Jason Blake should stop whinning and play. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach,Ron Wilson, is very strong on team concept, and right now, he does think that Blake is pulling his weight, or buying in to the system.
Wilson will not let Blake become a distraction to the team. The worse thing Blake can do is put himself before the team. One it brings down any value he could have on the trade market, which I doubt there is any. The only person at this point that can help Blake, is Blake himself. If he wants some examples on how to do so, all he has to do is look at two guys in the Canadiens line-up, Koivu and Kovalev, how they dispense leadership. Or he could use a formula that legendary coach, Scotty Bowman used when he was coaching those great teams of the 70’s. When one of his star players was in a slump, Bowman would tell them ‘’ If you can’t score make sure the other team can’t either, in time your scoring touch comeback.’’
Now It would not be fair in assuming that Blake is as good or as talented as those stars Bowman coached in Montreal, but he is no slouch either. If you can’t score, make yourself useful in an another way, in time confidence and your scoring touch will comeback. Right now, Blake is concentrating too much on what he thinks he is doing right instead on what he maybe doing wrong, that is what Ron Wilson wants him to do.
It will be interesting to see what happens next. One thing is for sure, Blake will remain a Leaf through out the season.
No doubt the speculation will now run for sure, will Brian Burke become the new GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs ? A good question, if the situation had happened in July, but now, the landscape may have changed a bit in Leaf Nation.
If you go by a process of elimination, you can eliminate all the Western conference teams. Let’s take a look in the East, other than Toronto. Simple math tells you, eliminate Montreal from the get go. Ottawa also, this leaving Buffalo and Boston. Of course Boston would be perfect. Depending what Burke is looking for as far as dollars and cents, guarantees in a contract, would Jeremy Jacobs consider ousting Peter Chiarelli ? He might consider it, espacially that Burke is a proven GM and has won the Stanley Cup. It’s noteveryday that a guy like Brian Burke comes along and is made available.
So folks after enduringclose to four and a half months of where Sundin will play or not play, now we have the Burke is going where lottery. Shouldn’t the focus be on the game on the ice and not about over bolstered egos always trying to make the news ?If I was the league’s commissionner, I would not like this at all.
