When Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke took over the reigns from elder statesman Cliff Fletcher, he proudly boasted that his Toronto Maple Leafs would be a mirror image of himself, a team that would play with “pugnacity, testosterone and truculence.”
Burke made that statement way back in November of 2008 and, to date, we (Leaf fans) are yet to see much of those traits from any of his players.
Sure, pugilist Colton Orr can drop the gloves with the best of them, but does anyone really think any of the opposing players are shaking in their boots at the prospect of lining up against Orr?
Fact is, outside of Dion Phaneuf—who only seems to be truculent when it suits him—nobody on the Maple Leafs current roster sends a message to the opposition.
Disagree?
Take another look at the Maple Leafs roster—I dare you to find a player that illustrates the pugnacity, testosterone and truculence that Burke has promised.
On the backend the Maple Leafs feature the likes of Phaneuf, Tomas Kaberle, Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, Luke Schenn (who is another guy that only plays with vigor when he feels like it), Ca ...
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Article written by Mark Ritter
Toronto Maple Leafs: Still In Need of an Identity
November 17th, 2010 by Mark Ritter Leave a reply »
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