Takin' a T/O With BT: Out? In? Be Still the Blabberers About Brian Burke

Brian Burke is finished in Anaheim.

Just hours ago, Burke was officially relieved of his duties as General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks.

Despite this, Burke will continue to remain with the Ducks' organization, however it'll be in a slightly different role than we're used to.

Burke will remain under the employment of Ducks' CEO Michael Schulman, for whom he'll be special consultant Burke will still be expected to see out the remainder of his contract with the Anaheim Ducks, however he'll be free to negotiate where he'll go once his contract runs out at the end of this season.

With Burke's departure, former Chicago Blackhawks' GM Bob Murray will take over the Ducks' roster as he looks to return them to their Stanley Cup glory.

But now, the speculation over whether or not Burke will become the next General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs is going to be reopened whether we like it or not

In many peoples' eyes, the writing is on the wall: The biggest sign was that Brian Burke turned down a contract extension with the Anaheim Ducks. A team that, during the summer, Burke seemed intent to see his contract through with, while the Ducks were hoping to keep 'Burkie' around.

Because Burke turned down that contract, the Ducks did what's best for their organization—they (for the most part) moved him out of the front office and into an advisory role. While Burke still works with matters of the team, the fingers that pull the strings of the team are different with Murray at the helm.

If Burke wasn't moved out of his position, then you run the risk of two things: Burke losing interest in his current post and mapping out the opening stages of his next destination (wherever he goes) late in the season, and you also draw unnecessary media attention to the team with an issue irrelevant to their play when the games start to really matter.

In doing what's best for their organization however, they may have just flipped the world upside down in Toronto.

While the "interim" tag has been removed from Cliff Fletcher's title for the remainder of this season, Richard Peddie is still anticipating picking up on the search come Springtime, and Brian Burke's name has been bantered about relentlessly going back to this past offseason.

Now that Burke is "free to talk to about his future employment" around the leauge, Toronto and it's vacant GM position are mere days and "speculated talks" away from a ten minute slot leading off your evening news with the newest "executive free agent".

Just the kind of press this team needs right now.

But if the Leafs played their cards right, they could hold off on this press until much later in the season.

As of right now, the players are concentrating on playing the game and the youngsters are just beginning to flourish despite the constantly-buzzing media. Now, with this brand new speculation, the coverage will reach another level, with players being badgered with irrelevant questions, the most devastating of which being "What do you think your future will be if Brian Burke is brought in as the GM".

Players are asked about their status with the team enough times during the season during a normal scenario, bringing about the Burke speculation could only make it worse, amping up the pressure on the players and lessening their performance.

But before anything rash happens, let's examine the facts:

Fact: Toronto currently has a GM that they've committed to until the end of this season in Cliff Fletcher.

Fact: Brian Burke is a free agent now, but there will also be many more executive free agents come March, April and May.

Fact: How many executive positions have become available recently? One. The one in Anaheim, thanks to Burke's upcoming departure.

With this being the scenario, the Leafs still have the opportunity to take their time. They know that Burke won't be the only name to hit the offseason looking for work come April, so they'll have a variety of options as to the direction in which they want to take their organization (Even now, former-Lightning GM Jay Feaster is still available....hint hint).

They also know that, because of their current situation and the situation around the league, Burke most likely isn't going to be snapped up immediately, as (unless there's going to be a Joel Quenneville "I'm just a scout" vibe going on somewhere) there simply isn't any room at the Inn—any Inn for that matter.

All of this affords the Leafs the chance to take their time and make the most logical, informed decision for the future of the franchise.

If their decision was already made and their hearts set on Burke before he even became available though, then I guess that's the reality we have to deal with, whether a better candidate becomes available or not.

I guess we just sit and wait to see how close the Leafs hold their hand to their vest this round.

Bryan Thiel is a Senior Writer for Bleacher Report and an NHL Community Leader. If you want to get in contact with Bryan you can do so through his profile, and you can also check out all of his previous work in his archives.