It’s funny how quickly things change. In a New York minute, some have said. Well, it seems that the attitude of Toronto Maple Leaf beat writer has suddenly changed. Remember the drawl of one Howard Berger???? He who could never say a positive thing about our Toronto Maple leafs !!!! My my how his tone seems to have changed.
Suddenly the team that could do no right seems to be having second thoughts:
“Whether or not you believe he can pull it off, general manager Brian Burke deserves credit for consistency in his stated desire to build the Leafs quickly and unconventionally. With that in mind, Marc Savard would be a near-perfect addition to the Blue & White.”
Huh? Near perfect? Do I sense sarcasm?
“Burke’s modus operandi is fully transparent: He wants to add front-line players to a club that has cornered the market on third and fourth-liners in the post-lockout NHL. In his first full season with the Leafs, he brought Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the club [though Giguere’s time as a premier goalie in the league may be in the past]. We can, and probably will, argue indefinitely the outlay for Kessel, but he is unquestionably a top-level scorer. Kulemin, though younger than Savard, will never develop the same impact as one of the most skilled play-makers in the league, and Savard is still young enough to help the Leafs for another half-decade… if he can avoid further noggin damage. This, of course, assumes that Boston would accept Kulemin for Savard; and that Tomas Kaberle is not part of the trade discussion, as per several sources.”
Wow. A somewhat fair and balanced editorial by a guy who only weeks ago had written about Burke and Wilson fawning over Dion Phaneuf to the point of sickening his teammates. One can only wonder what has caused the change.
“If Burke can acquire Savard for an un-signed middle-of-the-road forward with a decent up-side – and then perhaps exchange Kaberle for another established, young forward [how about to Pittsburgh for Jordan Staal?] – he’ll at least be following his avowed plan. Double-B is quick to remind us that he isn’t ignoring the Leafs’ future by going this route… not after accruing such college and European free agents as Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson, Jonas Gustavsson and Brayden Irwin, with Nazem Kadri waiting his turn in junior. And, the GM may be bang-on in that assessment. He may also believe it is absolutely essential to maximize his investment in Kessel, and bringing in Savard would appear logical to that endeavor, while providing the Maple Leafs another top-of-the-line NHLer.”
So not only referencing some positive moves by Burke but also dropping a rumour/ suggestion that he would hammer any fan for even mention!
“So, let’s see how this plan unfolds. In the four seasons prior to 2009-10, Savard played all 82 games three times and missed eight games once. His assist totals in that span were 63, 63, 74 and 69 – superb numbers. He obviously meshed well in Boston with Kessel. And, he’d look pretty smart in blue and white.”
Can you believe this? Actually rooting for the move to be made, it’s like we’ve gone back in time to when he used to report from his heart….
Why the change????
Well sports fans, as many of my “bird dogs” were telling me about the changes in the sports radio scene in Toronto, on more than one occasion it was inferred that perhaps Howie could take over the beat for Maple Leafs radio broadcasts- which are now controlled by 640 Toronto.
Personally I discounted the banter as impossible to imagine. That was before Gord Stellick was shown the door at the fan. Could Howie be warming up his Maple Leafs love in preparation for a move up the dial? I’m not suggesting it’s gonna happen, but something in Howie has changed. First the apology and now this….
Hmmmmmmmm
From boston’s Logan airport
Tsm
@yyzsportsmedia
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