It's like there is some kind of interdimensional suck vortex that surrounds this organization.
Previously successful coaches and GMs come here and suck. Players are regularly good before they come here, suck while they're here, then are good again when they leave. The 1st round picks we do keep nearly always turn out 'meh'. We lose the vast majority of trades we make. A lot of the free agents we sign get overpaid and underperform. We never have any superstars in a Leaf uniform. There has to be something demonic at work here. I can't think of any other explanation. You'd think something good would happen through sheer blind luck or random chance, but we don't get any of that either(see Devereaux, Boyd).
Burke was a good GM before he came here, has mostly been a sucky GM while he's here, and will undoubtedly be successful again as soon as he escapes the vortex.