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Brian Burke wants to make the Leafs better - now

Brian Burke

Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke went on Fan 590 with Bob McCown and Damien Cox on Wednesday and - as usual - didn’t just trot out the same old cliches. Instead, he provided a very frank state of his team (as well as some hilarious critiques of Sports Illustrated), and the general takeaway is that he’s itching to make a trade.

When the radio hosts asked Burke if he’s done making deals, Burke said this:

“My answer is no. If I can improve this team tomorrow I’ll make a deal tomorrow that improves it.”

The January guy

Burke admitted that he’s a “January guy,” as he made many of his biggest moves - including acquiring Dion Phaneuf via a big trade - well before the trade deadline rolled around.

"(General managers) make more mistakes at the deadline and on July 1 then during the rest of the year. The math doesn’t work at the deadline ... I’ve never been a big deadline guy.”

OK, so we’ve established that he wants to make a deal and would prefer to do so sooner rather than later. The biggest question is, what will Burke’s biggest focus be: the present or the future?

“It depends. If I could get a kid that I really believe was going to be special, I always do that unless I thought we thought we were going to have a parade ... we’re looking to add and get better now.”

What Burke wants and doesn’t want

Burke admitted that “Age group asset trades” are a possibility, which means he’d be interested in trading a 22-year-old player with another 22-year-old with a different skill set. Perhaps most interestingly, Burke would also be willing than to move a first-round pick for a guy who can help him this season (and most importantly, the playoffs).

One thing Burke won’t be looking for is a veteran goalie, though, as he provided effusive praise of Jonas Gustavsson’s surprising recent run of play.

So which trades could come true?

Looking into the latest rumors, it would seem like the Luke Schenn to Philadelphia talk might not hold much weight but that Ryan Getzlaf stuff could make some sense.

That doesn’t mean he’s moments away from pulling the trigger on that or any other deal, but Burkie’s latest interview is basically a colorful way of saying: “Go ahead and make up random trade ideas in the comments and on random message boards.”