Now that Ron Wilson has fulfilled his scapegoat duties for the season, the Toronto media and fans have turned their guns on GM Brian Burke...

Storified by Matt Reitz · Mon, Mar 26 2012 16:32:11

In the eye of the storm sits Leafs GM Brian Burke, who for good or ill is clearly the face of the franchise. Even though he has effectively been put on notice by some vocal fans and columnists, most acknowledge that he’s not going anywhere with two years remaining on his contract. He also benefits from the fact that Rogers and Bell, the new owners set to take possession of their new toy, MLSE, still have much to deal with before they get the keys to the franchise.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Kevinneeld

Many blame the pressure of playing in the city as the main catalyst for the failure, but the reality of the situation is that the team’s management is apparently incapable of putting a competitive team on the ice. It was supposed to be all about truculence and pugnacity. The solution? Burke goes out and trades for one of the softest, one-dimensional players in the league.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Finally there came a few cathartic boos, but even those were more out of habit. And then -- at last -- a faint, phonetic chorus: "Fi-re Bur-erke, Fi-re Bur-erke". The notion that even a small portion of the ACC crowd -- a gentle beast when fed just the smallest scraps of hope -- would turn on hockey's ultimate ring master was unthinkable even a month ago.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Before tonight's game, dozens of radio hosts and reporters were asking if the fans were gonna chant "Fire Burke".  What are you trying to accomplish?  Are you trying to motivate people to yell it?  Are you trying to rile up the masses and become a big-shot?  Allow me to make glue of the high-horse you rode in on.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

“I’d say he’s on the cusp,” said Glenn Rowe, director of the executive MBA program at Western University’s Richard Ivey School of Business. “My sense is that in most businesses, when you’re at the CEO or COO level, you get about three or four years to prove your worth.” Burke, a master orator, has positioned himself as a prominent face of the organization since his arrival. That he has done so means his job security rides even more on the team’s performance than it might otherwise, Rowe said. “If your organization performs well . . . you’re probably going to last longer. But if you put yourself out there like that, the risk is when things don’t go so well you’re not going to last,” he said. “Everyone blames you, and they have no one else to blame, really, because you’ve taken it upon yourself.”

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Topscms

Burke created this monster, quite admirably in fact. When he fired Wilson, he acknowledged that the "Fire Wilson!" chants at home games helped necessitate it. Thus, he bestowed upon the mortals the power of influence, and they're now attempting to weaponize it against their Creator. So Burke started this fire, and it's either going to consume him and his well-compensated Cabinet or he's going to be the one that extinguishes it by turning the Leafs around.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

I’m very sorry that the Leafs (apparently) aren’t heading to the playoffs. And no doubt, well-apprised fans have all sorts of ideas for improving the team’s performance. But when did we, as a society, decide that losing at sports is some kind of moral sin — one that requires public shaming, histrionic lamentations, and the sort of grand appeals for “forgiveness” (Feschuk’s word) that we more traditionally associate with the legacy of Indian residential schools? Feschuk informs me that a pair of Leafs gold-section season tickets cost $16,000 per year. That’s a lot of money. But anyone who pays that price isn’t “owed” anything — except the right to be admitted to the arena and watch 60 minutes of NHL hockey.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Don Cherry is really trying to get Brian Burke fired, too funny!

— Todd MacPhee · Sat, Mar 24 2012 17:17:47

Burke’s tenure in Toronto, let’s be clear, could not be going worse. This season could not be more of an epic failure. The Leafs have no No. 1 goalie, no stud defenceman, no star centreman. They crashed miserably as a Wilson-coached run-and-gun team. They’re going to need a massive overhaul to even know if they can be halfway successful as a Carlyle-coached blood-and-guts unit. Wonderful Phil Kessel represents everything flawed with Burke’s methodology. The GM’s team is so far removed from being a Stanley Cup contender, it’s laughable.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Ubethecritic

