Sunday, January 27, 2008

His words say no... but between the lines?


Damien Cox won’t let go of the Maple Leaf Nation’s dream, that apparently of having Brian Burke take charge of their wandering band of under performing and overwhelmed hockey players.

Despite Burke's denials of interest and public announcement that he’s happily and gainfully employed by the Samueli’s in Anaheim, Cox has managed to parse the statements, inject his interpretations and set himself up for Burke’s favourite statement of suffering from a “drug induced fantasy”, with his suggestion that Burke is more than interested in the possibilities of taking the Leafs from chumps to champs.

In Sunday’s Toronto Star and posted to their website, Cox outlined the key things that would need to happen for Burke to change his optics on the post, including full control over the team without the need to run everything by a board, won’t suffer fools gladly should they start to suggest who to play and woe be the MLSE executive that tries to treat him the way that John Ferguson Junior was hung out to dry this winter.

It’s an interesting bit of interpretation, which will keep Burke’s name percolating along with some of the other key executives that have popped up in the last few days.

While Burke was finding a friend in the most unlikely of places considering his long time battles with the media, Jim Rutherford was making use of the Hockey Night in Canada pulpit to advise the Maple Leaf flock that no; he doesn’t have a Maple Leaf escape clause in his Carolina contract.

With Scotty Bowman having already seemingly burned his bridge on Hockey Night in Canada a few weeks ago, it will be interesting to see who shows up next to talk about the job.

So far everyone seems to be trying their best not to appear to be seeking out the job that everyone in hockey seems to suggest is the top one of the circuit, apparently it’s not how they deliver their lines, but what’s between them that’s key.

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