Rebuilding on the Fly

The 2005 lockout effectively killed the Sundin-era Maple Leafs. The team that exited this lockout was old and not very good. After a few years of pretending the old formula of 'Sundin + spare parts' still worked, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment told fans they would get their rebuild; a rebuild that would change the culture of the Maple Leafs and return the franchise to glory. To this end they hired Brian Burke, NHL celebrity GM. But Burke didn't bring change. He brought more disappointment. He continued the Leafs' playoff drought till it was the longest in franchise history and, when the Leafs finally made the playoffs, they did it on luck. Burke's "rebuild on the fly" tore down a mediocre team with poor goal-tending and replaced it with a mediocre team with good goal-tending. And even once fired he left his mark as his protege Dave Nonis continues to run the team into the ground. Leafs fans wishing for contention after years of missing the playoffs will have to wait years or perhaps decades more to see a Maple Leaf squad in true contention. This book is about why Burke was hired, what he did and why that didn't work. The Brian Burke-era of the Maple Leafs should stand as a lesson to big market franchises in all major North American pro sports that speed is not a solution when when trying to make an old, bad team good again.