[News] Brian Burke joining Calgary Flames as President of Hockey Operations

[browna]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

I don't remember enough about what happened, but is the way he handled Kadri any cause for concern?

I probably sit more in the camp that Burke deserves credit for holding him back and letting him develop, but I know many are on the other side of the argument. Thoughts?

Given the ridiculous, selfish attitude that Kadri has shown in spades this offseason (looking for Tavares type money, already, after a decent season in a lockout shortened season??), its pretty clear that Burke treating him the way he did was fully justified.

With the TO media pushing a local guy and a top 10 pick, combined with the pouty attitude and lack of fitness he had a couple years ago, Burke holding him back was that much harder to do, but it was for the player's benefit for a number of reasons (though it doesn't seem to have changed the guys attitude).

[Poe969]

was at a wedding tonight and a few guys started to talk hockey, since I'm one of the only Flames fans around here everyone was asking how I felt about the Burke situation. I said I liked it because the Flames have been a team without direction for the past couple of years and now that they're actually commited to a rebuild, having a guy like Burke at the helm during this time is great. Everyone pretty much said that he brings a lot of good things to the table, he may be a media whore at times but he knows hockey. He actually did well in TO and he's coming to Calgary in a situation than he did with the leafs. The only person who thought it was a stupid move was an oilers fan, he said it didn't matter what the Flames did this year, they'll still suck and the oilers will do better. I told him that that was kind of the plan for the Flames to get a couple of high draft picks while the oilers got 9th for a couple of years and then we'll see who has a better team. I told him the oilers were a joke of a franchise and they're going to be garbage longer than the Flames would be and everyone else pretty much agreed. It's good that other fans are starting to realize that those high picks the coilers got are going to be good for nothing soon enough.

[jayswin]

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Poe969

was at a wedding tonight and a few guys started to talk hockey, since I'm one of the only Flames fans around here everyone was asking how I felt about the Burke situation. I said I liked it because the Flames have been a team without direction for the past couple of years and now that they're actually commited to a rebuild, having a guy like Burke at the helm during this time is great. Everyone pretty much said that he brings a lot of good things to the table, he may be a media whore at times but he knows hockey. He actually did well in TO and he's coming to Calgary in a situation than he did with the leafs. The only person who thought it was a stupid move was an oilers fan, he said it didn't matter what the Flames did this year, they'll still suck and the oilers will do better. I told him that that was kind of the plan for the Flames to get a couple of high draft picks while the oilers got 9th for a couple of years and then we'll see who has a better team. I told him the oilers were a joke of a franchise and they're going to be garbage longer than the Flames would be and everyone else pretty much agreed. It's good that other fans are starting to realize that those high picks the coilers got are going to be good for nothing soon enough.

[FAN]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

I think Feaster uses an empowerment model, "using the abilities of everyone on the management team"; Where as Burke is more of a top down guy. In other words Burke won't mince words, if he wants to add a piece or make a change he gets things done. If these 2 can work together it might be a nice balance.

Burke is certainly old school and while he certainly surrounds himself with capable people, he takes on the responsibility of being the ultimate decision maker. You can call it empowerment model, but Feaster needs to rely on others because he's not confident in his abilities to evaluate talent.

[InBurkeWeTrust]

I love the signing!

[FAN]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

I don't remember enough about what happened, but is the way he handled Kadri any cause for concern?

Originally Posted by browna

Given the ridiculous, selfish attitude that Kadri has shown in spades this offseason (looking for Tavares type money, already, after a decent season in a lockout shortened season??), its pretty clear that Burke treating him the way he did was fully justified.

With the TO media pushing a local guy and a top 10 pick, combined with the pouty attitude and lack of fitness he had a couple years ago, Burke holding him back was that much harder to do, but it was for the player's benefit for a number of reasons (though it doesn't seem to have changed the guys attitude).

Burke can play the part of the bully and mistreat prospects. He did it to Umberger in Vancouver and Vancouver ended up squandering a good asset. As for Kadri, I think it was mostly the coaches that were critical of Kadri.

