If you're not disappointed after 4 years of Brian Burke then you are delusional

With most Leaf fans, the glass is always at least half full. So when it comes to discussing Brian Burke's tenure with the Leafs not surprisingly many fans are satisfied.  I heard couple fans on the radio today declare that 9 out of 10 trades made by Burke were good.  I have to admit he has made some astute deals considering he had little to trade away.  But a 90% success rate is quite a stretch.

The expectation based on Burke's own words was that by now the Leafs should have at least made the playoffs once.  But if you buy into Burke's many pronouncements then perhaps you've tempered those expectations.

Here are some of the things that Burke promised 4 years ago at his first press conference as the Leafs' GM.

1. The Leafs would be bigger and more truculent.
2. The team was going to be built from the net out.
3. The Leafs would rebuild quicker by not tanking and relying on the draft.
4. The culture on the team would change for the better.

So are the Leafs bigger and more truculent?  Absolutely not. There are only few players that fit that description.  Mike Brown and Dion Phaneuf come to mind.  Luke Schenn was traded away. Colton Orr was waived and sent to the minors.  Mike Komisarek and Jay Rosehill rarely play. David Steckel is a big body but not very physical.  Key players like Phil Kessel and Mikhail Grabovski are pushed around by opponents.

Have the Leafs rebuilt from the net out.  Again no.  Goaltending is currently their biggest weakness and likely holding the team back from advancing in the standings.  Granted not from lack of trying.  Burke has signed 4 free agent goalies from Europe or U.S.  college but none so far has made an impact.  Their current #1 goalie, James Reimer is in fact a 2006 draft pick (4th round) selected by the previous regime.   He is still a big question mark.

Burke trashed the Edmonton Oilers approach to rebuilding by bottoming out and collecting high draft picks.  He insisted he could more quickly through a combination of trades, draft picks and free agent signings.  So are the Leafs ahead of the Oilers rebuild? Not really.  The Leafs are no closer to making the playoffs than the Oilers.  The Leafs are as young as the Oilers but have plenty of blue chip prospects while the Leafs have almost none.  The Leafs do not have young players on their roster with the talent of Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Magnus Paajarvi. 

Burke labelled the Leafs four years ago as having blue and white disease.  My impression is that he was referring to a soft team that accepted losing.  He was going to change that.  Did he?  Marginally at best.  The tailspin at the end of last season was the hallmark of a team that quit early.  Something that Leaf fans have seen many times over the year.  Burke referred to it as a bus going over a cliff.  We don't really know what goes on in the dressing room but if these players gave up on the season then there hasn't been much of a culture change.

In addition Brian Burke has picked public fights with just about everyone and anyone including the CBC, Don Cherry and Francois Allaire. Those disractions have been annoying.  I loved his trades to land Phaneuf, Gardner and Lupul.  But free agent signings like Komisarek, Connolly, Gustavsson, Armstrong have eaten up cap space and provided the team with little.  All those college free agent signings have produced just one NHLer, Tyler Bozak.

Yes from all appearances you can say that the Leafs are on the right track but you can't tell me that Brian Burke has met those lofty expectations he set.