When Brian Burke was named G.M. of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it felt right.
At the time, truculence and old-school hockey were still recipes we thought were necessary in order to create a successful hockey team.
Burke had just previously used that style as the G.M. of the 2006-07 Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks team, so when Burke was hired, many thought he could do the same in Toronto.
Although the Ducks weren’t afraid to fight and hit, they also balanced that out with an incredibly offensive talented roster which included: Teemu Salanne, Chris Kunitz, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, all while Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were still on their Entry Level Contract.