Dave Nonis' task as Leafs GM goes beyond a Roberto Luongo tradehttp://bit.ly/13jKIa0
Sporting News
9:59 AM - 10 Jan 13 · Details
NEW YORK — With the lockout ending, the NHL is all about saying hello again. Leave it to theToronto Maple Leafs to go against the grain and say goodbye.
The firing of general manager Brian Burke on Wednesday does also bring about an introduction of sorts, as Burke's top lieutenant, Dave Nonis, moves up. Nonis, though, won't have time for pleasantries as he works with coach Randy Carlyle to finalize Toronto's roster in an abbreviated training camp, and hit the ground running for a shortened season.
The idea of firing Burke makes enough sense. The Maple Leafs were, after all, the only team in the league not to make the playoffs between the 2004-05 and 2012-13 lockouts, with the last four seasons of failure coming on Burke's watch. He gets a pass for the first couple, given the mammoth task of trying to transform a catastrofarce of a roster whose top three scorers were Jason Blake, Nik Antropov and Matt Stajan, and whose goaltender was the immortal (in blooper reels for giving up a length-of-the-ice goal) Vesa Toskala. There has not been enough improvement to make Burke's ouster an outrage, but there had been no rumors of an imminent change, which, given the phalanx of reporters covering the Maple Leafs, made it all the more remarkable that it came out of the blue.
"I know I was shocked when I heard the news," Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said after the NHL Board of Governors meeting where the new collective bargaining agreement was ratified by ownership. "I wish Brian the best. ... I don't know the details, I've just been in meetings. ... Everyone's pretty shocked about it."
Gillis, who replaced Nonis as the GM in Vancouver in 2008, will not be shocked when he hears his Toronto counterpart's voice on the other end of a phone call. The Maple Leafs are widely considered the favorites to pull off a trade for former gold medalist Roberto Luongo, and Nonis' appointment will only further that speculation. But there's a catch.
New Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis, left, has his work cut out for him. (AP Photo)
"To turn around and gut the franchise now would set us back a long way," Nonis said at a press conference in Toronto.
Nonis must decide quickly how much he is willing to give up in order to get Luongo, and whether it is worthwhile to enter a bidding war -- the always aggressive Philadelphia Flyers are reported to be interested. Whatever Nonis does will be a defining moment for his tenure. Burke made a big splash early in his reign by trading two first-round picks and a second-rounder for Phil Kessel. While Kessel has been a 30-goal scorer in each of his three seasons in Toronto, the first of the first-round picks wound up being No. 2 overall, and the Bruins got Tyler Seguin. The other lottery pick became top defense prospect Dougie Hamilton.
