Is there a rumor that has had more shelf life than Brian Burke to Toronto? I don't think so.
Needless to say, his arrival here in Toronto for Tuesday night's game between the Anaheim Ducks and Maple Leafs will just freshen up that speculation.
"I'm sure aware that Anaheim is in town," Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, told ESPN.com Monday. "I'm not surprised to get calls. This is the second one I've had."
Burke has long been the favorite to land here as the new GM next summer after his contract expires in Anaheim, although he's not the only GM on Toronto's short list.
"We put the search on hold," Peddie said. "[Toronto lawyer] Gord [Kirke] still has a retainer to be my partner in this search. Obviously, we chat probably about once a week. We're watching how all the various general managers are doing out there. But we won't be doing anything until the spring."
The optics won't be terribly good Tuesday when Peddie is slated to meet with Ducks CEO Michael Schulman and possibly Burke.
"Michael Schulman is actually having a tour of the building with me," said Peddie. "But that has nothing to do with Brian Burke. When Edmonton came to town for the board of governors meeting, they also toured the building. Nashville, as well.
"So, I'm having the owners tour a lot because we're doing so much with Maple Leaf Square [condo development], the new video board; everybody wants to see what's new in the NHL. I look forward to seeing Michael, and I think Brian will be on the tour, as well. But it's all about best [business] practices and sharing ideas between teams."
For the record, though, we couldn't resist asking Peddie yet again about Burke as a potential candidate for the GM job.
"Brian's under contract and he's a very good general manager," Peddie said, not wanting to say more because that would be tampering. "And there's other people you could talk about too, but we have no comment on them, as well. ...
"We'll look at who's available next spring and, hopefully, we can sign one of the really good ones."
Sauer won't be suspended
The NHL won't suspend Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Kurt Sauer for his hit Saturday night on Montreal Canadiens winger Andrei Kostitsyn.
And I think it's the right decision. Yes, the league is supposed to be on the lookout for blows to the head. But every time I look at the replay, I see a player in Kostitsyn who unfortunately came into the zone with his head down. Sauer is 6-foot-4 to Kostitsyn's 6-foot frame, so the hit is likely going to be high just because of that. And if Kostitsyn doesn't bang his head off the ice, he's probably fine.
The bottom line is, the league needs to be careful not to legislate hitting out of the game. Hopefully, Kostitsyn isn't out too long. A Canadiens spokesperson said Monday the winger was day-to-day. The Canadiens don't play again until Saturday following Monday night's game with Florida.
Pierre LeBrun
