Brian Burke is Righting the Toronto Maple Leafs, Whether You Like Him or Not

He is about as complex as a history buff's take on the Civil War, yet he is as open as Phil Kessel on a two-man advantage.

He is as charismatic as a Tony Robbins infomercial, yet he is a down to earth man who believes family comes first.

Brian Burke has truly become one of the NHL's ambassadors over his stellar twenty-three years of service in the league.

And he is probably the perfect choice when it comes to being the head of Leafs Nation, maybe the most powerful namesake in the hockey world.

After a little over a year, Burke has stockpiled the Leafs with some good young talent in Phil Kessel, Jonas Gustavsson, Christian Hanson, and Tyler Bozak, which should more than make up for the loss of their two first round picks, from 2010 and 2011 and their second round pick in 2010 to get Kessel.

As well, with the sudden emergence of 23-year-old Carl Gunnarsson, the Leafs are sitting on a slew of NHL caliber defenceman.

Something that may just turn out to pay huge dividends come the trade deadline on March 3rd.

Throw in his first round selection from the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Nazim Kadri, and the Maple Leafs not too distant future looks brighter than a Don Cherry suit on Saturday Night.

And should we expect anything less from a general manager that makes moves as bold as he makes statements?

Probably not, as Burke can back it up with his rich history of NHL success.

From drafting Chris Pronger into the league with the Whalers in 1993, to the Sedin twins with the Canucks in 1999. To making the Canucks perennial contenders to guiding the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup in 2007.

That being said there is no reason to suggest that Brian Burke's latest venture, that is the Toronto Maple Leafs, won't just be added to his entire body of work that has been nothing short of brilliant in his time in the league.

And if Leafs fans can't find solace in that, well try the fact the guy truly cares about the organization as much as he cares about his own family.

That may be the only reason the club has been performing lately, as they are reciprocating those same feelings to Burke with their play on the ice-which as a general manager is really all you can hope for from your players.

Let's face it, the Leafs aren't as horrible as their 8-12-7 record suggests, but they are still a work in progress.

Though that work is starting to show signs of a push to make the playoffs, as the team has outscored their opponents 9-3 in their last two games, gone 8-5-6 since their horrible start and now sit only six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Something, in the parody of the "new" NHL, can be made up in little over a week.

All is well in Leafs Nation of late, and it should be, because despite their record they truly have one of the brightest general managers in the league steering their ship.

There may be no "I" in team, but their is a "brain" in Brian, and because of that fans in Toronto have nothing to fear.

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