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Out-of-work Brian Burke went hunting yesterday, but he was not tracking the portfolio of president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Instead, Burke went game hunting in the Vancouver area and said that negotiations with the Leafs won't likely begin until the weekend.
"I'm not in a hurry because I want a couple of days off," he said. "No one's schedule is clear.
"They have not made a proposal, but I'm not offended. I don't really want to get into this until the weekend. [Today], I'm going hunting all day. I don't anticipate anything. If we get down to talking, it will be [tomorrow] or Saturday."
There was contact between the two sides. Toronto sports lawyer Gordon Kirke, who along with the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president and chief operating executive Richard Peddie make up the search committee for the NHL club's new top hockey man, talked with Burke's Vancouver-based lawyer, Peter Gall.
Gall and Kirke discussed a time frame for negotiations, which indicated that the MLSE nine-member board cleared the way for Kirke and Peddie to begin negotiations with Gall and Burke.
Burke, 53, was replaced as the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks last week after he refused to sign a long-term and lucrative contract extension.
Peddie and Kirke placed Burke at the top of their wish list when Peddie decided to fire John Ferguson last January and install veteran Cliff Fletcher as the interim GM. Peddie and Kirke, however, postponed their search for Ferguson's long-term replacement when the Ducks refused permission to talk to Burke last summer.
Game Sheet
NOTES: The Toronto Maple Leafs are among the league's elite in shots taken a game and shots allowed a game. They sit third in both categories. Toronto has taken an average of 34.1 shots a game, behind the San Jose Sharks (37.9) and Detroit Red Wings (36.5). The Los Angeles Kings have surrendered the fewest shots a game, an average of 24.1, followed by the Sharks (26) and Maple Leafs (26.6). But because Vesa Toskala has struggled recently, the Leafs are 28th in goals-against average at 3.30. Toskala was on the ice early working on his fundamentals with goaltending coach Corey Hirsch. "[Toskala] has been inconsistent," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "But he's our No. 1 goalie and I have faith in him." … The four days off between Toronto's 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday and the game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday is the longest stretch between games for the Maple Leafs this season. Wilson's plan is to use the practice sessions to improve his players' conditioning as well as work on special teams and team defence. Yesterday, it was conditioning. "I'm proud of these guys," Wilson said. "Whatever we lack in skill and other weaknesses, no one can fret about our work ethic and determination." … The Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, rehired Jim Hughes to replace departed assistant coach Doug Gilmour, the new head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. Hughes was an assistant coach with the Marlies until he left last summer to coach Minsk Dynamo in Russia.
NEXT GAME: Saturday, Leafs v. Chicago Blackhawks, 7 p.m. EST
TV: CBC
