It may be time for some NHL fans - including members of the Leaf Nation - to acknowledge the egg on their face and prepare to say something to Toronto Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke they did not think they'd have to say. The words are simple, most, nay virtually all of us, have said them before.
They must prepare to say these 3 words - 'I was wrong.'
Yes it is early and after the Leafs 4-1 win in Columbus on Nov. 4, 2011, with rookie Ben Scrivens in goal, they were still only 13 games into the 2011-12 campaign (or 15.8 percent of the season). But never mind the date, Toronto's 9-3-1 record is made all the more legitimate by the way the team is playing. They are working hard and getting contributions up and down the line-up. And they're consistent and motivated.
How's this: the Leafs have yet to lose 2 in a row this season. Yes, early but the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, to name just a few, can't boast that. They also have yet to be shutout, something that happened last year as often as a John Tortorella meltdown (in 2010-11 they were shutout 5 times in their first 22 games).
Maple Leafs Third in NHL Goal Scoring
At this early juncture Brian Burke's team is actually in first place overall and they've scored 45 goals, second highest in the NHL. Last year on their way to finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference, 8 points out of the playoffs, the team wound up 23rd in the league in scoring with a paltry 218 goals.
The scoring leader for the 2010-11 Leafs was Phil Kessel with 64 points, 32 goals and 32 assists, good enough for 36th in the NHL (he was a -20). So far this season their scoring leader is again Kessel and his 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points has him in first place in point scoring (he's a plus10). If it keeps up fans will have to admit to being wrong about the Tyler Seguin deal, too.
Brian Burke: Refused to Fire Ron Wilson
A lot of Leaf fans were calling for Brian Burke to be fired over the past two seasons, despite the fact he'd only been hired late in 2008. They were hoping coach Ron Wilson would go with him. Not seeing playoff hockey in 7 seasons tends to make the faithful a bit trigger happy.
But if fans do not now admit they were wrong then surely the time is coming soon that they must. Fine, give the Leafs another dozen games to screw up before those apologies. But if they keep winning at this clip, or close to it, the time will soon come to eat humble hockey pie.
Some fans have seen enough. The work ethic, goaltending, the scoring, trades and signings (not that defence yet, though) is real. Brian Burke has assembled a talented team with great young players and veteran skill and toughness. Which is why some fans are ready to admit the problem was not the GM and all he needed was time. He got it and he just may have done it.
So, Brian Burke, I was wrong.
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