Brian Burke assembled most of the Canucks team that went to the final. If Burke was still there, there would likely have been some toughness on that team and they may have won the cup (ugh)
In Anaheim, a lot of pieces were in place, but Burke did contribute to that (Carlyle, Pronger, Niedermeyer).
Toronto hasn't done much, but the roster that made the playoffs last year was Burkes. And I don't think anybody doubts that the leafs wish they had Colborne right now.
Burke also drafted, developed or acquired players like the Sedins, Naslund, Kadri and Kessel.
One thing many forget is that when Burke took over in Vancouver, he made Manitoba the AHL affiliate and insisted as a condition that Smyl replace Carlyle as head coach as a condition. As a compromise, Carlyle was promoted to GM. Obviously, after working with Carlyle, he saw talent, and chose him to come to Anaheim.
My conclusion is that he is a great evaluator, both in terms of value and talent, in the 20-25year old range. He cuts his losses when he sees his failure, and he surrounds himself with people he trusts. He is also open to people earning his trust. Burke also appreciates TALENT as much as or more than SIZE.
I still don't like the Kessel trade, but at this point I think that even that looks like a win for Burke. There is not a lot of trades that one can look at and say that Burke lost.
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