Do the Leafs need all these management voices?

Hey, I’m among those who have looked at Rick Dudley as an astute hockey guy for many years.  Some like his track record, some don’t.  He has seemingly had a difficult time keeping a job in the NHL as GM or coach, but he always seems to have an impact wherever he goes.  (He’s been GM in Ottawa, Tampa, Florida and Atlanta, and coached Florida and Buffalo…)

He certainly helped make the Thrashers better in his short time as GM. The Byfuglien deal (and turning him loose as a sometimes roving defenseman) alone should help keep the now-Winnipeg franchise competitive for years to come.

But from Toronto’s perspective, aren’t we getting a little top heavy on the ‘admin’ side?

I mean, is Cliff Fletcher still around?  Cliff liked to spend money in his tenure as Leaf GM.  While there is a player salary cap now, they’re certainly spending money on administrative guys now.  Who’s in Burke’s inner circle?  Well, we have Dave Poulin, Claude Loiselle and of course Dave Nonis.  And Fletcher.  Now Dudley.  The last three have all been NHL GM’s.

Now, if you follow the Detroit blueprint, you can’t have too many smart hockey guys to bounce ideas around with.  All those years they not only had Ken Holland as GM, but of course Scotty Bowman was lurking in the halls and forever on the phone, Jim Nill was always there, a thoughtful, experienced voice.  Steve Yzerman was added to the think tank  Jimmy Devallano has been around since 1982.  After Yzerman left, didn’t Chris Chelios jump on board?

Lots of top hockey minds.

Yes, it’s worked for Detroit.  Four Stanley Cups since the mid 1990s.  Holland makes the final call, but he gets solid input from a lot of folks and an excellent amateur scouting staff.

So if Burke wants to have a lot of advisors to bat things around with, well then, who’s to argue?  I say hire all the guys you want.  Just keep making the team better.