Ex Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke Is a Living Legend

Once upon a time Brian Burke was my favorite thing that ever happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 2008, I'd barely even ever used the internet, didn't know what an advanced stat was, but I did know Brian Burke and I couldn't have been more excited when the Toronto Maple Leafs hired him to correct what was a disastrously insane decision to return to Cliff Fletcher.

Several years later I found myself working as a hockey writer covering the Leafs and took the opportunity several times to criticize the job Burke did as the Leafs GM. I renounced my old ways and could not believe I was the once Brian Burke's biggest fan.

Now I can see it both ways. Burke was a great GM and an awesome presence, but is possible that he was a little too old-school to navigate the salary cap and make use of statistical revelations.

Looking back though, I think Burke understood something beyond statistics. The idea that if you always make the correct statistical decision you will win over time makes sense when you have unlimited tries, like in poker.

In the NHL, though, there is such parity and such variance, that the high-risk high-reward style of Brian Burke likely works better than the Kyle Dubas / Eric Tulsky model.

Sure the Brian Bruke Era ultimately ended in failure, but was it any worse than the Kyle Dubas Era? Burke didn't have the advantage of starting with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and ultimately both managers failed in their ultimate goal, no matter how they chose to go about it.

To me at least, the contrasts are very interesting.

Dubas played it safe, and Burke gambled like a maniac. But at the end of the day, both were subject to the whims of pure luck, so it seems to me that there really isn't any downside in what Burke was doing and that in fact, the NHL is set up to reward high-risk plays and punish teams for playing it safe/smart.

What follows is my thoughts on Brian Burke and how I came to think that he is the best GM the Leafs have ever had.