The point is – if fans and media pressure the team to fire Burke, I would have a hard time believing that they could find an upgrade for the GM job. I’ll say it flat out – it would be a mistake. I acknowledge that Burke may only get this team up to “fringe” playoff status next season, and it will be three years before he could get them into “Cup contender” status. And sure, that means that in the end it would take him 6.5 years to get it done. But you can’t speed up that process without a No.1 center and a top goaltender, and they don’t grow on trees. Would the Leafs be a Cup contender with Henrik Lundqvist and Pavel Datsyuk added in place of Tim Connolly and Jonas Gustavsson? Yep. But there is no easy way to get such players, so the 6.5 years thing may have to suffice.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Now, more than ever, the heat is on Burke. When he arrived in Toronto in 2008, Burke promised to build a team that would physically dominate the opposition. Tuesday night's debacle proves his team is a million miles away from backing that up. For a guy that is supposed to have a plan -- or a blueprint, as he calls it -- the Leafs are no closer to being a playoff team now than when he burst on the scene. That was Burke's Leafs that got their butts kicked in Boston; not John Ferguson Jr.'s team and not Cliff Fletcher's team. Fletcher, you may recall, took over for a brief time as GM after the Leafs fired JFJ. Many are questioning if Burke is the right man for the job. No wonder why.

— · Mon, Mar 26 2012 12:11:12

Poll: Leafs fans are pessimistic about the future | ProHockeyTalk

5 hours ago ... Sad Leafs fan. Only 23 percent of Torontonians think the Maple Leafs are on the right track under the guidance of gener...

The trade deadline was a little, shall we say, underwhelming this year. But just because there weren't any huge trades, it doesn't mean there wasn't plenty of chatter surrounding the deals that WERE made...

Storified by Matt Reitz · Mon, Feb 27 2012 21:55:26

The Morning Sports Report · Greater Columbus Sports Commission

Trade Center 2012. Too many buyers too few sellers. No bargains and deals hard to complete. At least we saw return of the pure Hockey Trades

— Marc Crawford · Mon, Feb 27 2012 20:40:00

NHL Trade Deadline Recap

With the NHL Trade Deadline passing, which teams came out on top? Did the Blue Jackets make the right move by keeping Rick Nash? CineSpor...

Few General Managers, with the possible exception of Glen Sather, have been ridiculed more for their performances on the first day of free agency or the trade deadline than Flames boss Jay Feaster. He continued to add to that legacy today, failing to bring in anyone to bolster the team’s chances of making a run at a playoff spot and leaving the team to be carried to that promised land by red hot goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. His condescending remarks at his press conference following the deadline also rang hollow, as he insulted fans’ intelligence by reiterating that trades were difficult, and seemingly laughing off the “ignorance” of those who think that his inaction was a bad thing. Breaking news Jay: your inaction is a bad thing, and fans are right to criticize you for not making any moves to push your team forward. Maintaining the status quo may work for a team like Toronto who has some good prospects for success going forward, but to feel that your team does also, and to mock those who don’t agree, is staggeringly short-sighted.

— · Mon, Feb 27 2012 15:03:07

2000-01 Brian Rolston -Boston Alternate Set Rear · Mego-Matt

How ironically hilarious would it be if Winnik/Galiardi miss the playoffs with San Jose while Colorado gets in.

— Tyler Bieber · Mon, Feb 27 2012 20:27:09

The market was brutal. Few teams were out of the playoff race, and those teams re-signed some of the potential rentals, thinning the crop further. Poile might have preferred some other players – like winger Ales Hemsky, whom the Edmonton Oilers gave a two-year, $10 million deal last week. But he had to choose among the players available, and he had to pay the going rate. “I think the prices that I paid are high,” Poile said. “They’re higher than maybe in past years. The parity in the league has made it that way. If you know what you want, you’ve got to pay the price. Maybe I paid a little bit more.”

