Maple Leafs fire Brian Burke, name Dave Nonis GM

The Toronto Maple Leafs fired Brian Burke as general manager on Wednesday and replaced him with Dave Nonis.

Burke, also relieved as president, will remain with the Maple Leafs as a senior adviser to the Maple Leafs' board. He had been hired on Nov. 29, 2008, but wasn't able to bring Toronto to the playoffs for the first time since 2003-04.

Nonis, the team's senior vice president of hockey operations, had worked with Burke on several teams. He was general manager of the Vancouver Canucks from 2004-05 to 2007-08.

MLSE President Tom Anselmi didn't go into specifics on the reasons for the firing, but said at a news conference that "it's not the product of any one incident or any one thing."

Asked specifically if Maple Leafs' rumored interested in Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had anything to do the firing, Anselmi said, "No."

Though the Maple Leafs had changed owners in June, Wednesday's timing was surprising, considering that training camps are due to open on Sunday and the season will start on Jan. 19.

"The relationship between a general manager and ownership is a very complex and different relationship," Anselmi said. "It has to work long-term and if you've decided it's not going to work long-term, it's best to deal with it and deal with it expeditiously."

Anselmi said Burke handled the news with "a lot of class" when informed of the decision on Wednesday morning.

Said Nonis: "It's a shock for a lot of people. I think our players will be shocked a little by it. Brian had a pretty strong rapport with a number of them and was very good to them."

Nonis said that the grieving process will have to be short because of the quick turnaround and lockout-shortened season.

Norris said that coach Randy Carlyle and his staff would stay on. Burke hired Carlyle late last season after firing his friend, Ron Wilson.

Burke won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and was general manager of the USA team that won a silver medal at the 2010 Olympics.

"Brian Burke made you a better player 'cause he would go to war for you," said Detroit Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi, who played for Burke in Vancouver and Anaheim. "And you don't want to let people like that down."

Contributing: Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press