Brian Burke is known for his opinion, especially when it comes to the seven Canada-based NHL teams.
On the way into this season, the Sportsnet analyst and former NHL manager sees one of them particularly strong: the Montreal Canadiens.
“I think Montreal is better suited to the playoffs than any other Canadian team,” said Burke. “I think what Montreal did, I picked them as the best team in Canada for the Stanley Cup favorites.”
Burke noted the progress some of the young Montreal players had made last postseason when the Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers before beating them in six games in the first round of the Eastern Conference lost the Philadelphia Flyers. But he also noticed what they did in the off-season when they added forward Tyler Toffoli and Josh Andersondefender Joel Edmundsonand goalkeeper Jake Allen.
In an extensive interview with NHL.com, Burke, the author of a new book entitled “Burke’s Law: A Life in Hockey,” discussed the coming season and reflected on two of his greatest mentors, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and New York Lou Lamoriello, General Manager of the Islanders.
Who do you think are the front runners for the Stanley Cup?
“When I look at the best teams I think Dallas (last season) had a magical run, but I’m not sure they can do it again. Colorado looks like the best team in the west, but I trust not their goal, Vegas adds Alex Pietrangelo to a team that really has very few holes but had incredible difficulty scoring goals in the playoffs. When I look at it, St. Louis is a new one [Stanley Cup] Winner who lost a really good player [Pietrangelo] but added a really good player Torey mug. You are still impressive to me. Vegas too. Colorado, I think if they can swap out a goalkeeper and get a real starter, they’re going to cause trouble for anyone who plays [it]. In the east, Washington is still a powerhouse for me. Boston will be all right again, although I think they will miss Krug very much. And Tampa Bay, once things are sorted out, they’ll be impressive again. “
How do you rate the seven Canada-based teams?
“I think it’s a great time to be a Canadian team. I think they’re all on the right track. … Toronto have taken good steps. Vancouver got a bit stripped but they still love their young core . Winnipeg didn’t. ” a lot, but I still like their veteran core along with some of their kids. Edmonton has two of the top five strikers in the league (Connor McDavid and Leon draisaitl) and I like some of the steps (General Manager) that Kenny Holland took. Ottawa, you played a part, man. It’s amazing what (General Manager) Pierre Dorion did between free agent signings and draft picks. They’ll be a completely different team in about 18 months. “
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What about the Canadiens? Are you so optimistic
“”[Jesperi] Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki have shown that they can play at a high level even in pressure situations. You have [Phillip] Danault in the three-hole, suddenly the middle position looks pretty good. They couldn’t help but score the wings Brendan Gallagher, in order to [Anderson is] an improvement. Josh Anderson plays physically and hard. In defense, they bring in Joel Edmundson to round off their top six. And they get a high quality backup goalkeeper in Jake Allen, which is important because I’m assuming there is a compressed schedule. I think they ticked all the boxes that were question marks and I think they are going to be a problem for the teams that they play in the playoffs. “
Still have questions about the Maple Leafs. What are you?
“”TJ BrodieIt’s a good pick up, a really good kid, a good skater. It doesn’t make them bigger or worse on defense, so I still think they lack a component to make up for when tested to death in some of these games, sometimes for four minutes at a time. I like some of the other things they have done, but when I put their team next to Tampa and Washington I don’t see a team that can beat either of those teams. “
You trained at Providence College from 1973 to 1977, Lou Lamoriello is someone you often refer to as a mentor. What is Lamoriello really like?
“Well, he was one of the first people to get in touch when my son Brendan died. He means everything to me. He was so important to my education as a man. He not only taught me how to be a hockey player, he taught me.” also how to go. ” School and good manners and doing the right things and treating people right. I owe the guy. I love the guy. He has a great human side that people don’t see, so they paint him with this fake picture of being stoic. And that stereotype, however wrong it may be, suits him well. “
Another person you consider a huge impact on your life and career is NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who hired you as executive vice president and director of hockey operations for the league in 1993. How has he influenced you?
“Ask anyone who was there when Gary hired me in 1993 to look back on those 27 years and tell me what the league was like back then. No clear idea of where it was going. No television deal. Gary took this little unit of me remember him telling me in the first year, “We can’t have franchise stability until we have labor peace on a meaningful deal.” Eventually we got the salary cap and that was the first point at which the franchise value was really accelerated, and there was actually an opportunity in the hockey business for many teams to make their first money. He made that happen with a national television deal. It was important to have teams in Phoenix, in Dallas, in both cities in Florida. I said this in the book. I think a lot of people with visions look to the next peak, so when they stand on a peak, you realize that they have to cross the valley to the next peak . Well, Gary is looking forward to the next seven peaks, not just one. “
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