HockeyNHL's weirdest night ever, Brian Burke and 30 thoughts

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What goes through your mind while that’s happening?

Well, with Burke you have to be sharp. He’s forceful and will challenge you, which is why interviewing him is fun. I was thrown a little at the beginning because either I phrased the first question badly or he misunderstood it. Another NHL coach watched the Leafs’ 3-2 loss Friday in Buffalo and said, “Boy, they compete hard but don’t get results.” That’s what Burke said, too, although he initially disagreed with the theory.

During last year’s playoffs, I got into a mini-debate with Bob Gainey during one of our pre-game coaches meetings. The next day, we chatted about it, and he said, “If you’re afraid of the answer, don’t ask the question.” I really like that. It’s funny how sometimes we in the media complain most people are bland, then rip those who aren’t afraid to say what’s really on their minds. I’ll take that honesty 100 times out of 100, even if it’s directed at me.

What is Burke really like?

Do you know someone who is, at heart, a good person but likes to come across as a tough guy? That’s Brian Burke. He loves to be the centre of attention. (I remember another GM rolling his eyes as Burke commandeered a large scrum at the NHL meetings.) He doesn’t handle criticism well. I think a few other executives really, really enjoy seeing him struggle right now.

But, the bottom line is this: When son Brendan publicly admitted he was gay, Burke was right there in support. Sadly, even in 2010, a lot of fathers can’t handle that. There was never any doubt this one would.

He never hides when things go wrong. He tried to take the blame right after the Bertuzzi/Moore incident. His all-time goofiest media conference – the famous “Sedin is not Swedish for you’re allowed to hook and hold me” (or something like that) – was intended to take pressure off his players. Sports is full of people who are happy to talk when things are great, but can’t be found in the tough times. He isn’t one of them.

Last year, as I was preparing to interview him before a game, he saw on the monitor that Cassie Campbell-Pascall was interviewing someone else. Totally deadpan: “How did I get the bad end of this deal?”

You media guys are terrible. He never guaranteed a playoff spot!

Never said he did.

Before the season, Burke said he wanted to see his team compete for a playoff spot. Clearly, he still feels that way. I cringed when he said it then, and stand by that now. Look, as a GM, you obviously want to see your team play hard and continually move forward.

But mentioning the word “playoffs” anywhere in the same sentence as “Maple Leafs” this season was an enormous mistake. All it did was create expectation on a team that really didn’t need it. Now, Burke and the organization are labelled a failure because they’re 28th overall.

This is not a failure. It’s exactly where they should be.

Go back to September 2008. Burke was still in Anaheim as Ron Wilson began his first training camp in Toronto. If you asked anyone across the league about the Maple Leafs, they would have told you, “It will take six-to-eight years.” Even Wilson said once, “I won’t be the coach when this team is really ready to win.”

It’s only been 16 months.

For whatever reason, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment doesn’t believe its fans will accept rebuilding. I have never, ever understood that thinking. For the last 42 years, those same fans bought extremely expensive tickets without fail to watch a team reach zero Stanley Cup Finals.

If someone had stepped up and said, “We’re going to take awhile, restock our system and build the right way,” the fan base would have bought in – no problem. Yes, the economy dictates a few dark suites, but does anyone really believe there would have been a catastrophic drop in sales? Instead, they are rushing the process and inflating expectations. All that does is make things worse.

Burke has added some nice young pieces. But, now, people want them to develop quicker and mistakes aren’t tolerated. No one cares that the team is actually playing hard. The slant is negative.

It could have been avoided.

WEIRDEST NIGHT EVER?

