Brian Burke entered July with intense pressure, and so exits the month with pressure from Leafs Nation. In fairness, Burke has made a couple key signings and acquisitions, but is it enough to bring the Leafs over the hump and get in the playoffs? Or are there too many blanks on the roster yet to be filled?
Burke entered the offseason with a splash, sending former 5th overall pick, Luke Schenn, to Philadelphia in exchange for a former 2nd overall pick, James van Riemsdyk. Schenn’s days in Toronto had seemed to be numbered and, for the most part, Burke received praise from Leaf fans. However, the deal appeared to set the bar a bit high, as Leaf fans now expected big moves for a goaltender or a number one center. Instead, Head Coach, Randy Carlyle, opted to try van Riemsdyk at center between Lupul and Kessel. This caused a lot of controversy in Leaf Land, especially when the pace of deals seemed to decline. Since the trade, Burke has made a number smaller scale signings, focusing on the already successful developmental project, that is the Marlies.
At Free Agency 2012, Burke signed penalty kill and faceoff specialist, Jay McClement. At the same time, Burke signed defenseman Mike Kostka to a one year deal. Kostka won the Calder Cup with the Norfolk Admirals a couple months ago. He also retained the services of Matt Frattin via two year deal, as well as Ryan Hamilton and Jussi Rynnas to one year deals. That day, he also announced that he ‘wasn’t done’ in terms of trades. But he continued to sign players and hasn’t closed in on a deal with another team since.
Next on Burke’s agenda was avoiding contract arbitration with Nikolai Kulemin, by signing him to a two year extension. Despite Kulemin’s catastrophic drop in production, from 30 to 7 goals from 2011 to 2012, the deal averaged out to a slight raise. Although Kulemin struggled to find the twine last season, Burke sees a lot of upside to his game. Also note that Kulemin was a consistent contributor to Russia’s gold medal effort at the 2012 World Hockey Championships. Odds are that Kulemin’s game picks up from last year.
On July 24th, Burke announced the signing of Keith Aucoin. This deal largely seemed puzzling to Leafs Nation, as it further confused the bottom six forward roster. Aucoin is a center by trade, but has also played the wing. And if he cracks the Leafs roster in October, he will likely be playing the wing. Simon Gysbers was also signed that day. Gysbers led the Marlies’ defensive squad in goals, assists, and points, finishing the season with 29 points. Aucoin has also proved to be dominant in the AHL, so in any case, the Marlies roster appears to be stacking up with talent.
And finally, yesterday, Toronto signed three more Marlies players: Mike Zigomanis, Mark Fraser, and Will Acton. Zigomanis was believed to have seen his last days in Toronto, especially after the Aucoin signing. But Ziggy’s gritty playoff performance eventually earned him another deal. Defenseman, Mark Fraser, made an impact on the back end for the Marlies this past year and will be welcomed back to Toronto again.
After retiring from playing the game, Steve Staios joined the franchise as a Player Development Adviser. This move furthered Burke’s quest to maintain developmental success.
So what does the conclusion of July mean for the month of August? Perhaps a lot more questions than answers. In fact, there may be more questions heading into August than there was going into July.
Following the disappointing conclusion to the 2012 season, Burke stated that the Leafs would be actively pursuing the trade market. He noted that he would be seeking to address the goaltending and center positions. Since this statement, Burke has countered his own statement by saying that he is perfectly comfortable with starting the season with the Reimer/Scrivens duo. One can only speculate that the goaltending market was simply too thin for Burke’s liking, forcing him to like his goaltending situation and to alleviate some of the heat surrounding the Luongo talks. As for the number one center situation, there’s still a looming expectation from Leaf fans to acquire that Mats Sundin type player. Carlyle seemed to lessen the pressure by moving van Riemsdyk to center the Kessel-Lupul line for the time being. This seems ideal for Burke, as the pressure to acquire a big name center is at least postponed. He can still actively seek that number one, but they’ve officially named a number one.. of sorts. Anyways, it still takes some of the heat from his seat.
So have the Leafs addressed any of the needs they said they would? Not exactly. Is it reasonable to believe there will be more movement? Possibly. But maybe the question Leaf fans should be asking is, are we good enough to make a run? I believe we are, and here’s why..
Until February last season, there wasn’t any question that the Leafs were a playoff team. Toronto was actively in the hunt for 6th place in the East. Enter the meltdown. Whether it was goaltending, coaching, lack of leadership or all of the above, the Leafs had what it took for more than half the season.
Personally, I think it was Wilson’s tampering with goaltending that ultimately led to the downfall. Gustavsson had played nearly 30 consecutive games until February. In that stretch, the Leafs went from 12th to a hunt for 6th place in the Eastern Conference. Once Reimer got the nod from the medical staff, Wilson reintroduced him to the starting lineup. Reimer posted back-to-back shutouts as Wilson appeared to have re-chosen his number one. But only a few nights later, the season would take a turn for the worst. A Saturday night game.. Sundin’s jersey inauguration night.. the result: a 5-0 pounding from the long-hated rival, Montreal Canadiens. From that day forward, the Leafs goaltending situation only got worse, as Wilson continued to sit the loser. With Reimer having two years left on his deal and Gustavsson in his final year, why sit Gustavsson for Reimer in the first place? With two goalies struggling to find confidence, this was the ultimate undoing of the 2012 Toronto Maple Leafs, as the team also struggled to find any kind of confidence the rest of the way.
Whatever your opinion may be on the Leafs’ current situation, they have only gotten better through July. And although I warn against ever hoping for a huge deal in Leafs Nation, I’ll leave you with Burke’s words on July 1, “We’re not done.” This statement was directed to his trade market activity. Since this statement, he has not made one trade. So whether it’s major or minor, Burke is bound to make at least some noise before October.