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Just days before the NHL is expected to return to on-ice action, the Toronto Maple Leafs have fired general manager and president Brian Burke.
Replacing Burke, who was entering the fifth year of a six-year deal, is assistant GM Dave Nonis.
Burke was relieved of his duties on Wednesday morning, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president Tom Anselmi told reporters at a news conference Wednesday. He said Burke will stay on with the Leafs’ organization as a senior advisor to the MLSE board.
“There’s no good time to do this,” said Anselmi, explaining that the decision to fire Burke was the product of a conversation that’s been ongoing for some time. “Once you get to a decision on something like this, it’s really only fair to act upon it.”
Incoming GM Nonis said he was made aware of the leadership change Wednesday morning.
Burke has been Leafs GM for four years, during which time the team has missed the playoffs every season. Before he took over from interim GM Cliff Fletcher, the Leafs had already failed to make the playoffs for three years.
After the team lost 12 of their last 17 games to end the 2012 season as the 13th-placed team in the Eastern Conference, Burke issued a public apology for the team's "failure to deliver."
Talking to reporters at a news conference in April, Burke nevertheless vowed to stay the course on his plan to deliver a "big, physical" team that can win games.
"That's my top priority," he said in comments that came hot on the heels of an open letter to fans from Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman Larry Tannenbaum.
"We have fallen short of everyone's expectations, and for that we are sorry. We take full responsibility for how this team performs on the ice, and we make no excuses," Tannenbaum wrote in the letter, published as a full-page newspaper ad.
"The way this year ended was unacceptable. Results are the only measure of success in sports and the results speak for themselves."
Before starting with the Leafs in 1998, Burke had served as GM with the Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks and Hartford Whalers.
