Nothing but kind words for ex-Canuck Burrows
Only love for former Canuck wing, even from GM who once ‘hated’ him
Daniel Sedin knows all about Alex Burrows. He has only heard of Jonathan Dahlen.
Amid the adulation that was rightly afforded Burrows on Tuesday — besieged by media at the morning skate, a video tribute at night and perhaps a future place in the Canucks’ Ring of Honour — there’s the long-term effect of his Feb. 27 trade to the Ottawa Senators.
Sending the long-serving, heartand-soul Vancouver Canucks winger east for a prime prospect in Dahlen was initially viewed as a win-win scenario.
Time will tell.
The Senators were pressing for a playoff position and landed a veteran who has been a pest and at his scoring best in the post-season with 19 goals in 85 games, including some of the biggest in franchise history. The Canucks were willing to admit they were in rebuild mode and acquiring versatile Swedish forward Dahlen, a second-round pick in the 2016 entry draft, was a significant return.
“I knew nothing about him,” said Sedin. “But when the trade happened, I obviously tried to look up what he’s all about. I talked to friends and family back home and they watched him play and said he was the real deal.
“That’s really exciting. Where we were, for us to get a guy like that means a lot to this organization.”
Dahlen scored 25 goals in 45 games with Timra IK of the Allsvenskan last season, and playing against men in Sweden brought out his best.
He also played with 2017 firstround pick Elias Pettersson and the hope is that in two years, they’ll play on the same line with the Canucks.
In the interim, Dahlen has work to do.
Canucks general manager Jim Benning confirmed Tuesday that Dahlen, 19, will play for Timra for the next month to get back to prime fitness after being slowed by mononucleosis. He’ll then seek a Swedish Elite League team and Vaxjo, where the 18-year-old Pettersen is playing, is a distinct possibility.
“Their GM has reached out to us, but there are three or four Swedish Elite League teams that are interested in him, but he wants to first get his strength up,” said Benning. “He’ll decide what’s best for him and he could decide to go there (Vaxjo).”
When Burrows decided to waive his no-trade clause, it was the sign of changing times in Vancouver. He could have balked and stayed, especially with his kids in school, but took the high road.
He knew it was time for the Canucks to transition and give the kids more ice time, and he knew it was a time to maximize his worth and not wait for the uncertainty of free agency in July. A two-year, US $5-million contract extension signalled how the Senators viewed Burrows’ worth, both on and off the ice. He instantly delivered with three goals in his first three games. However, a high-ankle sprain kept him from the last four games of a seven-game Eastern Conference final setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Now, the 36-year-old Burrows is not only healthy, but has a healthy perspective on his trade after amassing 384 points (193-191) in 822 regular-season games. But did he even know who Dahlen was?
“No, not really,” he said. “I understand the business side, but I don’t look at it that way. Hopefully, he has a bright future with the Canucks. For me, it could have a been a seventh-rounder, it didn’t really matter.”
He could have also played hardball and refused to waive his NTC.
“When weighing the pros and cons, there was a thought process that I should play out the year and see what happens in July (free agency),” he added. “But having a chance to come to this team with a window of opportunity that was just opening was important.”
And so was understanding where the Canucks were at.
“That was a little bit of my reasoning for sure,” he said. “We were losing a lot of games and I wanted the next generation to be able to have a strong foundation.”
It’s why bouquets were being tossed Tuesday. Benning was an assistant GM with the Boston Bruins in the contentious 2011 Stanley Cup final and didn’t care much for Burrows.
“He was the guy I hated the most,” recalled Benning. “When I got the Vancouver job, he was guy I loved the most because I got to know him as a player and a person.
“Of all the players that I’ve been associated with here, he’s one of my favourites. His attitude is infectious. He’s always about the team to the point where at the (trade) deadline — and all his kids in school — it was a hard decision and he could have just said no.
“He was selfless to that last moment, that this is the right thing to do to help out (Bo) Horvat and (Sven) Baertschi so the young guys can carry on the legacy.”