I was shocked about Burke's firing, seems like the Leaf's brass didn't really give him a chance. If Burke wasn't given a chance, there is no chance Dave Nonis be given one.

Burke made one bad trade that only looks bad now because Boston won a cup. I don't really understand people wanting to get rid of him, but that's hockey for you. Honestly would the Leafs rather have had Vokoun or Bryzgalov this past season? It wouldn't have made a difference.

The thing with Burke's firing is that the only valid reason the board could've had for firing him-- that the Leafs hasn't made the playoffs or acquired a top end prospect in his four and half years here-- was the one those suits explicitly denied. The only two conceivable reasons left are that one, they didn't like him; or two, he disagreed with them on Luongo and somehow a bunch of telecommunications exec think they know better. Both of which are stupid reasons to fire a GM.

Anyway, I think he really screwed himself over when he tried to accelerate his rebuild (or whatever he called it, "retool" or something). Now the Leaf's got a team that's going to languish in mediocrity in the near future. They have a few good pieces like Kessel and Gardiner but crucially with no solid goaltending or centre, and a bunch of prospects that, even in the best case scenario, are projected to be second and third line guys.

They have some good young pieces. They have Colbourne. You can't really hold the lack of a solid center fairly over his head. There's a lack of solid centers in the NHL right now. Do the Maple Leafs higher ups really think they were gonna get Brad Richards and that it was gonna turn them into a Stanley Cup contender? Same with goaltending. There have been teams to get deep into the playoffs with subpar goaltending. I view Toronto as an english speaking version of Montreal. You either do it there way (which hasn't worked in years) or you find a new job.

Why is it weird that Pittsburgh isn't atop the standings? Because they have Crosby? Guess what, turns out him and Jesus don't have so much in common as everyone may think. I'm going to take advantage of this virtual simulation to voice my OPINION. Crosby isn't even in top 10 NHL players, get over the man crush and media hype. It's so disappointing that he receives all the attention that Malkin deserves.

The problem isn't Crosby's talent. He's a very talented player, it's his piss poor attitude and lack of respect for hockey. If it weren't for hockey, this guy would be a nobody, but yet he loves to show disrespect to the traditions of the game. That is added to the fact that he's the NHL Posterboy (mostly because he's flashy and North American) it makes people hate him. I wish someone like Datsyuk would be the posterboy, but I'm not in control of PR.

I never said it was weird that they weren't atop the standings; I said that they were stinking out the joint. I just found it odd that in the simulation that they weren't in the playoffs at all.

Also, yes, Crosby, while a great player, benefits greatly from the like of Malkin on his team.