that will give them at least a chance at being a quality hockey team in the not so distant future. They are no at least going in the right direction.
Any discussion of the Maple Leafs brings up a slew of emotions from hockey fans, either pro or con. It seems that you either love the Maple leafs or you hate the Maple Leafs, there is no in between. And one thing my 30-year career in the media has shown me is that people will believe what they want to believe and hear what they want to hear in regards to anything you say.
Many Leaf followers (who are blind loyal beyond belief!) will take this as a sign that the Leafs are winning the Stanley Cup tomorrow. Many Leaf haters will say I don’t have the guts to call it the way it is and that I am another “Burkie” apologist.
I am doing neither. But for the Leafs to go from where they are now to being a serious Cup contender requires the same strategy as it takes to eat an elephant or do anything else that seems impossible – you start with one bite at a time.
The Leafs have two goaltenders who can play in the NHL, one a veteran the other a youngster loaded with promise. They have a very solid defensive nucleus. They now have a lot of forwards 23 years of age and younger in the system who can play. And although I don’t subscribe to trading first round draft picks at any time as a strategy, I also understand that dealing them for players like Phil Kessel is far different than using them to get old forwards looking for a retirement contract in Toronto.
I like Brian Burke as a general manager, but that doesn’t mean I think he’s God either. But this franchise is in a lot better shape than it was two years, it has more pieces in place, and it finally has a general manager that has the authority to call his own shots and do what he thinks is right.
For the Leafs to really make a huge step up, Burke will have to be more patient. Yes, you can build more quickly in the new NHL but to have long-term success like the premier franchises in the league do, you have to resist the temptation to try and eat the elephant all at the same time.
Do that and you bite off much more than you can chew. Take it a piece at a time and maybe you have a chance.
It won’t be easy to ignore the media and fans in Toronto. As soon as one deal is made, the immediate reaction is “yeah but who is going to play with him?” Make one draft pick and it’s “yeah but what about another goalie in the syatem?” People want that elephant to be inhaled, not eaten slowly.
The Leafs have a ton of work to do, but they have a lot of pieces now in place to do that work with. That doesn’t mean I think the Stanley Cup is around the corner, but it also doesn’t mean I think Burke is a genius either.
It means if you want to eat an elephant, take it slow and make sure you do it right. It’s always a long shot to accomplish anything great, but to do anything great requires a lot of time.
And as far as Brian Burke and the Leafs go, so far, so good…that is ALL I am saying.
I really hope that May 20-29, 2011 turns out to be the time that junior hockey arrives in the greater Toronto area. Consider this the first of many commercials I intend to give on its behalf.
The Memorial Cup will be hosted during those dates at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga by the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. I am involved on the organizing committee and I am going to work hard with the other members to make it a success.
I have had the pleasure of attending 16 Memorial Cups over the past 30 years and I am confident that anybody who has been to one would say it is a great event. For the first time since it has been in the round-robin format it’s in the Toronto area in 2011, and tickets are now on sale.
And how is this, Toronto Maple Leafs fans? You can have season tickets for the Majors this year (34 regular season games) and the full package of Memorial Cup tickets for all nine games, for as low as $822.95 for one ticket. You can pay that much to see three Leaf games easy!
For the moment tickets are available only to Majors season ticket holders, both existing and new, to ensure they get the best seats and to encourage people sitting on the fence to make the plunge and get them. The response has been good and hopefully it really builds up the business in the coming weeks.
At a certain point the remaining packages will be put on sale and the demand will be heavy once that happens, as hockey fans from across Ontario and the country will gobble them up (since they have no interest in Majors season tickets if they live far away).
The Memorial Cup will be a tremendous event in Mississauga – it always is wherever it is held – and I am hopeful it will help build the junior hockey business of the Majors at the same time.