Is it a concern? The concern is whether it is to the detriment of the team in the long run. Let's face it, if it's about justification, a lot of prospects and young players would be taught some "life lessons" but for the benefit of the team, all you can really hope for is a player's on-ice performance isn't negatively affected by anything.

[Ashasx]

Burke was one of the biggest proponents to trading cap space.

Hopefully we finally start seeing the Flames use this to their advantage.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by FAN

Burke is certainly old school and while he certainly surrounds himself with capable people, he takes on the responsibility of being the ultimate decision maker. You can call it empowerment model, but Feaster needs to rely on others because he's not confident in his abilities to evaluate talent.

I definitely agree with that statement, Feaster has admitted as much. There are some benefits to Feasters management style but if we are going to take the "bull by the horns" Burke is the right guy to have on board. There are instances where too much top down can hurt the contributions from everyone, but my gut tells me Burke by experience values teamwork. I read something interesting today on Burke and Feasters ongoing relationship and have a feeling Burke wants to mentor Feaster to be successful. If this is true I think Burke will show Feaster the ropes towards being more confident.

[kremb]

Originally Posted by Poe969

I was at a wedding tonight and a few guys started to talk hockey, and since I'm one of the only Flames fans in Thunder Bay, everyone was asking how I felt about the Burke situation. I said "I liked it" because the Flames have been a team without direction for the past couple of years and now that they're actually commited to a rebuild, having a guy like Burke at the helm during this time is great.

Everyone pretty much said that he brings a lot of good things to the table, he may be a media whore at times but he knows hockey. He actually did well in TO and he's coming to Calgary in a (better?) situation than he did with the leafs. The only person who thought it was a stupid move was an oilers fan, he said it didn't matter what the Flames did this year, they'll still suck and the oilers will do better. I told him that "that was kind of the plan", for the Flames to get a couple of high draft picks while the oilers got 9th for a couple of years and then we'll see who has a better team.

I told him "the oilers were a joke of a franchise and they're going to be garbage longer than the Flames would be" and everyone else pretty much agreed. It's good that other fans are starting to realize that those high picks the coilers got are going to be good for nothing soon enough.

Thanks for the view from down East and I like what names you chose to capitalize.

Although, normally a toonie gambler, back in June, I bet a guy $25 that the Flames would win the season series against the coil, and was starting to feel little less confident. To keep me close, the Burke/Low dynamic could be exactly what the BOA needs as noted by Daradon

Burke's Team USA and US College relationship history fits right in with what Feaster and Weisbrod have done thus far.

It really is a great signing as we finally stole something from TO. I still can't believe BB is essentially our GM, as Feaster and Conroy can babysit all these hockey guys and be the good cop(s) part of the GM team.

We are finally getting back to Calgary Flames hockey, as I believe we had a ton of good US talent back in the 80's too. Badger was Yank, and in the grand scheme, these rich Oil guys(the FOG) are basically Yanks too in mentality.

Now, if we could only get SOB (Son of Bob) back from Dallas to lead these guys through the wilderness.

[DeluxeMoustache]

I will say again that "Behind the Moves" provides a great view in to the world of GMs and in to Burke and his MO. Anybody who has read that book would have greater understanding, appreciation for and confidence in the man (and more intel on Feaster, too). Great add to the franchise.

[FAN]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

I definitely agree with that statement, Feaster has admitted as much. There are some benefits to Feasters management style but if we are going to take the "bull by the horns" Burke is the right guy to have on board. There are instances where too much top down can hurt the contributions from everyone, but my gut tells me Burke by experience values teamwork. I read something interesting today on Burke and Feasters ongoing relationship and have a feeling Burke wants to mentor Feaster to be successful. If this is true I think Burke will show Feaster the ropes towards being more confident.

I am very interested in seeing how the Burke and Feaster relationship pans out. I've said many times that the title of GM and President is essentially just a title. Burke has held a Presidential title in his last three stops. Maybe not being the GM of the Calgary Flames means that Burke will be less hands on than in the past, but if Burke truly is going to be the one making the final decision on every hockey operations move, then there's really little difference between the structure as it exists now and Burke being GM and Feaster being AGM. This means that on Burke's end, this "management structure" shouldn't impede Burke at all.

