Leafs owe their GM huge effort vs. Bruins

Here is an interesting article from the Star on the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke. The man has went through a lot and is taking a beating over the Phil Kessel trade that sent two first round draft picks to the Boston Bruins. Kessel has had a rough go of it against his former team getting a measly assist in five games.

From a human point of view, of course, it's been an awful year for Burke, who stood behind his 21-year-old son Brendan last fall when the young man decided to publicly declare his homosexuality, and then buried Brendan this past winter after a terrible accident that killed his son and an 18-year-old friend.

He not only kept doing his Toronto job through that nightmare, but he led Team USA into the Vancouver Olympics as well, answering questions every day along the way while fighting back the urge to burst into tears at the mention of Brendan's name.

He has hung in there better than the Leafs. Well, now's a chance for the Leafs, to a man, to win one for their boss, a GM who has been known throughout his career as an executive for whom players like to play. As mentioned, beating the Bruins won't change the fact Boston owns the Leafs' top pick in the June draft.

And having Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin going head-to-head in a high profile OHL playoff series – even NHL.com is covering it – certainly brings the commodities the Leafs sacrificed into even sharper relief.

Kessel, then, might want to deliver an inspired effort. For five years, this 22-year-old from Madison, Wisc., has been alternately praised and panned. It was once suggested that if he'd been eligible for the 2005 draft, Kessel would have competed with Sidney Crosby for top billing.

Instead, he slipped in the rankings amidst widespread criticism of his game and personality and was taken fifth overall in 2006. In Boston, he struggled enough to be benched in his first-ever NHL playoff spring, but then rebounded well last season after a 35-goal campaign by scoring six goals in 11 playoff games with a bum shoulder that required surgery.

This is a player who has inspired either admiration or sneers for years, but Burke staked his reputation on the belief Kessel will be a star in Toronto.

On Saturday night, Kessel would be well-served to deliver a performance indicating an appreciation for that.

This season, Kessel has not fared well against his former Bruin teammates, who have seemed to delight in making his life miserable after he essentially declared he didn't want to play with them any longer. He has one measly assist in five games, three of them Boston victories.

Saturday night on national TV is the final chance Kessel will have this season to shine in the spotlight. To prove he has been worth all the fuss.
[The Star]