These three things occurred Saturday:

• The Maple Leafs lost a penalty shot because of a disputed Sergei Gonchar goal. As play continued, Alexei Ponikarovsky was hauled down on a breakaway. But, two goals can’t be scored on the same stoppage, so, when the review (correctly) gave the Penguins a score, the penalty shot was downgraded to a power play. Ron Wilson and Sidney Crosby both said they’d never seen it happen, and not much gets by those two.
• St. Louis scored 14 seconds into a win in Los Angeles, but took a penalty because David Perron began the game even though he wasn’t listed as a starter. (Brad Boyes was on the sheet.) The Blues were lucky Perron wasn’t involved. In that case, it would have been disallowed.
• Ed Jovanovski was ejected for elbowing John Tavares with 17 seconds left in the first period of Phoenix’s game in Long Island. As the second period began, coach Dave Tippett decided not to put anyone in the penalty box. Incredibly, there were no whistles for the first 7:35 of the second, meaning the Coyotes had to play a man short for three extra minutes. Exhausted, they took two penalties, and the Islanders scored twice in a 5-4 win. (Credit to Dwayne Roloson, who prevented three icings so Phoenix couldn’t even get a quick stoppage.)

30 THOUGHTS

1. Love the enthusiasm of Canuck crowds. But, anyone who points a laser at the opposing goalie’s face is an idiot.

2. There is no first-round matchup I’d like to see more than Calgary/Vancouver. Even if it means Scott Oake gets to cover it.

3. One NHL Governor said that, at the December BOG meetings, an owner got up and said, “We should have six outdoor games a year.” Thank God that had little support.

4. Don’t think the Oilers really fault Sheldon Souray for giving an honest answer to a question, but teams would prefer such things remain private. Steve Tambellini stressed that no one with a no-trade (Visnovsky, Horcoff or Souray) has been asked to waive it. And, I get the impression that the team – not the players – will be deciding who goes where.

5. Edmonton has 18 games to go before the Olympic break. If any current players want to stay, this is their chance to prove it. Some of those contracts will be difficult – if not impossible – to move, but others aren’t.

6. Pat Quinn has an interesting take on Jordan Eberle: “He’s got a great brain. When you’re a smaller guy, you need that to succeed in the NHL.”

7. Don Waddell is in an awful position. He thought he was going to get Ilya Kovalchuk signed, but that appears unlikely. Now, the Thrashers GM has no leverage and the market for this player will be really limited. Teams who think they can win it all will take a shot, but others will be scared off because it will take a bank robbery to sign him. The KHL wants to make him absurdly rich and NHL teams must compete with that.

8. If Kovalchuk does leave, the number one reason will be the mess that is Atlanta ownership. Those guys have fought in court for five years, with no sign of a resolution. That uncertainty is the number one reason he may bolt. What is the future? What if they move to a city he doesn’t like? I do agree with Mike Milbury, though, that Kovalchuk should tell the Thrashers if he intends to leave. He’s been good for them, but Waddell has also been very good to him.

9. First call Waddell should make: to Peter Chiarelli. Will the Boston GM give up the Toronto pick for Kovalchuk? I doubt it – but you’ve got to ask. With added goal-scoring, the Bruins are good enough to win it all.

10. One NHL coach on Kovalchuk: “I want to see him at the Olympics.” Reason? As of Sunday night, he and Brad Richards are the only Top 10 scorers with a negative plus/minus. And, he takes the longest shifts in the league. The coach says the biggest issue for teams acquiring him midseason is “fit.” If he plays more responsibly for a Russian team that can win Gold despite defensive issues, it will go a long way towards erasing skepticism.

11. Best off-season move? How about taking the “C” off Patrick Marleau’s jersey? With some guys, you have to tell them, “Just play. Don’t worry about anything and just play.” It’s not a knock, but a realization Marleau needs to be left alone.

12. Will another team try to get Marek Svatos out of Colorado? He’s on IR right now, but sure doesn’t appear as if he’s really wanted there. He’s played less than 10 minutes in six of his last nine games. A UFA-to-be, the cost probably wouldn’t be very high.

13. Jimmy Howard should teach every NHL team and fan the value of patience. How many times during his four-year AHL run did people give up on him? Now, at 25, he is saving the Red Wings’ season.

14. One GM said a few months ago that sooner or later, the league is going to have to figure out a way to improve ice conditions without dropping the thermostats any lower. Sat in the seats at a game last week, and it was brutal. Everyone around me was grumbling. Have heard that in a couple of other places, too.

