It's hard to really judge Brian Burke at this point as he has yet to do anything really worthwhile to this team. Cliff Fletcher built the team we have now and most of his moves have been good. He rid the team of older overpaid guys and brought in guys like Grabovski and Hagman. He had deals in place for Sundin (Higgins, first and second round picks) and Kaberle (Carter and first round pick) but both refused to waive their no trade clauses. Even his move before he handed the team over to Burke, which saw them give up Steen and Coliacovo for Stempniak seemed alright at the time and has been the real big deal for them this season.
Burke recently acquired Brad May as his first move, but what message does this convey? He is older and won't do much more for the team aside from adding some leadership and toughness. Burke is sure to do something more soon but he should be stocking up on prospects and picks and avoid the older players completely. His trading pieces appear to be Kaberle, Kubina and Antropov, all of which would get a great return if the time came. Stajan too could get a decent return, especially since his stock won't rise much more than the point it is this season.
Solution: Start testing the waters, look to see what picks and prospects teams would part with for the Leafs better players. Avoid older and overpaid players entirely.
Overall the Maple Leafs are not in rough shape, teams like the Senators are in a much worse spot at the moment. Things aren't perfect in Toronto though, as a few key areas need to be addressed. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the rest of the season and more importantly what happens at the deadline.
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