“”How would I rate the season? Obviously, it is incomplete,” Burke said. “There are certain aspects of our play that have not lived up to our expectations, or even close to it, and there are some other positive signs.”
OK, so you can’t rate the season, let’s start try rating the first quarter. Is he kidding? Positive signs? Are you all familiar with the old saying, “aside from that how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?” I mean come on. I am all for being optimistic and all, but there has to be some degree of truth doesn’t there? I want to see the positives, but I am not. I am, I don’t know kind of finding it hard to look beyond the 3-17 record. With the lone exception of Kessel, I’m finding it really hard these days….
“On the bright side for Burke is the Leafs’ work ethic, their conditioning, and the players’ willingness to stick up for one another like they did in Ottawa two nights ago, in a fight-filled contest featuring ample amounts of the truculence the GM holds dear.”
hehehehehhehe. I guess Joe didn’t know that Gary Roberts was about to slam the leafs conditioning, and I am sure Burke didn’t see it coming either- but hell, you know what they say opinions….
“We have played well enough to win eight of the last 10 games and that’s why you haven’t seem me storm into the dressing room and yell at everybody,” Burke said. “Other than the Minnesota game [a 5-2 loss to another of the league's struggling teams], I think our efforts have been solid.
Horseshoes and hand grenades. That’s the only place where well enough to win counts. I so want to believe in what Burke is selling, but I am just having the hardest time. In the past, it was always easy to be a leafs fan in that the biggest problem was at the top. Whether it was Ballard, Mike Smith, Dryden, JFJ, MLSE whomever- there was hope that one day they would get it right. Last year, by all accounts they did, yet the product appears to have gone backwards. Maybe it’s simply because the first rounder has already been dealt away. There is no silver lining to sucking as bad as we are right now. If we are going to finish dead last, were on pace for 49 points overall right now, then we want the reward that comes with it. Burke has traded that reward away.
“It is clear they are listening to the coach. We are executing our systems. We are working our tails off. We are outshooting our opponent most nights. But [the losses] can’t continue forever.”
Ummmmmmmmm, why can’t the loses continue forever(or for at least this season)? A certain baseball post game host said of Vernon Wells and Alex Rios during multiple points of the season, they can’t hit this poorly all year….Well, they did didn’t they. It seems to me, that the guy who correctly said that if you don’t start every year trying to make the playoffs you should go drive a truck has dramatically lowered his expectations and measures of success. That’s fine, but he should come out and spell it like it is. Say hey, I know we suck, but it’s okay, were going to get through this, we have a plan etc.
“”I have been exploring the trade front since I got here, but it is hard to do, and if this group can’t get it done then the next step is to send somebody down and bring up one of the kids,” Burke said. “If we are not going to have success, then we are going to start the learning process for the young guys.”
Maybe I am being too impatient but, this is getting to be a little hollow. We have heard that he isn’t afraid to send guys down for what seems like a long time, and well, the proof is in the proverbial pudding. Send the message to the non-performers and the kids that their play isn’t acceptable. Deal with the cap ramifications later…send the message- do the right thing.
“We got three wins,” Burke said. “And that can’t continue.”
I agree, lets just see some proof that he means it.
“For the first time since moving into the Air Canada Centre 10 years ago, the NHL’s richest franchise confirms that it has been unable to lease an unspecified number of the facility’s 152 luxury suites for Leafs games this season. Yet the team does not believe this is the first sign that fans are growing weary of the product. “We’re certainly aware of the tipping point theory,” Richard Peddie, president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the team, said yesterday. “We have not experienced it. But listen, winning is the best thing you can possibly do. People want to be entertained, but they want to be entertained and win. We know we’ve got to turn things around, and we will.”
As someone who is constantly asked to procure tickets for people I can tell you that getting leafs tickets has NEVER been easier and more reasonable than it has been this year. Call it the economy, call it a lousy product, but it is what it is.
But here is what I don’t get:
““If you check markets like L.A., Chicago, New York, they haven’t leased out all their suites either,” he said. “So it’s the norm. ”
Richard Peddie’s arrogance. Why is the guy speaking to anyone with ability to write about the team. He comes across like such an ass. This is Burke’s team, he should be answering these questions.
I said this before- screw the outdoor game, play one at the old Gardens! Hell the Leafs are playing a lot like the Leafs I watched at the Gardens for most of my life, why not play one game there vs. the HABS???? Peddie- if you want to do one good thing for Leaf fans, get it done. Play one game at the Gardens Hell even Damien is backing the idea:
“A: Not interested in a game at the dome or BMO Field, really. Now a night of nostalgia at the Gardens, that I could get behind.”
O’Connor is here
Leafs ticket story is here
Damien is here
