Burke Out as Ducks GM

The Anaheim Ducks announced on Wednesday that Brian Burke has stepped down as general manager of the Anaheim Ducks and senior vice president of hockey operations Bob Murray will take over as the new general manager. According to tsn.ca, Burke will remain with the Ducks in a senior advisory capacity. In his advisory capacity, Burke will now have the ability to negotiate future general manager employment with any NHL team. Over the past several months, rumors began to fly that Burke would leave Anaheim at the end of the season and take over as the new general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The NHL issued a statement early in the season that they were going to closely monitor any transactions between the Ducks and Maple Leafs given the strong rumors that the Leafs were considering hiring Burke for the 2009-2010 season. According to Burke, he stepped down from the position in Anaheim due to family considerations. While it surprises me that Burke stepped down this early in the season, it still comes as no surprise that he is leaving the general manager position in Anaheim. It would also come as no surprise if he is hired as the new general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the coming months. Burke did a good job building the Ducks into a winner and if he is hired by the Leafs, he should be able to turn the Leafs into winners as well.