The Maple Leafs aren’t a laughingstock any more, regardless of how they looked Saturday night while losing 5-0 to Montreal.But they aren’t very good either, so all eyes are on high-profile general manager Brian Burke as his team stumbles into the stretch run.Let us count all their problems:
When Burke arrived in Toronto, he vowed to assemble a hard-nosed team that would bloody noses while climbing back into NHL contention. Oddly, he poured big bucks into notoriously soft players like oft-injured forward Tim Connolly. This former Sabres center has no goals and just three assists in his last 16 games. He is raking in $5.5 million this season and just got moved to the wing.
Although Phil Kessel is piling up goals for the Leafs, he is not Mark Messier or Wayne Gretzky. He skates and he shoots. He also earns $6 million this season and cost Toronto plenty: First- and second-round picks at the 2010 NHL entry draft (Tyler Seguin and Jared Knight) and a first-round pick in 2011 ...
Found February 13, 2012 on
The Hockey Guy:
PLAYERS:
Tim Connolly,
Phil Kessel,
Mark Messier,
Wayne Gretzky,
Tyler Seguin,
Jared Knight,
Dougie Hamilton,
James Reimer,
Jean-Sebastien Giguere,
Colby Armstrong
TEAMS: Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche
TEAMS: Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche
Original Story:
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