Brian Burke Could Help the Toronto Maple Leafs Win the Cup Sooner Than You Think

There's a reason why Brian Burke, new general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, wasn't interested in Mats Sundin, and that reason is the economy.

Allow me to explain.

The Toronto Maple Leafs currently do not have a true star player in their lineup. They don't even have a captain. They spend approximately $35 million on their players, and are around $20 million under the salary cap.

So why don't the Leafs pick up a big player that could bring a bit more success to the team? They certainly have enough cap space to buy two or three great players. Once again, because of the economy.

We all know the entire globe is in a recession and that many people are being affected; the National Hockey League is included.

Because the economy is taking somewhat of a toll on the NHL, they've announced that salary caps will go down. This means that teams will not have enough salary cap space and they will have no choice but to get rid of some of their star players.

While this is all going on, Mr. Burke is laughing. He has more than enough cap space left and all these great players that are becoming free agents, are up for grabs.

So Mr. Burke gets on the phone and makes some calls, picking up a few good players that don't know where to go.

Add in to the mix young guys like Luke Schenn, Jeremy Williams, Jamie Sifers, André Deveaux and Anton Stralman, who have gained experience by then, and the Leafs aren't looking so bad anymore. 

A few trades will be made and we might have ourselves a shot at winning the cup for the first time since 1967. Wouldn't it feel good to be able to brag about the Leafs to all are fellow Habs and Sens fans again (god I miss those days).

So Leafs fans, I urge you to be patient, because as much as the Leafs suck now, we could be champions in four or five years.