Quote:
Originally Posted by united
He was also the youngest ever certified NHL agent, at age 22.
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He's obviously a very sharp guy but that alone doesn't make for absolute success. The biggest obstacle to any Leafs GM is the market and media pressure. Every little move or non-move is so overly scrutinized that it's simply hard to operate like GM's in other markets. If you draft too many American players you have to deal with Don Cherry blasting you on TV. There's drama every time a highly drafted player gets sent down to the farm. The fact that fans and local media overrate roster players so much makes it hard to make trades that look in your favour even if it's a solid swap. The fact that a lot of good players simply don't want to play in that market to face the daily drama and scrutiny of the market.
IMO it's by far the hardest job in the league and there's a reason so many GM's have come and gone with little or no success. The fact that Burke even had them on the right track is a huge positive IMO as I don't see that team ever winning a cup in my entire lifetime.