What's he going to do, pull a gun on him? No one would argue that Burke would gladly let Kessel walk. But if he frankly doesn't want to stay here there is absolutely nothing Burke can do about it. If this team misses the playoffs again Burke will have to offer a whole lot more than market value to keep Kessel from leaving.
These next seasons will be crucial for so many reasons. Certainly Burke has cap space to work with and is in a better spot than many GMs. But, he still has to make good use of it. His free agent signing record hasn't been all that great the past few years. The new CBA might help since the contracts are limited a bit more now, but he still has the problem of this not being a very good team and Toronto being a tough sell to a UFA.
Let's just see how it goes. This good position only matters if it's used properly.
Want to know the biggest reason why Toronto was a tough sell rather than other markets?
Burke wasn't willing to put the long term health of the franchise at risk for the short term benefit of major free agent splashes. Throughout the CBA negotiations and leading up to the CBA negotiations there was some major momentum for potential legislation against major cap circumventing contracts being added into the new CBA. We're not just talking about removal of the ability to do so, but legitimate punishments through restrictions on the contracts that have already been signed. It's why Luongo is likely never going to be a Leaf and why Burke isn't going to look nearly as incompetent if the league got its way in respect to this aspect of contracting rights. Even if they partially got their way it'll be a major hurdle going forwards for the albatross front loaded contracts.
If you are, say, Parise or Suter, would you sign with Toronto (that are sticking to their guns and not potentially taking a major risk long term fully knowing some of the aspects of the new cba that are on the table) or sign with Minny for a sweet retirement 100m contract? Of course we weren't going to land the big fish under those circumstances, but the circumstances have changed. We have
loads of cap space and flexibility, we are an attractive and
lucrative market for a player, and we are a team that has lots of potential moving forwards in regards to how our team has been managed. If I'm a player it's a no brainer to get a great contract as a top guy on an up and coming team in by far the biggest hockey market in the world. You're looking at some significant side money through sponsorships and the like as well, especially if the Leafs turn it around. Just remember how valuable the team is and how big the hockey market is here.
Most importantly, with the new circumstances we aren't going to be seriously outbid anymore like I'm sure we were in other situations that we can remember recently.
? We just gave away three of our best forwards for an unknown POSSIBILITY of a couple guys signing with us? Am I the only one who sees that as the worst idea I have come across on these boards? Imagine us without Kessel Lupul and Grabo. You really should be an event planner.
