Brian Burke: Dipping a Toe in the Free Agent Pool?

Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke has endured more than his fair share of adversity in this, his first full season on the job.

It isn't about to get any easier.

From the time he took the reins of this club from Cliff Fletcher, Burke must have known that it wasn't going to be easy. In the face of personal tragedy, and the intense scrutiny of heading up a team in the self proclaimed "center of the hockey universe", Brian Burke has been nothing short of, well, truculent.

That said, his team is heading into the stretch run second-to-last in the NHL.

Clearly, there are changes coming.

Some of those changes will likely come via the free-agent market this offseason.

What's to follow are a few free agents that I feel will be high on Brian Burke's wish list. A lot of people will discount some of the names listed for various reasons, such as salary cap issues and even the potential players possible lack of desire to play here. A couple of these names will likely not even be discussed, but come free-agent time, fans of the team will all want to know why not.

To the would-be doubters, I say this.

Not many of us thought that there was a chance of anyone prying Phanuef out of Calgary. Even fewer still thought there was any hope of unloading the two bad contracts of Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala.

With Brian Burke, anything is possible.

Patrick Marleau

Patrick Marleau is a perennial power forward that will be high on everyone's wish list this summer, provided of course he isn't re-signed by the Sharks.

Thirty-year-old Patrick Marleau was drafted second overall in 1997 by the Sharks and has been with the franchise since he first laced them up on NHL ice that same year.

Marleau has played thirteen years in the league, all with the Sharks, and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Marleau has twice in his career played all 82 games in a season, and never missed more than six.

Patrick's overall toughness and playing style will easily put him in Brian Burke's sights. His ability to score goals and to set them up would be a welcome addition to a Toronto Maple Leaf squad who already, via trade, has lost the bulk of its scoring from seasons past.

With Tomas Kaberle and Alex Ponikarovsky likely on their way out of town at the upcoming NHL trade deadline, a playmaking power forward like Patrick Marleau may in fact not be within the grasp of Burke, but he will get a long look nonetheless.

Ilya Kovalchuk

Ilya Kovalchuk will once again cause a feeding frenzy among NHL clubs this summer. Well, everyone except the New Jersey Devils and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Toronto Maple Leafs GM had shown a passing interest in the superstar forward before he landed in New Jersey, but the asking price was just too high.

While Kovalchuk would reportedly rather remain in the NHL, he may well have priced himself out of the league with his demands of the league maximum twenty percent of whichever teams total payroll.

It was reported over the course of the Olympics that Alexander Medvedev of the KHL will aggressively pursue Kovalchuk.

"The difference between 45 percent taxes and 13 percent taxes is substantial," Medvedev said. "We could top that [NHL] money he would receive by a substantial sum up. He will decide."

In other words, a $7 million salary in Russia for Kovalchuk is akin to making almost double in the NHL, and that's what Medvedev hopes will be the biggest allure.

If he does in fact jump ship, his skill will undoubtedly be missed by many fans in the NHL. His character, however, won't be.

Alexander Frolov

Alexander Frolov is just 27 years old and would provide a good scoring boost for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

For a rebuilding club like the Leafs, he would add some high scoring depth on the wing and provide some stability in that position while allowing coach Ron Wilson to potentially roll not just one but two potent lines.

Currently a $2.9 million cap hit, Frolov will likely command a raise to between the $3.5 to $4 million dollar range and will be locked up long-term by whoever he signs with.

He is also not prone to a lot of injury troubles, which also adds to his value, having only missed an average of six games per season in his first six full NHL seasons.

Christopher Higgins

Christopher Higgins was drafted 14th overall by the Canadiens in the 2002 NHL entry draft.

The Leafs may look to him to provide added leadership on one of the league's youngest clubs.

Higgins still has some upside and though he is traditionally a left winger, he has played right wing on several occasions.

Not a defensive specialist by any means, with a career minus-22, he is 26 years old and will in all likelihood be able to develop better defensive skills over time.

Tomas Plekanec

27-year-old Tomas Plekanec may in fact be the only free agent on this list that Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke makes a serious run at.

A perennial 20-30 goal scorer, Plekanec would be an asset on any team in that position. However, at 49.6 percent he does not strike fear in the hearts of opposition centers.

Plekanec will likely command a raise somewhere in the one million dollar are, or a contract in the neighborhood of five years and $17.5 million. Not a bad price to pay long-term for a top-six center.

The Close

While it is a probably a foregone conclusion that the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club will look a great deal different when the team hits the ice next year, the assumption shouldn't be automatic.

It is always nice to dream a little about a player or two that you think would look good in you team's jersey, but the reality is, it takes much more than dreaming about it to make it happen.

These days one of the biggest issues facing the vast majority of teams is the salary cap. Not so many years ago it was quite often the team that spent the most money had the best chance at winning the Stanley Cup, unless of course you are the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Nowadays, however, it is the teams that don't spend a lot and are just bad teams for awhile that tend to rise to the top. Having a bad team usually nets you a high draft pick, and if you're bad enough you may get the No. 1 pick overall.

The Toronto Maple Leafs just don't have that luxury.

There are other ways to build your team. Trading for youth, free-agent acquisitions, and the college draft, for example. As a GM, you have to be incredibly diligent, not matter how you choose to build a contender. These days, a great scouting staff is at least as important as a great player.

Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, Johan Gustavsson and Co. may be big pieces of a brighter, more optimistic future down the road, but Leafs fans are a picky bunch. If Burke doesn't manage to ice a more competitive team next year, Leafs Nation's near-sightedness may be his undoing.

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