But what about Jay Feaster? In the past, Feaster almost seems to idolize Burke and can be heard referencing Burke a lot during his pressers. Feaster has certainly embraced, in the past, having an experienced hockey guy to serve as his mentor or assistant. But there's a reason Feaster had little interest in being an AGM until reality hit him that being AGM was his best chance of becoming a GM again: Feaster wanted to be the guy making the decisions in putting together a hockey team. So in my mind, Feaster can't be happy about this. It's one thing to be working under a meddling President, it's another to be working under a President who is going to have the final say in everything.

At the end of the day, someone has to make the decision and I'm glad it's going to be Burke rather than Feaster. But unlike the Presidents of the two teams with similar management structure, Burke is an experienced GM. Has Burke grown tired of the day to day duties of a GM?

I see some fun times ahead.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by FAN

I am very interested in seeing how the Burke and Feaster relationship pans out. I've said many times that the title of GM and President is essentially just a title. Burke has held a Presidential title in his last three stops. Maybe not being the GM of the Calgary Flames means that Burke will be less hands on than in the past, but if Burke truly is going to be the one making the final decision on every hockey operations move, then there's really little difference between the structure as it exists now and Burke being GM and Feaster being AGM. This means that on Burke's end, this "management structure" shouldn't impede Burke at all.

But what about Jay Feaster? In the past, Feaster almost seems to idolize Burke and can be heard referencing Burke a lot during his pressers. Feaster has certainly embraced, in the past, having an experienced hockey guy to serve as his mentor or assistant. But there's a reason Feaster had little interest in being an AGM until reality hit him that being AGM was his best chance of becoming a GM again: Feaster wanted to be the guy making the decisions in putting together a hockey team. So in my mind, Feaster can't be happy about this. It's one thing to be working under a meddling President, it's another to be working under a President who is going to have the final say in everything.

At the end of the day, someone has to make the decision and I'm glad it's going to be Burke rather than Feaster. But unlike the Presidents of the two teams with similar management structure, Burke is an experienced GM. Has Burke grown tired of the day to day duties of a GM?

I see some fun times ahead.

Pretty sure Feaster can't be 100 percent happy with these changes. .. Also better Burke than KK. I am curious to see if Burke starts bringing in any of his own hockey people.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by getoverit

Whats your thoughts on how long before we see the value of having BB on board.......

Wasn't sure who your asking; Burke probably needs time to access the organizational goals objectives, blueprints, scouting, as well as players in the system. What type of team model we are working towards, types of players we are trying to acquire. I would have no idea how long he needs to do these things, or for how long he will just let Feaster continue as he has been. For the most part Burke isn't shy about making changes so I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see some sort of impact right away. To early to tell but definitely exciting for us fans!

[BigTuna]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

but not having good prospects cannot be the reason to not to go out and draft lottery picks. living in toronto, the city was ready for a rebuild, so rushing seguin wouldn't have been a must (similar to how many fans on CP will be just fine, heck maybe even a bit relieved, if monahan goes back to ottawa this fall).

It also makes little sense to go out and invest 2 first rounders to get a 21 year old, as it poses the same problem (putting the load of a franchise on the shoulders of a young player without the necessary talent around him).

he made a major blunder in completely miscalculating the quality of his roster and giving up 1st round picks, despite not having anything close to a playoff grade team.

Just like a bad avs team traded 1st round picks for varlamov... bad teams just shouldn't trade first round picks. sure if top tier players are available i suppose you gotta look at it, but kessel/varlamov are not top tier players. kessel is a solid piece, but is not a player you build your franchise around.

Kessel is 4th in NHl scoring the past two years with Bozak as his centre. He's in another universe from Varlamov.

[BigTuna]

Congrats on getting Burke guys. He's a great GM.

I find the Kessel trade really distracts from his overall work. No one talks about anything else.

