In the end it appears Brian Burke's desire to work in Toronto was just as great, if not greater, than the Maple Leafs desire to hire him.
Judging from the reporting, the marriage between Brian Burke and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was a slam dunk from the onset, a fait accompli from the moment the former general manager of the Anaheim Ducks declared he was having thoughts about not signing a contract extension.
The thinking was that Burke wanted out of Anaheim to take the Toronto Maple Leafs job and that the Maple Leafs wanted him to the exclusion of all others.
A marriage made in hockey heaven with the reception scheduled for tomorrow afternoon with the entire hockey world invited to observe.
According to sources Sportsnet.ca spoke to, it was never as simple as that.
First up was identifying Burke as the No.1 candidate.
"That wasn’t a given," the source said. "It may not seem like it the way it all played out, but there was a process and there was some convincing that had to be done. There were people in favour of Burke from the get-go and there were others who wanted to compile a list of all possible candidates.
"Frankly, the list was done and was still being reviewed (regarding possible availability) when Burke signaled he was going to be available sooner than anyone thought."
Credit Burke for that move, it was a shrewd one.
It was probably a given that Burke was going to refuse the Ducks extension even before team owner Henry Samuelli ran into his legal problems. The idea of being closer to family in the east, in a market where his wife would have an easier time finding a high-profile television job where could be free to see his Boston-based family from a previous marriage was real.
What the Leafs didn’t see coming was Burke’s reversal of a previous decision to wait until after Christmas to make a final decision on the Ducks. In short, they were caught unprepared to move as quickly as Burke did.
"I think he anticipated what was happening," the source said. "I think he realized we had done our evaluations and we were sincere in our announcement that we were shutting down the search because we were of the opinion there would be several high profile candidates who appeared to be coming off contract and might be on the market."
Score one for Burke, a shrewd negotiator for himself as well as the people who employ him. Sensing that the Leafs might be interested in any of several high profile GMs –the Leafs list was rumored to include Ken Holland in Detroit, Doug Wilson in San Jose and before he signed his most recent extension, Darcy Regier in Buffalo—and that any such availability could serve to create a bidding war in the Leafs favour, so Burke got out to the front of the line.
In getting the Ducks to finally agree to what both sides new was inevitable—an amicable divorce—Burke smartly moved himself into the front of the line at least from a public perspective.
He knew it benefited the Leafs from a negotiating standpoint to wait until others became available, but he also knew he would be an in-demand entity. If the Leafs waited, it was possible the others on their list would (and some perhaps already have) sign contract extensions and if Burke found another job in the interim –a likely possibility even among clubs with a GM under contract—the Leafs would be left in the same position they found themselves in when they eventually hired John Ferguson Jr.
Burke, who keeps abreast of such things, moved the odds to his favour and put the Leafs in a position where they didn’t want to be perceived as blowing it. "It was a smart move on his part, not that it was the only reason he was hired, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly wasn’t an accident that the timing went the way it did."
Once Burke did clear himself of any remaining Ducks encumbrances, the Leafs did move swiftly, but carefully. They made certain with both the Ducks and the league that they would be free to speak to him but there was still the delicate matter of convincing the MLSE board of directors to move quickly and in Burke’s direction. There was also the carefully orchestrated dance in regards what to offer, length of term, the always pricey perks that come with such a deal and getting the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan to sign on as well.
"He had a good agent representing his interests but then so did the Leafs," said the source.
"It wasn’t an easy negotiation and there were times when Burke actively got involved (which was all to the good according to the source), but as it went along it became clear that our intention was to sign him and he indicated he wanted to sign with us. Once we were certain of his intentions (as opposed to being played off against another offer) things started to move."
The source wouldn’t confirm the details of the deal said to be for six years and about $18 million, but he didn’t deny them either.
By any standard, even those of the club with the biggest income streams in the NHL, Burke’s salary is high, perhaps higher than warranted given his record to date, but in much the way clubs pay for proven talent and then tend to overpay when that talent hits the open market, Burke got a deal commensurate with his abilities and with what the Leafs and their fans expect of him.
He has a reputation for turning losers into winners and he’s done that in Vancouver (which went from hopeless also-ran to a playoff team during his tenure there) and Anaheim where he admittedly took over a good team but clearly made it better, so much better that he now has a Stanley Cup ring on his finger.
It’s fair to say that the Leafs wanted him and it’s more than fair to say that Burke wanted them and that the Ducks really didn’t want him to leave.
In the end, everyone but the Ducks got what they wanted, but it was by no means as easy as it looked.
