Leafs: Now It’s Burke’s Turn

This isn’t fun, anymore. Hell, it’s becoming unbearable. We’ve grown weary of looking for positives, silver linings, moral victories and small glimmers of hope. We want results…good results…

This is the toughest it has been during adult life, to be a Leaf fan. We are a resilient breed, that is for certain, but this is pushing the limit. It simply cannot be allowed to go any further.

After twenty games the Buds have officially bottomed out, having dropped a very win-able game against an equally fragile Carolina team, depositing them in dead last. That they failed to put away a beaten-down, depleted Canes team relying on an out of work goalie, has to be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back. The players have been given ample time to work it out. They have failed, for whatever reason you personally want to subscribe to. Who cares, at this point. The only thing that is of any significance is that change is now the only option. And that change falls squarely on Burke’s shoulders. Not Wilson’s, not Toskala’s, not Blake’s.

Double B simply cannot let the team continue to spiral downward. He must be proactive and he must strike now, before his self-imposed trade moratorium is invoked next month.

There is no one singular move that repairs the damage that is done. What must now follow is a combination of reassignments, dismissals, and acquisitions via trade. Sure, trades are tough to pull off at this point, but we need to cut bait on this current crew and get some new momentum via a much-needed shakeup. And it will cost the Leafs a pretty penny. But if what comes back is more capable of performing at an NHL level, than what we are currently witnessing, then it’s just money.

It may be time to finally pull the trigger on a Kaberle trade, pending his authorization. Sure, we’ll be replacing him with a more expensive alternative, but again, its just money. If such a move produces a top line playmaker, as well as a defenseman that can do close to what Kabs does, you have to make that move. Kaberle will be fetching 6 million in a year, and there is no reason to believe he stays a Leaf. With his NTC he calls the shots and if he wants to wait until spring 2011to look at his options, we could be left without any options of our own.
And his value has never been higher. Can Burke convince him to move to a contender?

I am usually reluctant to table mock trade proposals, but I think something like the following makes a hell of a lot of sense on all sides:

TO CHI
Kaberle
Tlusty
Toskala

TO TOR
Sharp
Beach
Campbell

CHI needs to clear cap for next year. They need an insurance goalie, with no term, and a Grade A puck mover. Such a move alleviates millions in cap, gives them a tangible asset in Tlusty, who could be dangerous given a fresh start, and keeps them competitive.

It also gives The Leafs a new look on the top line (imagine two legit scoring threats?), a power forward prospect in former first rounder Kyle Beach, who is very much in the Brian Burke mould (his new Bertuzzi?), and a D man who can score. Sure, Campbell is waffling in CHI, but a move like this could get him going again. And the assets that come part-and-parcel in such a deal would definitely make it worth doing. You gotta get to give…

Phase two would involve sending some money to Ricoh, and calling up the more deserving prospects like Hanson and Stalberg. Not worried too much about depleting that Marlie roster, with Kyle Beach reporting for duty. Who else Burke decides to re-assign is on him. The list of candidates is a long one.

How Burke handles this current crisis will underscore his employment with the Leafs in ways we won’t appreciate immediately. If he is to maintain the confidence of Leaf Nation,
Burke must now take the bull by the horns, and provide the leadership that the team cannot find within itself.

The hammer now must fall…