15. As the Penguins lost six of seven heading into Toronto, you couldn’t help but wonder if there was any correlation to last year’s winter meltdown that led to the coaching change. Players say there is no comparison at all; that they haven’t lost their confidence and it is just a lull. We’ll see in Western Canada.

16. After his first season, Sidney Crosby said he wanted to be a great faceoff man. Entering Monday’s games, he is seventh in the NHL. How has he improved? Three ways, he says. First, he now understands what other centres like to do. Second, he’s figured out how to use wingers to win draws. Third, he practices against bigger players, like Jordan Staal and Mike Rupp.

17. He says Paul Gaustad is the toughest to beat. Gaustad is now third overall, but led for a lot of the season.

18. Next time you watch the Penguins play, check out Sergei Gonchar’s skates. He is one of a few players (Evgeni Malkin, Dustin Byfuglien) given conditional approval to wear them. Made by a company that specializes in speed skates, they are specially molded to his feet. Gonchar felt too much slippage in regular skates. He also tore his ligaments as a child, which turned his right foot slightly inward, giving him groin problems. These alleviate that issue as well. (Thank you, alert cameraman.)

19. The skates only have conditional allowance because Kris King is still collecting information on them. Once he learns more about their durability and safety, he’ll consider full approval. Right now, players must ask permission from the NHL to use them, and no logos can be shown. (Equipment companies have to pay for that.)

20. Playing in Toronto was huge for Luca Caputi, but one relative probably wasn’t watching – his grandmother, Angela Daminano. “She worries I’ll get hurt,” Caputi said. “She’ll be praying the rosary at 7.”

21. Les Jackson doesn’t really like attention, but last week’s NHL Three Stars – Jamie Langenbrunner, Mike Smith and Loui Eriksson – were all his draft choices. That’s the reason Minnesota/Dallas has kept him for 22 years.

22. On the front page of the Stars’ website last Wednesday: a large photo of Sean Avery – promoting the Rangers game. Guess it’s OK, since they’re still paying him.

23. Couple of you asked last week about Canadian Olympic injury plans. Steve Yzerman said there is a short list for every position, but no one will be contacted for a couple of weeks.

24. NHL coaches must go for the throat no matter what, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Bruce Boudreau to lay an 8-1 pasting on best friend John Anderson. They were supposed to go out for dinner the night before, but travel troubles prevented Boudreau from making it.

25. If you haven’t seen Zach Parise’s winner from Saturday night, check it here.Watch how he notices Travis Zajac is going to get to the puck first, so he bolts to the bench instead of defending. How many NHL players think to do that?

26. Ron Wilson says winning now is all about goaltending and special teams. The Maple Leafs are dead last in goals against; historically bad on the penalty kill. Power play is not too bad – 15th overall.

27. The Maple Leafs can now re-sign Jonas Gustavsson, but Burke isn’t going down that road yet. The goalie has to stay healthy for a little while so the Leafs can truly judge his worth.

28. Favourite Curtis Joseph memory, as he prepares to officially retire? Something a bit different. One year at the Maple Leafs golf tournament, the team set up one of those hardest shot competitions. All the players participated. Joseph grabbed a stick and won.

29. Another defence of Miroslav Satan came my way on the weekend: Upon being sent to Wilkes-Barre last season, he pulled aside a player who was having too much fun off the ice and told him, “You’re ruining your career.” No one asked Satan to do it, but the Penguins’ organization appreciated the move.

30. Got to know Mike Yeo pretty well at the Roger Neilson coaching clinic three years ago. He showed video of how the Penguins like to attack the offensive zone, and broke up the audience by saying, “Of course, this works really well when you have Sidney Crosby carrying the puck.” Get well, sir. Looking forward to seeing you on the bench again.

BONUS 31

31. Two other CBC blogs to check out: Glenn Healy’s insight on Martin Brodeur and I loved Mike Milbury’s reaction to anyone who criticizes the Canadian juniors.

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