Second member of Senators family meets tragic end
The dark cloud that has followed the Senators for some time is now starting to send lightning bolts at former members of the organization.
On Sunday, it was the drowning of goalie Ray Emery, who spent seven seasons with the Senators and guided them to the 2007 Stanley Cup final.
On Monday, it was Vaclav Burda, who was the chief European scout for the Edmonton Oilers the last two seasons and before that spent 13 years in the same capacity or as a European scout with Ottawa.
According to reports, the 45-year old Czech was killed in his homeland when his car was involved in a head-on collision with a truck.
“V was a really good man,” said Rob Murphy, who first met Burda 11 years ago and then came to know him well when both were with the Senators scouting department. “He was just a quality person. I was shocked when I read that this morning.” Long — and in some cases impressive — is the list of Europeans drafted during Burda’s time with the Senators.
In 2004, they used the 23rd overall pick to take Andrej Meszaros, who played 645 games, and also a third-rounder in Peter Regin, who played 243 games. In 2009, they selected Jakob Silfverberg (39th) and Robin Lehner (46th) in the second round. In 2011, the picked Mika Zibanejad sixth overall, but also fifth-rounder Fredrik Claesson, who has played 113 games and counting.
In 2013, they chose Marcus Hogberg in the third round, 78th overall. He could still be their goalie of the future.
In 2014, they called the name of Andreas Englund 40th overall in the second round. They still think he could become a shutdown defenceman in the NHL. In 2015, they used the 139th pick to grab Christian Jaros, who promises to be an imposing figure on their blue-line once he gets accustomed to pro hockey in North America.
In 2016, they grabbed Jonathan Dahlen in the second round with the 42nd pick. Dahlen is a promising prospect who was traded to Vancouver for Alex Burrows when the Senators needed a gritty veteran for what turned out to be a long playoff run two seasons ago.
Finnish winger Markus Nurmi, who was also selected in 2016 with the 163rd pick, is a possible diamond in the rough.
And in 2008, with the encouragement of his scouts, then- GM Bryan Murray traded up a couple of spots in the first round to take Erik Karlsson with the 15th pick. “He had a hand in drafting a lot of the European guys,” said Murphy. “Obviously the big one was Erik.
“For a long time, it was just Mikko Ruutu and V doing all of Europe. They had a lot on their plate. They worked their ass off. “V was always one of those guys. He seemed to be on the road constantly.”
While he didn’t have the same public profile as Emery, Burda was just as popular among his own peers and colleagues. Senators employees chimed in with their own personal heartbreak over the news after the club issued this statement on Twitter: “Vaclav Burda was a terrific person with a beautiful young family.
“He spent close to 13 years working to help our team and we are all saddened by the news of his death. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Senators organization go to Vaclav’s family and friends.”
All else on the Senators front appears to be quiet or in a holding patter.
Karlsson trade talks, we assume, are ongoing. There is no progress to report on contracts for Matt Duchene, Mark Stone and Cody Ceci — with the latter two scheduled for arbitration hearings in two weeks. Assistant GM Randy Lee’s next scheduled court appearance on harassment charges isn’t until Friday.
Nobody other than Craig Anderson has requested a trade, or at least not that we know of. Yet the Senators’spokespeople remain busy, sadly enough. Thankfully teams don’t usually have to put out a release over the tragic end to the life of a former employee in back-to-back days. In the case of Emery and Burda, the Senators’ loss was also a loss for the hockey world. “Just a great guy,” Murphy said of Burda. “Always upbeat, positive, enthusiastic. One of those guys who never seemed to have a bad day.
“The quality of person ... he genuinely cared. He was just that type of guy.”
And good at his job, said Murphy. “Two things that really stuck out were his genuine kindness and the fact that he was a good scout and really worked at it, loved it, had a lot of passion for it,” Murphy said.