tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Burke – Cherry Feud

Last Saturday, Don Cherry lit into Maple Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke on his Coach's Corner segment. That in and of itself is Cherry's perogative as a broadcaster. If Cherry wanted to criticize Burke for his free agent signings, trades, not removing Ron Wilson sooner or the team's recent tailspin, that's fine. I might not agree with some of it but they are legitimate points for discussion. I can also understand if Cherry wanted to go off on Burke for the Leaf GM going to CBC and complaining about Coach's Corner. However, Cherry's rant that not having enough players from Ontario is the reason for the lack of the Leafs' success and Burke should be held responsible for that is ridiculous.

Cherry has turned himself into the hockey version of Rush Limbaugh. His jingoistic flag-waving nonsense has gone way over the top. The truth be told, Brian Burke has drafted more players from Ontario than John Ferguson Jr. Cherry's view represents that held by some in Toronto who have had a hard time with Burke being an American when the truth be told that most of Leaf Nation could care less where a player is from as long as they play hard and give the Leafs a chance to win. Cherry, like Limbaugh, plays to the over-the-top crowd that loves to point fingers at anyone who is different and use that to explain all of the problems that they face. In this case, Cherry is saying that the Leafs are failing because there are too many non-Ontario players on the roster and too many American college and American born players.

I have said this before and I will say it again: Brian Burke has done a tremendous job in building the team's farm system and making the Leafs younger. There is plenty of potential and certainly the expectation is that some of these kids, like Joe Colborne, Nazem Kadri, Korbinian Holzer and Jesse Blacker, will be ready to make significant contributions next season. (By the way, Kadri and Blacker are from Ontario) This is why I agreed with Burke in not wanting to mortgage the future to get Rick Nash. Leaf management has done this in the past: think Owen Nolan and Tom Kurvers.

Where Burke has faltered is with the acquisition of free agents. The signing of Tim Connolly last summer is the most recent example. Some in the Toronto media have criticized Burke for not bringing in Ontario born free agents, citing the last most significant Ontario-born free agent being Curtis Joseph. I have a problem with this for two reasons. First, there was no salary cap when Joseph was signed. The Leafs have unlimited resources which allowed them to have a payroll as high as they wanted. However, those days are over. Secondly, it takes two to dance and I didn't see Rick Nash, Steven Stamkos or John Tavares allow themselves to hit the open market. They all re-signed with their current clubs before they hit the free agency. Does one honestly think that Burke would not have gone after any one of those three if they had hit the open market? Even Steve Ott, who praised Cherry's rant for sticking up for Ontario-born players, stated that he didn't want to to be traded and loved living in Dallas.

With the team's playoff chances all but over for this season, there is no doubt that next season will be a critical one for Burke and Company. I honestly believe that this team is very close to being a top 8 team in the East on a regular basis. They will need to straighten out the goaltending situation but I feel that the hiring of Randy Carlyle is a positive in making this team better defensively which should help the goaltending. I also believe that James Reimer can be an NHL starting goaltender but the Leafs need to bring in a veteran to help carry the load.

As for Cherry, it's really a shame. I have always enjoyed Coach's Corner but over the last several years I have found myself switching channels during that segment because of the nonsense that was being spewed. Cherry has turned himself into a windbag and it is unfortunate because on some issues (such as no-touch icing and equipment) he is right on the money. He has hurt his own credibility and it appears that no one is big enough to tell him so. Unfortunate indeed.

What a Week For Leafs Nation

My last post was before the trade deadline and I asked the question whether the Toronto Maple Leafs would be different. Well one week later they certainly are different. My very last post called for the firing of Ron Wilson and on Friday evening Brian Burke pulled the trigger and then hired Randy Carlyle. The Leafs responded with a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday but the hiring of Carlyle could be a better move than mortgaging the future to try to get a player to get the Leafs into the playoffs. You see Carlyle stresses team defense, an overall team system, toughness and the willingness to match lines when necessary. He also acknowledges this team's greatest asset, speed, and he plans to utilize it to instill the overall team defensive philosophy.

In the dreaded 1-8-1 span of games, the Leafs defensive zone coverage was terrible. The goalies were taking plenty of heat but while their play could have been better, the team in front of them bear as much responsibility for the brutal tailspin. It is apparent that Ron Wilson wasn't able to get this team to pay the price defensively. It also was apparent that he wanted a firewagon style of hockey that the Leafs could play but based upon recent information were not prepared physically or mentally to accomplish. Often times I wondered what actually is Ron Wilson's system. I mean with guys like Lindy Ruff and Jacques Martin you know its going to be a suffocating defense with an aggressive forecheck and if they get a lead they were going to put the clamps down. With Wilson I couldn't figure it out.

