With Brian Burke behind the helm of the infamous Toronto Maple Leafs, fans expected an outbreak of hard hits, vicious fights and feisty victories. So far, it's been nothing more than a snoozefest that's resulted in six straight losses.
With the Leafs a mere one loss away from tying their record-worst start ever of all time, which came at 0-6-1 in 1990, finger pointing has circled around everyone and everything.
Vesa Toskala's goaltending was a hot topic since the end of pre-season after several poor performances finally explained by - of all things - another injury. Then it was defenseman Luke Schenn - the proud acquisition in last year's draft and Leaf Nation's boldly proclaimed franchise player - who was put under the microscope for his rising amount of costly on-ice errors, much more noticeable and a lot less excusable in his sophomore year.
Even the competence of head coach Ron Wilson was challenged by the media, particularly after the accusations of his hate towards all reporters who have the nerve to ask him for an explanation of his team's last-place spot among NHL teams this year.
Such questions should be fired (no pun intended) at general manager Brian Burke, who has had the media wrapped around his finger since arriving in Toronto during the half-way mark of last season. But what, exactly, has he done to deserve this immunity?
Burke's First Mistake
His first achievement (reportedly yet unofficially, since Cliff Fletcher was still in charge at the time) came in the form of Lee Stepniak at a cost of Alexander Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo - either of which has been a better player than the Leafs' new acquisition. He quickly followed up on his move by dismissing Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore, the former now posing as a serious threat in Atlanta with Ilya Kovalchuk.
Leafs' Physical Presence
Burke claimed that the Leafs lacked toughness last season, so to maximize their physical presence on the ice, he enlisted the help of hired goons that included Colton Orr, Francois Beauchemin, Garnet Exelby and Mike Komisarek, among others.
So far, the only accomplishments this group of tough guys have on their collective resume is a stack of needless penalties and fights. Staying out of the penalty box is a must for the Leafs, who are the worst defensive team in the league, especially when shorthanded. Meanwhile, is anyone really entertained anymore when Colton Orr drops the gloves?
The puzzling thing about the whole ordeal is that the Leafs' physical presence has been non-existent for the majority of their games so far this season, even against Montreal. The excitement is not there Mr. Burke, and for that, you get yet another strike.
The Desperate Phil Kessel Trade
Burke's biggest acquisition this Summer came on a second attempt. After failing to secure Phil Kessel on Draft Day due to a ridiculous miscommunication with Boston's GM, he finally secured the 21-year-old sniper with a gutsy package that included each of Toronto's premier picks in the upcoming two drafts. The argument supporting this trade stated that Kessel's skill level surpassed anything the Leafs would have gotten with a late draft pick, which was assumed since his contribution would land the team in a playoff spot for the first time in four years.
But with Kessel out of commission until November and the Leafs sinking all the way to the bottom of the standings - a feat they could not accomplish last year to secure top pick John Tavares - this move is looking more and more like the Tom Kurvers trade of 1990 (there's that year again, coincidentally) that saw the Leafs lose Scott Niedermeyer to the Devils in the draft.
Peter Chiarelli can pat himself on the back. As for Burke, he might want take a look at what happens to baseball players after their third strike.
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