Little to say

I don't know about you, but there's not much Brian Burke can tell me that will improve my opinion of his hockey club.

My hope is that he'll keep his annual end-of-season "state of the team" address brief, focused and humble.

There's no need for Burke to get defensive or puffy chested. He has little success to brag about, or even any irons in the fire to talk up that might get a disgruntled support base stoked. In essence, he's got nothing. So there's no point in him trying to sell anything.

What the embattled, embarrassed GM should do first is apologize for the mess his team has become. After that, pledge himself to trying yet again to resurrect the franchise. The last thing Burke should do is request that Leafsnation continue on as the unabashed foundation of the club. We know that most Leafs fans aren't going anywhere; but a demonstration of appreciation for their patience, and a public repentance for abusing it is more than worthy in a dire, dumpy, desperate time like this.

Playoff picks:

Pens over Flyers in 7 (Philly is crass, but Sid and the Pens are class)
Predators over Wings in 7 (Wings are again good, but special? Why not Nashville?)
Canucks over Kings in 5 (Vancouver has a mission: Win the Cup)
Senators over Rangers in 7 (Sens played them well, will upset)
Capitals over Bruins in 6 (Caps had better overcome or Dale is headed back to London)
Blues over Sharks in 6 (Blues run isn't done, Sharks disappointing)
Coyotes over Hawks in 6 (Coyotes solid, consistent, due for series win)
Devils over Panthers in 6 (Deboer's new team is better constructed than his old one)