Burke has run his last draft for the Leafs. (Getty Images)

In the immediate aftermath of the earth-shattering news that the Toronto Maple Leafs have fired general manager Brian Burke, questions arose. Namely, what else is there to this story?

The question is begging to be asked. The conclusion that leads to that question is so simple to make when considering the timing of the firing. Why would the Maple Leafs keep Burke on board to run them through the free-agency period, allow him to make a decision on the head coach (by keeping Randy Carlyle) and then to be a representative for the team and the league in the lockout only to fire him now? It doesn't make a ton of sense.

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If you wanted to argue that Burke should have been fired already, that's a reasonable argument to make. The Leafs hold the very ugly distinction of being the only team to miss the playoffs in the salary cap era. That's all well and good, but the timing is just ... odd.

That leaves us thinking there's more to it than meets the eye. Specifically, as rumors continue to swirl, it could involve goaltender Roberto Luongo.

For months now the Leafs have reportedly been eyeing Luongo to man their nets. There were talks before the lockout between the Leafs and the Canucks about Luongo but a deal wasn't done. Vancouver GM Mike Gillis said time and time again that he wasn't going to just give Luongo up, he wanted something good in return. Is it possible that the Luongo situation could have anything to do with it?

Perhaps, perhaps not. But right now it does seem like a possibility. Equally still possible is Luongo becoming a Leaf, according to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet.

I'd argue that this might mean there's a greater chance Luongo could become a Leaf. Why? Glad you asked.

Burke has made it pretty well known over the years that he doesn't like long-term contract and back-diving deals. Luongo has both of those as his 12-year contract still has another 10 seasons to go. For any team that is a major hurdle in considering adding Luongo, in the case of Burke and his disdain for such deals, it might have been a repellant.

Maybe -- and I can't stress enough this is just total speculation -- the new ownership in Toronto wants Luongo in net and Burke was a little too reluctant for them. They want to see a team winning on the ice and Luongo would seem to give them a better shot than James Reimer or somebody else.

It might seem like a pretty crazy thing to fire Burke over and maybe that's true. But the Leafs are one of the teams that could actually squeeze Luongo in and it wouldn't damage them much.

Despite being a big-market team, they have cap space so getting Luongo's $5.33 million the books wouldn't be an issue (especially considering they would trade salaried players to the Canucks). Paying the money on the contract wouldn't be an issue either, the Leafs basically print their own money there's so much of it. Remember, while Luongo is beat up a lot because of his contract and a few rough games at inopportune times, he's still an elite goalie.

Keep this in mind, too: The man that's replacing Burke in Toronto, Dave Nonis, was the GM in Vancouver that acquired Luongo from Florida via trade. Ironically, he replaced Burke in Vancouver then. Just some food for thought.

So whether it's actually the case that Luongo had an impact or not -- and for the record, the Leafs said it had no impact at all, but what else would they say? -- I can't see how Burke's dismissal would have a negative impact on a potential Luongo swap, unless Luongo really loves him some Brian Burke.

If it's not that, what other reason could there be for the firing happening now, just a few days before training camp opens? All I can come up with is that the Leafs wanted to have Burke in on the CBA negotiations fighting for the owners. It's an easy assumption that Burke was standing on the hill with Bill Daly about contract-length limits.

The Luongo angle could be just the tip of the iceberg or it could not a part of it at all, although I'd find that hard to believe. It has the potential to be a

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