Brian Burke fired as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired general manager Brian Burke and replaced him with Dave Nonis after Burke failed to take the team to the postseason in his four years as GM. Burke has been demoted to a senior adviser to the team. As a Leafs fan, I was absolutely shocked when I first heard this news. Never before have a seen such a weird timing for a change in management. But, reIn the first major decision made since Bell and Rogers bought 75% of MLSE, I think they made a mistake firing Brian Burke. I still believe that most of the deals that Burke made for the team, were good moves.__________________________________________________________________________________The trade that brought Phil Kessel to Toronto may have cost us Tyler Seguin, but, Seguin scored 29 goals last year on a team with loads of offensive ability, the Boston Bruins. Kessel managed to score 37 on the Toronto Maple Leafs without much help from his teammates. Maybe Seguin is not as good as Leafs fans think he is...The second major deal that Burke made was on January 31, 2010, when he dealt Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers to the Flames for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjöström and Keith Aulie. Stajan is now a forth line center for the Flames, Nicklas Hagman is playing in the KHL, and Jamal Mayers is a forth line center for the Blackhawks. Ian White may have produced 32 points last season, but, he was playing alongside former hall of famer Nicklas Lidstrom. During Brian Burke`s timeline with the Leafs, I personally believe that he improved the franchise. Let`s take a look at how Burke changed the team during his era as GM.__________________________________________________________________________________Below is the Leafs depth chart before the 2008-09 season, when Cliff Fletcher was in charge...Left Wing1. Alexander Steen2. Jason Blake3. Nicklas Hagman4. Nikolai Kulemin5. Mark BellCenter1. Nik Antropov2. Matt Stajan3. Dominic Moor4. Ryan Hollweg5. Mikhail GrabovskiRight Wing1. Alexei Ponikarovsky2. Jiri Tlusty3. Jamal Mayars4. Justin Williams5. Boyd DevereauxLeft Defense1. Tomas Kaberle2. Bryan McCabe3. Anton Stralman4. Carlo ColaiacovoRight Defense1. Pavel Kubina2. Jeff Finger3. Ian White4. Jonas FrogrenGoalie1. Vesa Toskala2. Curtis Joseph__________________________________________________________________________________Now, at the end of Brian Burke`s era as a GM, this is the team that Burke shaped the Leafs into...Left Wing1. Joffrey Lupul2. James van Riemsdyk3. Clarke MacArthur4. Mike Brown5. Matthew LombardiCenter1. Tyler Bozak2. Mikhail Grabovski3. Jay McClement4. David Steckhel5. Tim ConnollyRight Wing1. Phil Kessel2. Nikolai Kulemin3. Matt Frattin4. Leo Komarov5. Nazem KadriLeft Defense1. Dion Phaneuf2. Jake Gardiner3. Mike Komisarek4. Morgan RiellyRight Defense1. Carl Gunnarsson2. John-Michael Liles3. Cody Franson4.Jesse BlackerGoalie1. James Reimer2. Ben Scrivens__________________________________________________________________________________