The stumbling start of the Toronto Maple Leafs has Toronto fans and media whipped up into a near-panic over the club's performance and lamenting the few options available for management to improve the situation. 

Most pundits appear to have absolved Leafs general manager Brian Burke for his club's struggles but their apparent willingness to give Burke a pass has drawn criticism from one of their own. 

Author and former Toronto Globe and Mail columnist William Houston has in his retirement started up a new blog called "Truth & Rumours". In his inaugural post Houston not only blames Burke for what he considers poor decisions on the part of the Leafs general manager but also scolds the Toronto sports media for their unwillingness to criticize Burke after spending months praising him. 

Houston's take on this situation certainly makes interesting reading and I must admit he certainly has a point. Some snippets:

"The dilemma for the hockey media is that criticizing his moves puts them in an uncomfortable position.

They can’t, with any credibility, cite mistakes he’s made or question his judgment, because they’ve been praising his work for months.

The entire group either endorsed his off-season moves or voiced no criticism.

They either picked the team to make the NHL playoffs or to challenge for a playoff spot...."

..."Burke’s poor decision making would amount to little, and would not merit a lot of scrutiny, if he had not mistakenly viewed the Leafs as a playoff team and then made a trade that will haunt him for years to come.

By giving away the team’s first round draft choice in 2010 and 2011 as well as the No.2 in 2010 to the Boston Bruins for Phil Kessel, he has squandered the team’s future."

Houston never pulled any punches in his Globe and Mail column and he's not doing so now on his blog. I'm looking forward to his future posts and wish him the best.