Toronto Maple Leafs: Contract Blunders Highlight Diaries of a Toronto GM

Not too many years ago John Ferguson Jr., the then-general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, was ushered out of town on the heels of a few bad decisions, namely for awarding defenceman Bryan McCabe a no-trade clause on a long-term deal.   

Leafs brass quickly learned that within the confines of a salary cap league awarding no-trade clauses severely restricted their organization on the trade front. As their team stumbled downward these were lessons that Leafs Nation took to heart, and were lessons for which Ferguson Jr. paid the ultimate price.

Fast-forward to the reign of Brian Burke the current GM, and most if not all who follow the Maple Leafs will tell you how thrilled they are that their team has in place a boss who refuses to award no-trade clauses.

I for one, however, think that it is high time someone inform Burke that overpaying for player services is virtually the same as awarding no-trade clauses.

Case in point: Tim Connolly and Mike Komisarek.

To say that each of the two aforementioned players has underperformed since signing on with the Buds would be a severe understatement. Simply put, Burke gambled and lost.

While Connolly has one more year remaining following this season with a price tag of $4.75 million, Komisarek is signed through to the 2013-14 season to the tune of $4.5 million per season.

For obvious reasons Burke will not declare that signing these two contracts was a huge mistake, so allow me to do it for him.Granted, some may disagree with my assessment of these two players, but the fact will remain that their big-ticket contracts greatly reduce their movability. Name me another GM in the NHL that would trade for Komisarek and I will show you the next Ferguson Jr. awaiting the guillotine.

The jury is still out, but my point is simple enough: While Burke has made some great moves during his tenure atop the Maple Leaf pyramid, he has also made some huge blunders.

The NHL trade deadline approaches—will Burke be so lucky to undo some of his misfortunes?

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