Randy Carlyle brings a different philosophy, one that rewards hard work and defense first. After the Montreal game he had an interesting comment about goaltending. Carlyle's point is that a goalie shouldn't have to win you a game, he needs to keep us in the game. Tomorrow's game against Boston is going to be real interesting. The Bruins have manhandled the Leafs all season. Will Carlyle's style of tough hard-nosed defensive hockey allow this team to compete with the Bruins? Will the Leafs be able to utilize their speed to force the Bruins into mistakes?? I'm not expecting miracles but I believe we will see a change. A change for the better.
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I am out-of-town and that is why I have not been able to post regularly so as a result I'm not sure whether Tuesday's Thoughts will be up tomorrow. If it is not you can expect it either Thursday or Friday and I will have plenty to talk about including the whole Burke-Cherry feud, NFL Bounty System, Yankees and Browns thoughts and some basketball. I might even throw in a little golf.

Will Leafs Be Different After Deadline??

Monday is the NHL trade deadline and the big question for Leaf Nation is: Will the Leafs roster be different next Tuesday when they face off against the Florida Panthers?? As each day passes I begin to think that if the Maple Leafs make any trades they will not be blockbusters. Yesterday in an interview on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, Leafs President & General Manager Brian Burke indicated that he did not have any offer on the table to acquire Rick Nash. Based upon what the Blue Jackets are looking for in return for Nash, that does not surprise me. However, Burkie did say that the Leafs will have to look at the goaltending market.

Burke has defended his goaltending tandem of Jonas Gustavsson and James Reimer throughout the season. In fact, he reiterated what he has said recently that Gustavsson had saved the Leafs season with his play in January. But the Leafs head honcho was very clear that the goaltending performance on Tuesday was not acceptable, noting that the game winner was a shot that was going wide. Burke indicated that they would be looking at a goalie who could help the team now not in the future.

Burke is taking heat for not having an experienced goaltender on the roster and that is fair criticism. But what I like about Burkie is he is not afraid to correct his mistakes. He did it with Kris Versteeg and Francois Beauchemin. With the season hanging in the balance, it would not surprise me if the Leafs acquire a veteran goalie. The candidates could be Evgeni Nabakov, Nikolai Khabibulin, Josh Harding, Andres Lindback and J.S. Giguere. I can't see the Leafs getting Nabakov or Khabibulin. But the other 3 could be possibilities. Harding would seem to fit the bill even though he has never been a starter backing up Niklas Backstrom. Harding has played well when pressed into service and is an unrestricted free agent next year so the Leafs could use the remaining games as an audition with no committment for next season. The Wild may consider the move since it would appear that Harding will look to go somewhere that gives him a shot to be a starter and as a result the price for Harding should not be that high. Harding is 27 years old.

Lindback is an interesting player. He is only 23 years old and is a restricted free agent. He played well when Pekka Rinne was out for a bit but it would appear that the Leafs might not want to bring in another 23 year old goalie. Giguere certainly has experience with the Maple Leafs. However, the 34 year old is under contract for next season at a salary cap hit of $1.25 million. If Burke wasn't willing to bring Giguere back in the summer would he be willing to bring him back now and be obligated to him next season??

Of the three, Harding would seem to make the most sense and don't forget that the Wild's general manager happens to be Cliff Fletcher's son. Giguere could be the fall back if the Leafs are comfortable bringing Giguere back next season. But while Burke is looking for goalies, the team still has other needs particularly some size up front. The other issue that bears watching involves Mikhail Grabovski. The popular center, who also happens to be the Leafs best center man, is an unrestricted free agent next season. Burke had to cringe when he saw that the Carolina Hurricanes signed Tuumo Ruutu to a four year extension worth $4.75 million per year. If Ruutu is worth $4.75 million a year, what's Grabovski worth?? On top of that, the Leafs are paying Tim Connolly $4.75 million per year and I think most would agree that Grabovski is worth more than Connolly.

It seems that the Leafs are balking against paying Grabovski $5.5 million a year. Unless the Leafs are able to clear cap space elsewhere, like moving a Mike Komisarek or a Colby Armstrong, they may look to move Grabovski. The problem with doing that now is that it would damage their already fragile playoff chances. I would hate to see Grabovski go but its obvious that if the Leafs are not going to re-sign him, they would try to get some assets for him.

Brian Burke has plenty of work to do before Monday and I can't think of a better guy to meet the challenge.