Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs Team That He Built

On November 29, 2008, Brian Burke was introduced as the president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, replacing interim GM Cliff Fletcher.

Only three players remain from the team that Burke took over: Luke Schenn, Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski.

As you can see, a lot change has taken place in the two-plus seasons that Burke has been running the Leafs—Truculence, Pugnacity and Belligerence aside. Burke spoke mostly about a top-six, bottom-six philosophy.

The top-six, bottom-six philosophy is really starting to take shape now on the Leafs. The Leafs have their top two lines scoring at a furious pace and a bottom six that is not only providing energy for the speedy Leafs but stopping goals from being scored five-on-five and short-handed.

The Phil Kessel line has been steady since the beginning of the season. Joffrey Lupul's resurgence is the key to that. Plus, Kessel is on pace to absolutely obliterate his career numbers. Kessel is on pace for 45 goals and 42 assists for 87 points. Phil's career highs in those categories are 36, 32 and 64 respectively.

Lupul is the feel-good story of the year for the Leafs and easily the most improved player in the NHL. Lupul has become the prototypical power forward the Leafs have been looking for. He is on pace for 31 goals and 53 assists for 84 points. His previous career highs were 28, 26 and 53 respectively.

The chemistry that Lupul and Kessel have is really remarkable. At times it seems as though they don't even need a center—which is a favourable situation for the Leafs. They have been able to plug in any center and still Kessel and Lupul score on a fairly consistent pace, although it is clear that the Kessel line operates much better with Tyler Bozak as the pivot—which is why I scratch my head when people throw out trades to acquire players to play on the top line.

Rick Nash, Jeff Carter and Ryan Getzlaf are not the right fit. The Leafs top line needs an elite playmaker with speed to burn.

Nash and Carter have not worked out in Columbus for a reason: They are similar players. The Leafs top line has the right combination of players in a sniper, power forward and a playmaker. Although they can all move the puck well and Kessel has shown amazing playmaking ability in his time as a Leaf, two of the three players are putting the puck in the net with authority.

On to the Leafs second line. This line was arguably their best and maybe their No. 1 line last season. All three players were on fire and set new highs in goals, assists and points for themselves. A hard act to follow up and the proof is in the pudding. All three players on that line started out slow.

Nikolai Kulemin has had the worst puck luck this season; easy tap-ins have turned into his Everest. Clarke MacArthur spent some time on the Leafs fourth line, in an attempt by Ron Wilson to get Clarke's legs moving (kudos to Ron).

Now, just a short while later, the Leafs second line has come to life with production that is off the charts—something like 24 points in six games.

With the Leafs becoming a healthy team again, the top six and bottom six have become pretty much cemented.

The Leafs third line is a pretty solid one. Joey Crabb, Tim Connolly and Matt Lombardi are starting to look good, although I would rather see Colby Armstrong or Matt Frattin on this line when Armstrong gets up to speed after his lengthy layoff. This line has the right mix of players: a gritty winger, a defensive-minded playmaking center and a speedy winger with some offensive talent.

The Leafs fourth line, which Wilson plays 10 to 12 minutes a night, consists of Mike Brown (the 'stache that likes to bash), Dave Steckel and Armstrong at the moment. I prefer Crabb on this line rather than the third.

With this philosophy come defined roles, regular minutes, continuity and most importantly, chemistry.

Pretty much every player in the Leafs lineup knows what to do and how to go about it. Except for players like Crabb, Darryl Boyce, Jay Rosehill and the extra defensemen, the players know that they will be playing every night and the minutes they will be getting.

Wilson has done a masterful job this season running the team. He has dealt with players properly and with the right attitude.

He got the penalty kill back on track. How? He taught the Leafs how to take fewer penalties. With the Leafs taking fewer penalties and therefore only going on the kill every once in a while, less emphasis is being put on the PK and calming the players and media, who were talking about this ad nauseam.

Wilson also got MacArthur going again. He noticed that MacArthur was not skating and moving his feet. There was no compete on the boards and therefore he was not in the play. Wilson put Clarke on the fourth line and told him to start moving his legs and getting into the cycle down low on the boards.

And voila! MacArthur is scoring and making plays again, although is seems as though Clarke and Kulemin have switched spots this year. Kulemin is getting all the assists and MacArthur is getting the goals along with Mikhail Grabovski.

Nothing this season spells out masterful coaching more than how Ron handled Jake Gardiner this season.

He starts off like a spark plug—skating with ease, making plays, rushing the puck. It was a sight to see. Then the young defenseman hit a wall and instantly Wilson took him out of the lineup and made him a healthy scratch.

While the fans and media speculated that he might have to be sent down, or that he might not be ready, etc.

Ron knew all along that a break was all he needed. So Wilson sits out the kid a couple of games and answers the stupid questions regarding Jake every day. When the kid was rested he was sent to play one game with the Marlies to get his legs under him and now he is playing top-four minutes with the Leafs.

Players need specific roles, jobs and tasks. Players perform better when everything is well defined.

Brian Burke has made the Leafs better through trades, signings and drafting but his most important addition to the team has been the philosophy of the top six and bottom six players.