Bye Bye Burkie
Well, so much for that Bucket List.
I certainly didn't see this coming this fast, and I don't have much time for reaction today, but here's the link.
I'll have a proper good-bye for the guy at some point, but for now, welcome to the new Ducks' GM, Bob Murray. Sleek = Stunned.
Go Ducks.
[Update, 11:40 am. Per the Star's Damien Cox (link via KK), Burke reportedly will stay on as a consultant with the Ducks until the end of this season. More to come after the press conference.]
[Update, 1:10 pm. James Mirtle has some quotes from the press conference, but generally it wasn't very enlightening at all. I expect Burke's next press conference, whenever it comes, to reveal a lot more of what his future holds.]
[Update, 2:40 pm. Nobody can keep up with Puck Daddy. A nice piece looking at the Anaheim tenure of Burke, plus some looking ahead to what he might face in Toronto.
[Update, 2:50 pm. Probably my last update today, but the OC Register has many more Burke quotes, and expects Burke to remain with the team for one or two more weeks before being given permission to talk to other clubs about future employment.]
[Update, 10:50 pm. Oh yeah, and here's what I wrote about the rumo"u"r of Burke leaving five months ago.]
24 comments:
Clearly something happened with Burke... why ditch the guy when his contract runs out in a matter of months? And Bob Murray was in the organization anyway, so it couldn't have been a rush to hire him in particular.
Maybe he was advocating a trade for Bertuzzi.
Yeah, very strange. Also, I was pretty sure that Dave Nonis was a shoo-in to become Burke's replacement, so I wonder what the story is there?
Nothing against Bob Murray -- he'll probably be fine, but I thought that was the only reason why Dave Nonis was on the payroll, to fill in once Burke left.
Press conference at 12:30 today, so we'll see what get said.
Perhaps Burke has realized that right now would be the ideal time for him leave Anaheim and persue his dream job as Assistant GM in Edmonton?
Man, the Ducks don't even believe in down time, do they? Five days off between games, and they can't even go quietly through that.
Insane being a Ducks blogger sometimes.
straight to Toronto?
does that mean we will get european players now?
I wonder why Burkie decided it would be best to leave Anaheim before the owner goes to jail instead of after the owenr goes to jail?
Burke said he would decide by Christmas so I guess this is it.
In the capacity of cinsultant he is allowed to freely negotiate with other clubs (Leaves) for positions with them
Nonis was looking for work and knows Burke. Maybe he comes with Burke to Toronto - Burke as Prez and Nonis as GM or maybe Nonis as the de facto successor for a few years down the road?
Is it just me, or did that press conference end rather abruptly?
In the capacity of consultant he is allowed to freely negotiate with other clubs (Leaves) for positions with them.
Yeah, I've heard conflicting reports on that. Toronto may still need Anaheim's blessing to hire Burke on this year.
But really, that's for Leafs fans to worry about. So long as Burke is off his GM stool, that's probably as far as I care about what he does the rest of this season.
As for Nonis, if he's not the Burke heir, then he's probably off elsewhere also. I can't say I mind; it's hard to think of one thing I can credit Nonis for this year (except maybe the signing of Brendan Morrison, which hasn't exactly been roses).
Yeah, to me all Nonis did was swindle Mike Keenan which is probably akin to winning a chess match with Warren Sapp.
(Swindle Mike Keenan by getting Luongo for Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan Allen, in case you aren't a hockey historian.)
Is it just me, or did that press conference end rather abruptly?
My internet feed got exceedingly choppy, so I stopped watching before it ended.
Still, I imagine that's going to be one thing us Ducks fans are going to have to get re-acquainted with -- a GM who doesn't say everything on his mind. It's definitely going to be weird to have some relative silence coming from that GM position, but that would probably be true for almost any Burke replacement.
Wow. Good or Bad it looks like the Burke era is closing. Thanks for the cup Burke.
Maybe he was advocating a trade for Bertuzzi.
Yup, or maybe he was trying to trade Getz or Perry to Toronto.
Good or Bad it looks like the Burke era is closing.
I think it's both good and bad. There's plenty of people who would make worse GMs than Brian Burke (and we'll find out next summer what we've got in Murray), but I think too long with that guy might be poison for a franchise also.
To be determined...
Earl, do you think Murray is the long term replacement?
If so, does he stay the course, or change the game plan? What's his style?
I guess the biggest question on my mind is: What will that do to this teams outlook. As Spade said, do we get more Euro's? With such a large number a FA's coming up this guy could drastically change this team in a very short amount of time.
Earl, do you think Murray is the long term replacement?
I suspect so. There was no real reason to rush an announcement today for a temp fill-in, I don't think.
If so, does he stay the course, or change the game plan? What's his style?
I'll level with you. I've never heard of Bob Murray before today, so I'm as in the dark as anybody. Whatever the answer, I don't suspect we learn very much this year (there's not much left to do except promote Bobby Ryan when he's cap-cleared), though I guess we can see who gets re-signed and who doesn't.
Still, I probably won't get a good feel for the guy until next July, I'm guessing.
Anybody have any better answers?
Wow, that was random. Everyone knew he was gone next season, but midseason? Maybe it was all of that talking to Mats Sundin. Maybe the team's higher-ups said enough with these "am-I-retired-or-not" players and cut Burke off before he could sign him.
does that mean we will get european players now?
It appears so. Remains to be seen of course, as he could have changed his former habits.
Anyway, after some Google digging about his Hawks GM days, I found this tidbit, courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times, December 2, 1999 (the day he was fired, apparently):
"Murray, who held the position for a little more than two years, overhauled the roster before this season in an attempt to take better advantage of European talent."
Screw this I got bigger news:
I just saw Todd Marchant at Anaheim Ice!
Of course, I was too chickenshit to go up to him, as he was there with his daughters, who are about 10 and could probably play in the NHL.
who are about 10 and could probably play in the NHL.
Bob Murray, get 'em signed!
I've never met a Duck off the ice, but I guarantee you I'd be chickenshit. Especially Pahlsson. If he walked into a room, I'd hide under a table.
Murray did some decent drafting for the Hawks, iirc, but never really got a chance to run with the job because of the Bill Wirtz/Bob Pulford show that destroyed that franchise.
I would say he did a decent job his goround in Chicago.
With such a large number a FA's coming up this guy could drastically change this team in a very short amount of time.
I'm very interested in what he does with so much cap room this offseason. While I love the physical, forechecking, don't back down style of the current Burke era team, it still bothers me that this is an incredibly SLOOOOOWWWWW skating team. It doesn't help that Perry has officially inherited the sniper in the Pond rafters that used to follow Matt Cullen around. (if you had a drinking game for every time Perry fell down, you'd be blitzed by half way through the first period)
Take away Teemu, and Niedermeyer (who seems to have gotten lazy with his skating this yr), and the rest of the team is avg at best in terms of skating. Having watched a lot of Penguin games during last yr's playoffs, and Montreal during last month's road trip, I sure wouldn't mind to have some of those "soft" puck possesion/transition game european players on the Ducks. Maybe then the Ducks would actually have a 2nd line again. Where's Andy McDonald when you need him ... doh.
I would say he did a decent job his goround in Chicago.
That's good to hear, as I believe he signed a 3-year extension beyond this (do-nothing) year.
Where's Andy McDonald when you need him ... doh.
I've only just started writing some retrospective on B. Burke's Anaheim legacy, and this is definitely going to be covered.
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