Yet you ask Burke about his coach Ron Wilson – who is the only Leafs coach to miss the playoffs 3 years in a row – the GM will tell you Wilson will be back for the final year of his contract. This despite what seems to be a large group of fans who would rather see Wilson replaced.
“We don’t run this team by consensus. I don’t give a rat’s ass what the consensus is.”
“I don’t have to justify why the coach is staying,” said Burke in his end of season address. “He did it with the job he did in the 2nd half of the season. There are people who disagree. They are confusing me with someone who cares about their opinion.”
General Manager Brian Burke said special teams cost his team a spot in the playoffs, but he didn’t pin the blame on that on his coaches. He said the players are to blame for that.
The power play was ranked 22nd, the penalty kill finished 28th in the 30 team NHL this season. In fact under Wilson’s watch special teams have been anything but special.
“We might have to address it with player personnel acquisitions,” said Burke. “I felt the first time I gave Ron a competitive team to work with was the second half of this season. It’s too easy to pin it on the coaches. When you watch our players execute you think the plan works. Maybe we have to address that by getting people who are better at those jobs.”
Burke sang the praises of Dion Phaneuf saying his second half was “terrific”; he called Phil Kessel a player whose all around game has improved.
He expects James Reimer to handle the workload in goal next season, and he isn’t about to give up on Jonas Gustavsson. But he insists his number 1 priority is a top-line centre.
"I believe in this group," Burke said. "I think the building blocks we put in place in terms of the defence, the way the top-six (forwards) rounded out, I do think we're close with a few additions.
“Our top priority is a centre, no question about it," he said.
“I would like a bigger group, I would like a more hostile group,” said Burke. “This is my team now it’s my group now and I believe this group has what it we need to win but we have to add to this group in the summer time.”
“This group of athletes doesn’t have to defend 7 years,” said Burke. “This group of athletes doesn’t have to talk about 1967.”
“I was in the playoffs 7 straight years before I got here,” added Burke. “This has been a long, slow torturous process for me. I don’t like it. I don’t like being out of the playoffs. I take it personally especially when we actually got close this year and made a push. I’m sour about it. I’m not happy.”
In his year end address, Ron Wilson said he felt his team was 2 or 3 pieces away from being a Stanley Cup contender. Burke was asked if he agreed.
"I know some people are having fun with that but what team isn’t a contender if you add the right 3 players. I don't think Ron was wrong with that at all, but the question is can we add three guys who could have that impact through trade or free agency?" said Burke. "That's a harder question."
Burke promises to be busy in free agency as his team has lots of cap space and money to spend. He also plans to negotiate with his restricted free agents (Tyler Bozak, Clarke MacArthur, Luke Schenn and James Reimer among them) after the world hockey championships.
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