Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.34

www.afootinthecrease.com

So I’m sure everyone knows situations like these. Something is said about someone else; that person takes it right out of context and then before you know it you have major drama on your hands founded on virtually nothing. Why just this week I had a situation like that myself – I’ll tell you, you lose more friends that way – and so to did the Maple Leafs. When the Anaheim Ducks lost to the Dallas Stars in their first round playoff match up, speculation regarding Brian Burke as the next general manager of the Maple Leafs reached lofty new heights.

By Tuesday, as far as many media members were concerned, the redecoration of the GM’s office at Air Canada Centre complete with a fresh green coat of paint and Irish Spring soap in the executive bathroom might as well have been underway. It was even thought that Ivan Fecan, an MLSE board member and CEO of CTV, had offered to ensure Burke’s wife Jennifer – a broadcaster in Vancouver – be given a television job in Toronto. Wow talk about a story snowballing out of control.

Finally on Wednesday, Burke himself made it clear he isn’t going anywhere. Now with Burke out of the picture for at least a year, some are suggesting the Leafs stick with Cliff Fletcher next season before trying once again to lure Burke once his contract with the Ducks runs out, a notion that is indeed absurd. You cannot go through the season, essentially putting the franchise on hold, using a placeholder GM in hopes of attracting Burke again next year. There are numerous other candidates that would do a fine job. It seems some people are operating under the belief that Brian Burke equals Stanley Cup, and that’s just certainly not the case. The Maple Leafs can and will have to move forward without Burke leading the way, and if you’re a Leaf fan, you better hope they’ve been exploring other options. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.