Comments on: Dear Mr. Burke…

By: Tavares-Stamkos14

Tavares-Stamkos14 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:33:57 +0000

I have to agree with LeafsFan it takes 2-5 years to rebuild and thats the route the leafs should take. Look at the teams like Philly, Pittsburgh, Washington and Chicago for examples.

Philly's core is 3 players they have drafted and developed Simon Gagne, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.

Pittsburgh has Crosby, Malkin and J.Staal all players they drafted.

Washington has Semin, Ovechkin and Backstrom again all drafted by them.

Chicago has Toews and Kane both drafted by them also.

The leafs have done a good job the last 2 drafts with there 1st rounders in getting Luke Schenn and Nazem Kadri. For the leafs to have been able to draft Tavares or B.Schenn they would have had to trade Luke Schenn and they can't do that. The leafs offence is not great by any means but theres potential. Blake, Grabovski and Hagman all scored over 20 goals on a bad team last year. They also had like no protection with the toughness added this summer they will be more free to make plays so there is potential for all 3 to score 30 goals within the next couple years. I'm not saying they will jus saying there is potential.

By: LeafsFan90

LeafsFan90 — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:00:04 +0000

USE YOUR HEADS!!!

Yeah let's trade for schenn, no Hodgeson, No Duchene, wait... I know stamkos. Wait all these guy's teams also know they are good prospects... I hate it when other teams aren't stupid. "Yeah just trade for schenn already sheesh" makes a lot of sense until you join the real world where people use intelligent thought. The leafs need to 1) Rebuild 2) Rebuild and for those of you thinking I know lets rebuild and sign everyone and trade for all the good players...please do everyother leafs fan a favor and shut up. Your why people think leaf fans a idiots.

A rebuild requires drafting well, usually drafting in the top 10 a few years, then key signings and ofcourse the big LUCK component. That takes about 2-5 years. I would rather wait thosde 2-5 years then say "DUH the leafs havent made the playoffs in 3 years me think the leafs need this...blah blah. They need to start the rebuild NOW since they didnt three years ago it doesnt matter that they have sucked the past 3 years.

You don't know hockey or anything too do with the management of the game. Let Burkie do his job keep your uniformed and often irrelevant opinions to yourself so I can do the same.

By: Kenny878

Kenny878 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:46:07 +0000

hopefullt burke trades for some firepower upfront IMO Schenn or Hodgson

By: ty656789

ty656789 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:05:31 +0000

its been pretty painful for awhile now. Just a bit longer my friend. Alot of people say and think that players dont want to sign in T.O. but look how hard it was to get rid of them 2 seasons ago. Not everyone wants to sign here, but if alot of players had a choice and made fair money, they would choose to play here. Tavares and Stamkos both said before they were drafted that they would love to play for the leafs. I'm not trying to say that every and any player will or would come here. I'm just saying that there are alot of talented players who grew up leaf fans and would love a chance to play for them. Some other teams are in the same boat. Players are becoming UFAs in their mid-late 20s now and we will be able get some of them for that reason alone. Again, I'm not sure of the exact rule, but I believe that players are UFAs after 7 seasons in the NHL or when they hit a certain age (27,28???), whichever comes first. So… players that start playing full time at 18 are UFAs at 25 (or something like that). From what I remember, before the lockout it was 11 seasons or 31 yrs old. Not exactly sure how much but the age did go down after the lockout. At least they haven't really given anything up to get any of their new players or prospects this time.

By: Kenny878

Kenny878 — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:13:14 +0000

I think the leafs should rebuild one more year. Although it will be painful

By: ty656789

ty656789 — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:15:12 +0000

bozak & hanson weren't drafted because they were college players. I don't know what the exact rules are, but for some reason college players can sign with whatever team they want to. Maybe it has something to do with their age???? I'm sure that you can find it online if you take the time to look for it (not trying to be a smart a**. I'm just too lazy to look it up myself ;o) As far as whether or not they would be first rounders… I have no idea. I don't know enough about either one to have a valid opinion. It is only 2 weeks into the UFA season. He's starting with goal and d, then PK/shutdown forwards, then scoring, then the PP. the order may change slightly if a good trade option comes along, but that seems to be the route BB is taking. If both goalies end up being flops, none of the other moves will matter. Burke has been one of the busier GMs so far. Does anyone really expect him to build a Stanley Cup contender in one summer? Who cares if they make the playoffs next year? If they do, they will just get bounced in the 1st round or maybe the 2nd at the very most no matter what moves they make this summer. They have a few slightly above average players and a bunch of spare parts right now. Not 1 superstar on this team. Its going to take more than 1 or 2 big players to make them even remotely a contender and they aren't going to get more than 2, if any, this summer. I'm just excited that they should be a bit more punishing to play against next season. I don't know how many times I've yelled "JUST HIT HIM" at the TV over the past few seasons when they've been stuck in their own end for over a minute at a time. It will be nice to finally watch a team that finishes their checks.