Brian Burke testifies
It's no surprise the memoir from the former Canucks GM is packed with anecdotes — and opinions
The former Canucks GM talks to the Sunday Province's Patrick Johnston about his new memoir, his accomplishments and heartaches.
Fo rmer Vancouv e r Canucks general manager Brian Burke has long been known for the firmness of his opinions. And if he didn't like what you had to say, he'd let you know.
That instinct has remained in full evidence since he's made the full-time switch to the media. Hockey fans get regular doses of his views about the game and the NHL on Hockey Night In Canada, and now they can get more insight into his colourful career through his newly published memoir, Burke's Law: A Life in Hockey, which he wrote along with Stephen Brunt.
Postmedia spoke with Burke last week from his home in Toronto:
Q
How did you figure out which stories to include?
A The stories included were designed to show either a management issue or was about a player, a coach or an owner or another GM. And it had to be something that was widely known by the team or the management team. In other words, I would never tell a story about a player at a 1-on-1 meeting where something embarrassing happened. So that was the test. It had to be factual, had to be verifiable and had to already be known widely in our circle.
Q
Is there something in the book that you think perhaps reveals something about you that might surprise readers?
A I think people would be surprised to know how close I was with my players.
As an assistant GM, you have lots of contact with your players, you're helping them move in. You're distributing meal money, you're booking travel for guys. You're involved with the players and their wives on a daily basis.
As a GM, unless you force that to happen, that doesn't
happen. It was an important part of what I thought we needed in Vancouver. And so I just kept doing it.
Q
Why did you choose to work with Stephen Brunt?
A I think he writes the best sports books of anybody and
that's why I asked him to do it. I admire the other books he's written, that I've read. So polished and so thorough. He's really the only guy I talked to. I talked to Scotty Morrison, too. Stephen, was the right guy. I believe that firmly.
Q
I think in Vancouver everyone is well aware of your experience with the media. Is it weird to find yourself on the media side now?
A Well, I approach it the same way. I want to say what I think. If people like it, great, if they don't, I'm great with it.
People forget, I got along with most of the media famously. I was popular, I gave them time. I tried to give them good quotes. I tried to be accessible. And so I had a great relationship with the media, except for a handful of guys.
Q
You're pretty clear about who you didn't like in your book (Larry Brooks of The New York Post, Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun, Tony Gallagher of The Province, Al Strachan of The Toronto Sun and The Globe and Mail come in for particular criticism). Why was that something you wanted to touch on?
A
I didn't have to touch on that, but in my mind, it was important to talk about because I think there's a perception that I don't get along with the media and that just couldn't be farther from the truth. But the fact is that I was plagued in a couple marketplaces by unprofessional people. And I was determined to call them out.
I don't like books that settle scores. Like, if you look at how I treated getting fired by these different teams, I didn't take a big run at anyone for it, it's part of the job.
But this handful of people in the media continue to act unprofessionally and bully. And I've had enough.
Q
As your contract's coming to a close in 2004, owner John McCaw was looking to sell the team. And the lockout was looming. Do you think if either of those situations weren't happening that you would have carried on as the GM in Vancouver?
A I think going back to the fall (of 2003), the difficulty we had getting (Todd) Bertuzzi's contract done. I think it stops right there.
They did not make me a contract offer after November. So no, I don't think if the team had not been sold, if John McCaw had remained the owner, I think he still would have made the change, despite the fact that we were a 100-point team again.
Q
So who gets the most credit for that 2011 team, for building it, for putting it together? Was it you, was it Dave Nonis, was it Mike Gillis?
A
Well, it's all three.
It was mostly David Nonis's group. And, of course, a good chunk of that was mine. And then, I think Mike Gillis added some good pieces. So I think all three of us.
Q
What's the thing you're most proud of from your time in Vancouver? Whether it's working under Pat (Quinn) or having been the GM in the second stint? And what's the thing that perhaps you regret the most?
A
Oh, that covers a lot of ground. Well, first, my first tour of duty there working for Pat, it was truly magical. We got better every year. Everyone loved Pat. We brought in Trevor Linden. The first tour of duty and working for the Griffithses was a privilege.
And it led to my first GM job.
Second time was magical because the team got better and better and better. We had the West Coast Express. Brought in the twins and we added toughness and that was fun. The team just kept getting better.
But I didn't have any relationship with John McCaw at all. After the first year, he stopped coming up to games. First year, he was around a lot. But then not so much. He got married and wasn't around as much and I didn't have any contact with him at all. It was all through Stan McCammon. And that wasn't pleasant.
I had fun with that team. And I loved living in Vancouver and I loved getting better. But it didn't feel like I was going to be there forever because they really didn't pay. They weren't worried about me. It didn't feel the same, even though the city was great.
Q
You spent a long time here, you obviously won the Cup in Anaheim and you ran teams in Toronto, Calgary and Hartford, too. Which team do you most attach yourself to?
A The Cup team. That's obvious. That's climbing Mount Everest, and that's what we, all of us, ever aspire to or care about professionally. So that'll be my legacy.
Q
The legacy of Brendan (his son who died in a car accident in 2010 and who was gay) and the You Can Play
Project, how have they influenced hockey?
A I was determined when Brendan passed away that we weren't going to let that
be the end of his work. And I think You Can Play has made a tremendous difference in a
lot of young LGBTQ people's lives. And will continue to do so. And that's our mission.
The day after the funeral, I said to the kids we can sit by the side of the road with our heads down or we can keep marching and I'm marching and so are you. And we'll make sure Brendan's never forgotten.
I think we've kept our pledge on that. I think Brendan continues to change lives.
This was all foreign to me before my son came out.
That was the hardest part of the book, obviously. But I think that we're determined that there must be a legacy for Brendan and there has been, and I'm very proud of that. Very, very, very proud.
Q
We've seen three Cup runs in this town and each time it seems like they got a little bit closer but there's been heartbreak at the
end of all three. Is Vancouver hockey cursed?
(Laughs.)
A I'm not a superstitious guy. So to me. No, it's not.
You know, we never solved the goalie problem.
Dan Cloutier, he was a good enough goalie, but he had hurt himself every year in February or March. And then they brought in Luongo and so now they solve the goalie problem.
But they had to move Bertuzzi to get the goalie. So they got that close. They had to win Game 7 and they couldn't do it.
They're getting closer right now, this team is marching north fast.
No, it's not cursed at all. They'll have their Cup there and I'll come to the parade.