Mact has a lot of player holes to fill. That is a given and there will be thousands of posts and dozens of threads. But there exists an opportunity for the org to progress beyond player aquisistions.
1) Sean Burke - from Bob McKenzie's article
Even before Sunday’s massive Leaf purge, former NHL goalie Sean Burke, who was teammates with Shanahan, had already been linked to the Leafs. Burke has been a goalie coach and assistant to the GM in Arizona with the Coyotes, but has permission to talk to other teams and will be moving on from Arizona at season’s end. It would surprise no one if Burke found his way to Toronto, though in what capacity it remains to be seen.
Sean Burke is exactly what this organization needs. We are currently a place where goaltending careers go to die. It really doesn't matter who we end up with in net, without a quality coach, their play will diminish. Burke is the primary reason Dubnyk is still in the nhl. We might even have a shot at resigning Dubnyk this summer if Burke is the one calling him.
2) Todd Nelson signed to a NHL coaching salary, even if he is our AHL coach. Nelson has done a very good job with the kids but is not an elite NHL coach. He lacks the experience to properly match lines and zone starts are not optimized. In a perfect world, he is paid an NHL head coach salaary while being a development coach in the AHL. Katz should offer him a chance to see if a head coaching job is available. If not, he gets paid to be our development coach.
What do these two signings have in common? The answer is Darryl Katz's pocketbook. If he is serious about building a winner and not just collecting tax payers' money for his new building, then he should be doing whatever he can. We are not a cap team but have the ability to be as big a spender as there is in this league. It is time for Katz to show something. Handing Burke and Nelson blank cheques would be a good start.
1) Sean Burke - from Bob McKenzie's article
Even before Sunday’s massive Leaf purge, former NHL goalie Sean Burke, who was teammates with Shanahan, had already been linked to the Leafs. Burke has been a goalie coach and assistant to the GM in Arizona with the Coyotes, but has permission to talk to other teams and will be moving on from Arizona at season’s end. It would surprise no one if Burke found his way to Toronto, though in what capacity it remains to be seen.
Sean Burke is exactly what this organization needs. We are currently a place where goaltending careers go to die. It really doesn't matter who we end up with in net, without a quality coach, their play will diminish. Burke is the primary reason Dubnyk is still in the nhl. We might even have a shot at resigning Dubnyk this summer if Burke is the one calling him.
2) Todd Nelson signed to a NHL coaching salary, even if he is our AHL coach. Nelson has done a very good job with the kids but is not an elite NHL coach. He lacks the experience to properly match lines and zone starts are not optimized. In a perfect world, he is paid an NHL head coach salaary while being a development coach in the AHL. Katz should offer him a chance to see if a head coaching job is available. If not, he gets paid to be our development coach.
What do these two signings have in common? The answer is Darryl Katz's pocketbook. If he is serious about building a winner and not just collecting tax payers' money for his new building, then he should be doing whatever he can. We are not a cap team but have the ability to be as big a spender as there is in this league. It is time for Katz to show something. Handing Burke and Nelson blank cheques would be a good start.
