Brian Burke Moulds His Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs Are The Busiest NHL Team Since Free Agency

Jul 12, 2009

Some call him audacious and even reckless but none call him lazy. Brian Burke has been the NHL's busiest general manager since long before the July 1, free agency frenzy.

Burke first started the rebuilding process with the signing of college free agents Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson back in April. Since then he has constantly been tweaking the roster and its depth. Burke sees signing young free agents as an excellent way to bring in good prospects without having to give up any assets.

With the raising of the cap to above $56 million the Toronto Maple Leafs have, or rather had, plenty of space to accommodate those sorts of signings.

Since early in the year Burke has brought in free agents, new coaching staff, resigned prospects and locked up their first round draft pick from 2009 with lightning quick speed. Each move is a step forward as far as Leafs Nation is concerned.

New Toronto Maple Leafs Acquisitions

Burke and the Leafs have dipped into the free agent pool as much as anyone in the past, and this year is no different. Burke, however, has specific things he looks for in a player and so far character and a gritty edge has been atop the list.

The Leafs have brought in three more defensemen. Garnet Exelby, who came over in the trade of Pavel Kubina to the Atlanta Thrashers, along with Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin through free-agent-signings. He also added Colton Orr for some edge on forward through the same market.

Burke also took away a significant portion of Farestaad’s roster from the Swedish Elite League. Jonas Gustavsson and Rickard Wallin, the respective goalie and captain of the league’s champions from the most recent season, will be joining the Leafs in 2009/10.

These six new additions will not only fill out the roster, but create an atmosphere of competition that Burke likes to see in a club. He thinks the added pressure of fighting for ice time will bring the best out of everyone on the team. Burke’s track record speaks for itself.

Leafs Prospects

The management team has done their best to load up on prospects to fast track the farm system, which in time will translate to serviceable NHLer’s if not more. In addition to bringing in Bozak and Hanson, Burke has brought over Colin Stuart in the Kubina trade. Some scouts are saying getting Stuart may have been a steal.

The Leafs also added Nazem Kadri via their first round draft pick and signed him to a three-year entry level contract. Robert Slaney was also brought into the fold by Burke through unconventional means. It seems the Leafs GM will do everything and anything possible to bring this club along in record time. All these players came from outside the draft, safe for Kadri, and the list doesn’t end there.

Leafs NHL Draft Picks Of 2009

Here is a list of the Leafs draft picks from 2009, their position, team and league as well as where they were selected in the draft.

Kenny Ryan, RW – USA Under-18, USDP

Jesse Blacker, D – Windsor Spitfires, OHL

Jamie Devane, LW – Plymouth Whalers, OHL

Eric Knodel, D – Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, USMAAA

Jerry D’Amigo, RW – USA Under-18, NTDP

Barron Smith, D – Peterborough Petes, OHL

Leafs On Defence

The Leafs have a bit of a log jam on defence with nine NHL defensemen currently on contract for next year. These nine are backed up by prospects such as Anton Strahlman and Phil Oreskovic, making ice time at the back end a hot commodity.

This overloaded defence has many speculating that a trade is inevitable. Burke himself even said that an offer has been made for a defenseman other than Tomas Kaberle but the offer wasn’t quite what the Leafs wanted so the deal was declined.

The Leafs GM also went on to say that it would take an amazing deal to get Kaberle from them at this point. He doesn’t feel any pressure to move him as the Leafs have him under contract for this season and the next, meaning he gets another chance to make a trade next summer if nothing pans out this year.

Leafs Up Front

The Maple Leafs may seem thin up front to the casual observer but Burke would disagree. He believes that insulating the forwards with some toughness will allow them to play harder and more effectively. That increased freedom and confidence for current Leafs forwards in combination with the prospects that might be ready to leap to the NHL should make for an interesting mix.

Office Moves And Additions

The Leafs management team made a great move behind the bench by bringing in Francois Allaire as the new goaltending consultant for Toronto. Burke has worked with Allaire before and considers him to be the best goaltending coach in the NHL.

All these moves together have Leafs Nation abuzz with excitement and even hope for the future. Leaf fans will have to wait until at least December to see if Burke’s hard work is paying off on the ice. Until then, the speculation will continue.

The copyright of the article Brian Burke Moulds His Toronto Maple Leafs in National Hockey League (NHL) is owned by Mike Sheeler. Permission to republish Brian Burke Moulds His Toronto Maple Leafs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.