The Burke Way: Part Two

Aside from goaltending, Toronto Maple Leaf's general manager Brian Burke puts a strong emphasis on strong team defense.

As he stated in his welcoming press conference in Toronto, he believes in a top four defensive unit with a high skill level, and a bottom pairing unit which does all of the "plumbers" work. This type of work ranges from shot blocking, fighting, and penalty killing.

Burke illustrated his desire for a tough defensive unit in Anaheim, where he brought in All-Star defensemen Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger within the time span of a year. Both players anchored the defense of the Anaheim Ducks, eventually leading them to their first ever Stanley Cup championship.

Moving on to Toronto. Burke inherited a team with respectable defense, but re-tooling is still required, as well as a better defensive system by head coach Ron Wilson.

The two big names anchoring the Leaf's blue-line are Pavel Kubina and Tomas Kaberle. The possibility exists that one or both players could be moved come March. 4, but do not expect Burke to part with either player easily. 

The no trade clauses do play a role, more so with Pavel Kubina who seems to be less likely to waive the clause compared to Tomas Kaberle. Given Burke's comments over the past few weeks, there is a sense that he values Kaberle a lot higher then Kubina in terms of skill set and salary. It is quite possible that Kaberle is a big part of Burke's plan for the rebuilding Maple Leafs. 

As of now, the top four skill set of defensemen consists of Pavel Kubina, Tomas Kaberle, Luke Schenn, and Jeff Finger. A respectable unit to say the least as Schenn will continue to develop over the years and Finger seems like the ideal second pairing defenseman for Burke's style of hockey.

The defensemen who are performing the plumbers work consist of Ian White, Jamie Sifers, Jonas Frogren, and the often injured Mike Van Ryn. Van Ryn would be an issue here considering his cap hit compared to the role he plays on the team. His health is also a concern for the team moving forward.

Come March. 4, expect Burke to be unloading defensemen as oppose to making any additions. Pavel Kubina, Tomas Kaberle, Mike Van Ryn, and Ian White are the players who could attract the most interest. Van Ryn to a lesser extent due to his injury issues, he may be a more likely candidate to move on draft day.

When draft day does roll around, expect Burke to likely make a trade to move up in the draft if the right deals cannot be made at the deadline. At this point, it is likely Burke is targeting centers Evander Kane or Matt Duchene. In a recent report, Burke stated he had interest in drafting Brayden Schenn, but there would likely be a gap between the Leaf's draft position and Schenn's position.

In the offseason, Burke could very well be in the hunt for defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. For this to happen, Burke would likely need to move one of Kubina/Kaberle and Finger/Van Ryn combinations for cap considerations alone. Bouwmeester, however, is the prime Burke player. A top pairing defenseman about to enter his prime and can log top minutes as well as anchor the power play.

Many individuals quickly object stating Bouwmeester will have no interest signing in the media frenzy city like Toronto. The salary cap, however, states otherwise as very few teams will likely have the cap space to bring in a player of Bouwmeester's caliber.

Burke, furthermore, is viewed as a player's general manager. Many players will remember Burke's quick work in Anaheim, turning the franchise around and solidifying the organization as a solid National Hockey League team. These two features alone could make Toronto a popular destination come July 1.

These moves are all pure speculation at this point in time. A defensive unit consisting of Kaberle/Kubina, Bouwmeester, Schenn, Finger/Van Ryn, Stralman, White, Frogren, and Sifers would definitely be viewed as a "Burke" type unit in relation to his comments in the recent past. It is also quite possible that Burke keeps the defense the way it is going forward.

One thing is certain, Leaf's nation is in for a roller-coaster ride in the coming months.