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While there were no great expectations for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, many thought they would do much better than 29th place. Sporting News picked the Leafs a conservative nine spots higher (20th) while writers at Sports Illustrated said the Leafs “would surprise” this year. Leafs general manager Brian Burke himself said Leaf chances for the 2010 playoffs were “realistic,” adding that “to not make the playoffs represents failure.” In ...

Brian Burke is his own man, a down-to-earth farming kind of guy. His loose-collar-red-in-your-face-goddamn-it style actually makes him one of the few people who can handle the pressures of running the most demanding hockey franchise in the world. And although he has certainly done well for the Maple Leafs, his style has also taken the franchise down a couple of ugly blind alleys that he needs to be called on. There ...