— · Mon, Feb 27 2012 15:02:20

And that was the story of the day, and the story of a league. In general, if your team was a contender before the deadline, it is a contender now. If your team was on the bubble before, it’s on the bubble now. Other than Nashville and Vancouver — who met in the second round last season, and who both have pressures weighing on their shoulder pads — and possibly Boston, there was little of immediate and obvious significance, as far as a Stanley Cup was concerned.

— · Mon, Feb 27 2012 15:02:20

After trading Jeff Carter, it’s nice to see Scott Howson move quickly to address the “superstar who really hates it here” void. #TradeCentre

— Down Goes Brown · Mon, Feb 27 2012 13:38:10

The NY Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers didn’t blow up their rosters for Columbus’ Rick Nash. The Washington Capitals didn’t trade Alexander Semin, nor did the Anaheim Ducks part with Teemu Selanne or Bobby Ryan. The LA Kings didn’t part with team captain Dustin Brown after all. That, of course, has been par for the course under this CBA and the salary cap, when teams aren’t willing to saddle themselves with salaries they might be unable to dump if the players acquired fail to pan out.

— · Mon, Feb 27 2012 15:01:51

Canucks get Sedin Kryptonite, Sami Pahlsson...good depth shutdown guy, and prevents Detroit from getting him. Deal with Buffalo about to be announced....

— Chris Dumaresq · Mon, Feb 27 2012 12:35:14

Want to wish the big man Zack Kassian the best of luck in Vancouver! Great player and even better dude!!

— Luke Adam · Mon, Feb 27 2012 12:47:05

RT @TheHockeyNews: Zack Kassian rated as the NHL's 13th-best drafted prospect in THN's Future Watch 2012.

— Brandon Fink · Mon, Feb 27 2012 20:27:24

Paul Gaustad · BuffaloSabres

Sounds like the Kostitsyn brothers are reuniting in Nashville. Now Googling "organized crime Nashville."

— Bruce Arthur · Mon, Feb 27 2012 07:28:19

Somebody please talk Andrei Kostitsyn into wearing #47 so we can call him AK47 @PredsNHL @NHL #Predators

— Jordan Lauer · Mon, Feb 27 2012 20:55:20

NHL trade deadline winners and losers

Video on NBC Sports: Who made the best moves before the NHL trade deadline?

So how are people reacting to the Jeff Carter trade to Los Angeles?

Storified by Matt Reitz · Fri, Feb 24 2012 02:35:23

Phillyphanatics

The Detroit Red Wings are 0-0-1 at home since Jeff Carter became a LA King.

— The Royal Half · Thu, Feb 23 2012 19:26:21

This blockbuster move comes with the Kings having won once in their last seven games and twice in their last 10, and Lombardi said the situation was "snowballing." The Kings pulled the trigger on a major deal four days before the NHL's trade deadline.

— · Thu, Feb 23 2012 17:50:29

“Dude, we have this guy named Quick who actually stops pucks, you’ve never seen anything like it!”- Mike Richards welcomes Jeff Carter to LA

— Down Goes Brown · Thu, Feb 23 2012 17:39:10

Wordpress

Would have loved to have seen Mike Richards reaction when he heard Jeff Carter was coming to play hockey with him again #Kings #TradeCentre

— Sara Smith · Thu, Feb 23 2012 22:18:28

On the Richards-Carter relationship one Flyer told me: Mike likes Jeff but Jeff loves Mike. Carter can't pack fast enough. #heroworship

— John Boruk · Thu, Feb 23 2012 16:43:12

Paul Holmgren thought Mike Richards and Jeff Carter partied too hard in Philly. The more conservative LA environment will be a good fit.

— eric frank · Thu, Feb 23 2012 22:12:31

In short, he can’t screw this up. He can’t slip back into bad habits with his buddy. He has to move on the way he didn’t in Columbus, and he has to mature into the man and the player he can be.

— · Thu, Feb 23 2012 17:50:45

Newsmania