While the Leafs deal with mediocrity, some actual issues are up for debate as the Board of Governors convene.

Rule of thumb says that living and working in Toronto, the oft-proclaimed centre of the hockey universe, it's imperative to comment on the trials and tribulations of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the beleaguered coach and the incumbent general manger.

So I will say this: The current edition of the Leafs is a mess; and one not entirely of John Ferguson or Paul Maurice's making.

The Leafs are one of the worst teams in the NHL this season because of years of decisions that have come home to roost. They are a failure at every level and they will continue to be a failure long after the in-fighters manage to dismiss Ferguson (a good man and a better GM than a great many said to be ready and able to replace him) and probably Maurice as well.

The franchise is a poorly run corporation that for years has been trading away prospects, talent and draft picks to keep alive the myth that the on-ice product is good, a playoff contender and even a Stanley Cup contender.

However, the Leafs are not contenders.

The current landscape has reached a level of inevitable failure not just because of the trades and signings that Ferguson has made, but by the trades and signings that former GM Pat Quinn made and by the actions of a failed leadership group that includes the highest levels of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment directors and managers. Truth is, a portion of the product on the ice today is the direct result of a meddlesome board and management team that has encouraged and at times even demanded overspending for aging talent and mortgaging the future for the immediate gains of the present. A process that has destroyed even the faint hope of building a strong talent base from within.

The Detroit Red Wings they are not.

That said, I would politely tell you that there are other things (outside of Toronto) going on in the NHL today, some of which do deserve your attention.

For example:

The Board of Governors meet this week in California, and while the big issue on the agenda is re-doing the schedule for the umpteenth time, the issue of most importance is that the general managers appear to be getting in line with Anaheim general manager Brian Burke.

Now on the surface you could make a highly speculative argument that Burke, in asking the league to convene a conference call to debate issues that bother the GMs but have already been dismissed by commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, is challenging the authority of the commissioner (a man he once worked for and has long supported). The thinking would be that Burke was starting a campaign the underpinnings of which are designed to build a base of support in the GM ranks to one day topple Bettman.

There is precious little doubt that the "take" will eventually reach print, broadcast or the world-wide web, but it's not true.

What Burke is doing is making an argument that the GMs deserve to be heard on important issues in the game today. He wants a full and open debate regarding whether or not there should be a change to the Collective Bargaining Agreement to allow the GMs to make trades and eat some of the salary that they've bestowed upon the player traded away or received in return.

That was the norm in the past and it was taken away in recent years largely because Bettman (and others) saw it as a crutch for reckless spending, which was a part of the reason the league was having to deal with runaway salaries. And remember, runaway salaries were a big part of the reason Bettman and the Board of Governors voted to shut down the league for a year.

Burke has a point; and it is one that should be debated by the GMs and the Board as well, but if he were truly trying to undermine Bettman you could bet it would happen behind closed doors and not in an open forum.

This goes hand-in-hand with the column I posted on this site last week bemoaning the league's ability to fine coaches and general managers and front office types over comments about the game, how it's played, its officiating and other matters.

The GMs are tired of being marginalized. They don't want to talk to reporters in secret. They want to speak out loud about the game, add to the debate about what, if anything, is needed to make it better. They want to be heard.

It's why Burke and others wanted a frank discussion with the league regarding the monster suspensions handed down recently by NHL VP Colin Campbell regarding hits to the head. In past years, the GMs were allowed to weigh in on those kinds of policy changes. When Campbell started going beyond the three or five game standard to suspensions of 20 and 25 games, they felt blind-sided.

There are other issues that came out of that conference call (Rule changes, schedule changes, an update on the sale of the Nashville Predators, problems with the sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning) and it's likely some, if not most, of them will be put before the board on Nov. 29 when they gather in Pebble Beach.

That, in and of itself, is way more important than anything that will happen in Toronto this week.