Blowhard Burke Returns

Question, where is the most dangerous place to be in hockey? Is it coming around the net when Steve Downie is feeling peevish? Fifty feet from the play when Cam Janssen is on the ice? Coming across the blue line with your head down during a Dion Phaneuf shift? Answer, none. It's between Brina Burke and a camera. Burke ego is the stuff of legend in the NHL. His post-game rants and interviews are constantly re-played on television and radio and it seems every year he has at least one major blow-up in front of the press. I really don't care what he says or how he acts, I just hit mute and wait for the next story, but this past week he stepped over the line, not just of common courtesy but intellect.

Look, we all know the story of Dustin Penner. A tough, in your face winger originally drafted by Anaheim and signed as a restricted free agent by the Edmonton Oilers this summer. Oilers GM Kevin Lowe over-paid for Penner, but then you always will for restricted free agents. Prior to that, Lowe had signed Buffalo restricted agent Thomas Vanek to a 50 million dollar offer sheet which the Sabers had been forced to match. Burke and Darcy Regheir cried foul. Maybe they should read the CBA again. Teams are allowed to offer contracts to restricted free agents after July 1 should the players team not sign them. To compensate, the signing team must give up draft picks(anywhere from a 2nd round pick to 3 first round and a handful of mid-rounders) depending on the size of the contract.

So, up against the cap and unsure of the future of several key players, Brian Burke was forced to decline matching the offer sheet and was rewarded with a first round pick and two mid-round picks from the Oilers. Burke responded by saying he would make good use of the picks seeing how the Oilers had not finished very high in the standings recently and likely wouldn't again this season. That was fine, but what happened earlier this week is not.

During an interview on TSNs pre-season show Burke was asked if would be talking to Lowe this year. He said no, then went on one of his patented tirades. Blasting Lowe for his contract offers to restricted free agents Burke said "If I had dragged my team into the sewer like him I wouldn't be throwing a grenade at 29 other GMs right now." He went on to call Lowe a "moron" and that his off-season moves were "the acts of a man desperate to keep his job." Burke, pull your fat head out of your bloated ass and stop listening to your own press conferences. Lowe did what he thought was best for his team, and he did it within the rules. Prior to that offer, the Philadelphia Flyers had signed Canucks forward Ryan Kesler. And who could forget New Yorks signing of Joe Sacik, or Carolinas offer to Sergie Fedorov?

What really irritates me about Burkes comments is the plain and simple fact that Brian is using his recent Stanley Cup win to belittle another man and a franchise that has struggled to stay competitive. Worse still, Burkes own track record isn't paved in gold. Hell, his victory last spring with the Ducks had nothing to do with his skills as a General Manager. In fact, it had nothing to do with him at all.

Outside of Head Coach Randy Carlyle, none of the key players of the Ducks were there because of Burke. The young players like Perry, Penner, MacDonald and Guigere were already with the team when Burke took over in 2005. Top prospect Ryan Getzlaf fell into their laps with the second overall pick in the 2006 post lock-out draft. HoF defenseman Scott Neidermeyer was coming to Anaheim regardless. He wanted to win with his brother Rob, so all Burke had to do was not trade Scotts younger brother. Teemu Selanne wanted back in Anaheim because he was comfortable with the team he had enjoyed some success with earlier in his career. Then uber-defenseman Chris Pronger gave them another gift. Demanding a trade from Edmonton, he put Anaheim and Toronto on his short list. With the Leafs not willing to give up young players and draft picks, Pronger fell right into Burkes lap.

You want the ultimate example of how a team run by Brian Burke works? Look no further then his last employer, the Vancouver Canucks. Burke did help get the Canucks back to respectability, but never got them over the hump. In fact, the Canucks only saw the second round of the playoffs once. Burke stuck with goalie Dan Cloutier despite his inability to win big games, signed players to huge contracts after only one or two successful seasons and outside of the Sedin twins, never drafted a bona fide star player despite favorable draft positioning. He never made the big trade to push the team over the top and wasted draft picks on players like Kesler, RJ Umberger and Cory Schneider when players like Brad Boyes, Niklas Kronwall and Cory Perry were available.

The Canucks under Burke were never contenders. Stuck with only one scoring line, a suspect goalie and iffy defense they became easy pickings in the post-season for teams like Detroit and Calgary. Kevin Lowes Oilers haven't fared much better, but they went to a Cup final a year ago, and Lowe has ensured a large crop of good young players are available to the Oilers in the coming years, while Burke left the Canucks with nothing but bloated contracts and a bare cupboard in the AHL.

Lowe made the offers this summer because he could. After making several shrewd trades, notably the Marc-Andre Bergeron and Ryan Smith deals to Long Island, Lowe picked up extra first and second round draft picks and several top prospects. He used the draft picks to add depth to several positions, then used that depth to address immediate needs. Knowing he could spare some picks in the coming years, he made the offers to Vanek and then Penner because they could help his team right away and the Oilers had the depth to absorb draft losses for a season or two. If Burke was half as smart as he thinks, he would have realized what a brilliant move it was on Lowes part. Point of fact, NBA GMs do the same thing every year, it's part of life under a cap. And those 29 other GMs Burke alluded to all agreed to the same CBA that Lowe did, so it's too damn late to start complaining now.

Maybe if Burke had signed his players before free agency began he wouldn't have had to give up Penner. Maybe Buffalo should have done the same with Vanek. Maybe they should stop bitching because Kevin Lowe is ahead of his time and start looking at ways they can successfully poach talent from competitors next summer. Because you can bet your last dollar other General Managers are.