Burke's trade of Beauchemin to Anaheim was brilliant. One of the best trades in years. He got back a PPG star winger in his prime and a first rounder in Gardiner, who has tremendous upside for a free UFA signing that didn't pan-out. I'd argue given the player, that was better value than Bosaton got in the Kessel trade. Gardiner looked unbelievable in the Boston series when he was finally given a chance.

He got JVR, at age 23. He is a former second overall pick for Schenn. Fantastic trade.

His Phaneuf trade speaks for itself. A #1 D-Man for spare parts.

He drafting of Kadri looks very good. Rielly has great upside as well and is a blue chipper. I'd say his drafting of Rielly and Finn in the first two rounds in 2012' set the Leafs up very well on D for years.

He's not perfect, but he started with nothing in Toronto. Now they are competitive with a nice core.

And his "Worst Trade" saw him get a future star at age 21. Phil Kessel is easily the best player in that deal 4 years after it happened. "Franchise Player" Seguin has already been moved. He was horrific in the playoffs.

[Stupid]

Originally Posted by BigTuna

Congrats on getting Burke guys. He's a great GM.

I find the Kessel trade really distracts from his overall work. No one talks about anything else.

Burke's trade of Beauchemin to Anaheim was brilliant. One of the best trades in years. He got back a PPG star winger in his prime and a first rounder in Gardiner, who has tremendous upside for a free UFA signing that didn't pan-out. I'd argue given the player, that was better value than Bosaton got in the Kessel trade. Gardiner looked unbelievable in the Boston series when he was finally given a chance.

He got JVR, at age 23. He is a former second overall pick for Schenn. Fantastic trade.

His Phaneuf trade speaks for itself. A #1 D-Man for spare parts.

He drafting of Kadri looks very good. Rielly has great upside as well and is a blue chipper. I'd say his drafting of Rielly and Finn in the first two rounds in 2012' set the Leafs up very well on D for years.

He's not perfect, but he started with nothing in Toronto. Now they are competitive with a nice core.

And his "Worst Trade" saw him get a future star at age 21. Phil Kessel is easily the best player in that deal 4 years after it happened. "Franchise Player" Seguin has already been moved. He was horrific in the playoffs.

He won't be our GM though, Feaster will be. In his a recent interview he stated he wouldn't be announcing trades (=Feaster), nor talking to the media about day to day affairs (=Hartley).

Whether or not this is true is a second matter altogether. Personally I think having him aboard is a good thing so I like it - Feaster is the kind of guy who can use a hockey guy like BB besides him because of his own lawyer background. Weissbrod is a sports dude, but not hockey specifically so I think this is a good piece to the Flames' puzzle.

[$ven27]

Personally I think the whole Burke staying in the background, Jay staying on as GM, isn't going to last even 1 season. Burke IS the GM of Calgary, even without the title. In the same sense that Sakic/Roy are the GM in Denver, yet Sherman still has the official title of GM. If anything I could see Feaster staying on just to handle contracts and such.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by $ven27

Personally I think the whole Burke staying in the background, Jay staying on as GM, isn't going to last even 1 season. Burke IS the GM of Calgary, even without the title. In the same sense that Sakic/Roy are the GM in Denver, yet Sherman still has the official title of GM. If anything I could see Feaster staying on just to handle contracts and such.

I was thinking more like Feaster will be handling the media side of things in more of a PR report for Burke. Actually a fairly Saavy move by ownership. Putting Burke in as the brains and Feaster as the face of player personnel.

Or, it's as they say it is. Feaster still calls the shots on trades and contracts and Burke is there for them to lean on his experience.

[DeluxeMoustache]

It could just be what they say it is. The Cup winning GM in 89 managed a 6M business. Now it is managing a 100 M business, and the GM is expected to be several things including but not limited to the face of the franchise with respect to strategy and personnel moves, a negotiator, talent assessor, etc. As King mentioned, corporations have boards of directors so that the best decisions can be made including input from multiple experienced contributors. I am sure that with Burke on board, there is a strong additional voice, with a strong track record, to give a reality check to Feaster's management, and the input from the organization on which Jay relies, and am confident that there is no shortage of work for either.