PITTSBURGH (Oct. 24) -- Let me begin this column by stating facts. Brian Burke is general manager of the Anaheim Ducks and is contractually bound to the defending Stanley Cup champions until the end of the 2008-09 season. His signature bold moves -- acquiring Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, two of the top three defencemen in the NHL (Nick Lidstrom being the other) -- lifted Anaheim from the ranks of middling pretender to league titleist in the span of two summers. Granted complete autonomy in the Ducks' operation, Burke has proven to be the best GM in the 30-team circuit.
John Ferguson is general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs -- a previously storied franchise that hasn't played in the Stanley Cup final since 1967. Unlike Burke, and virtually every other manager in the NHL, Ferguson has no contractual security, and is bound to the Leafs only by the option year of his current deal. During his five-year term in Toronto, he has never operated with a semblance of autonomy -- the result of an unremitting quarrel over his merits in the multi-tiered directorship that employs him. Many will argue that he has not made any bold moves, and has been wildly extravagant in retaining several of his players. He is considered, by no person, among the best in his line of work, though my own opinion of the man has not changed. I simply do not know how good a hockey executive Ferguson can be, since he has never worked in an environment conducive to success. I therefore have not, and will not, advocate his dismissal.
As of now, there has been no indication, publicly, that Burke is unfulfilled in Anaheim, or would be inclined to leave the Ducks when his contract expires. It is not beyond the realm that he could extend his deal with Henry and Susan Samueli, and finish his career on the west coast. And though speculation is boundless that Ferguson will not survive the current season in Toronto, there is nothing of substance to indicate that he is in imminent peril with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. In fact, the chairman of MLSE, Larry Tanenbaum, told me on Monday that the company is prepared to remain "patient" with the doddering Leafs, though the club bears a frightening resemblance to the collection that has missed the playoffs the past two springs.
It is behind the scenes, and well beyond the scope of any admission right now, where Burke is forming the blueprint that would eventually return him to a hockey-first environment -- the sort he thrived in as GM of the Vancouver Canucks. People that know Brian far better than I do (I count myself as a very casual media acquaintence) have told me he is determined to work again in one of the NHL's media capitals and that -- yes -- the thought of managing the Maple Leafs has crossed both his mind and his lips. "Brian's a sharp cookie; he knows he's accomplished the ultimate in a casual hockey market like Anaheim, and he senses, as do many of us, the instability of the situation in Toronto," a very well-placed and well-known NHL source told me. "Burkie loves the spotlight and there is no brighter light than the one that shines on the Leafs. It is something to keep an eye on."
It is also a scenario that can, in no way, be corroborated. Burke is a dogged, trustworthy and loyal employee whose heart and soul remains in southern California. Though his tenure in Vancouver came to a premature conclusion after a highly-charged clash with a member of the Canucks' ownership group, there is nothing to indicate any disenchantment on his part in the land of Disney. And, I again stress, there is no current vacancy in the front office of the Maple Leafs.
But, possibilities do exist among hockey executives that can write their own ticket in just about any city in the NHL. Brian Burke is among the select few in that category. And, stability in the current Leafs' management structure could only materialize with a complete reversal of the direction in which the club appears to be heading once again.
Two years is a relatively short period of time in hockey circles. The possibility clearly exists that a proven winner could be running the Leafs before that interval expires.
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