While I was not totally shocked that Brian Burke stepped down as the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, I was surprised by the timing of it.
Burke, who constructed California’s first Stanley Cup champion, has commuted coast to coast twice per month for 11 years to spend time with his four children from a previous marriage. He and his wife two young children in California. All that travel is compounded by what have to be massive travel demands for an NHL GM. I would imagine the physical challenges of maintaining that routine are overwhelming.
So why now? I think the Ducks wanted to know if he was in or out. When he decided this would be his final year in Anaheim, which he said at his press conference was as recent as a few days ago, both parties agreed to move on.
Fortunately for the Ducks, they have a more than capable team in place, starting with new GM Bob Murray and extending through assistant GM David McNab and former Vancouver GM Dave Nonis.
Murray did a decent job in his previous stint as a GM with the Chicago Blackhawks. Many, including yours truly, felt he was blamed unfairly for the Hawks’ decline and made a fall guy. In reality, the hiring of Mike Smith as GM in Chicago was a catastrophe that has taken the franchise years to recover from.
Murray, incidentally, was the defense partner of current San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson for many years in Chicago. Wonder if any other defense pairings have held GM posts at the same time in league history?
I am mildly surprised McNab didn’t get a shot at the GM’s job for a couple of reasons. He has been with the Ducks since their inception, and his eye for talent is impeccable. Dustin Penner, Andy McDonald and Chris Kunitz are among the undrafted gems he has unearthed from the college ranks. He also helped the New York Rangers amass their talent pool prior to them winning their first Stanley Cup in 50 years back in 1994.
McNab, one of the sons of Hall of Fame player, coach and GM Max McNab, also played much of his youth hockey in Southern California, so he truly has deep ties to the area.
Back to Burke. People can say what they wish about him, but in my limited dealings with him he was fair, honest and straight forward. I’m sure much will be written today, tomorrow and going forward about how this was a grand plot that will eventually lead to him becoming the Toronto Maple Leafs’ GM. He may well end up with that job at some point, but I think the combination of the physical demands of his job and family commitments, as well as some uncertainty about the Ducks’ ownership situation, had more to do with this move than anything.
Burkie, I wish you well and thank you for building a Stanley Cup champion for our state.
Chris Bayee's Hockey Blog 