Burke Speaks - January 30, 2014

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Or maybe they are just trying to motivate players. Hartley went after Backlund earlier this year... scratched him... and now he's playing the best hockey of his career.

Exactly. Part of the whole truculence mantra is not giving up and players have to show resilience when things are stacked against them

[Matt Reeeeead]

I think all he's saying with Gaudreau, that no matter how talented he is, at 5-8, the Flames can't take him for granted and pencil him into the line-up. Until he is successful in the NHL. I think everyone understands what his upside could be, but at the same time recognize how many other talented small guys haven't made it. I hope they don't trade him, his talent level needs to be taken a chance on and to be patient.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Matt Reeeeead

I think all he's saying with Gaudreau, that no matter how talented he is, at 5-8, the Flames can't take him for granted and pencil him into the line-up. Until he is successful in the NHL. I think everyone understands what his upside could be, but at the same time recognize how many other talented small guys haven't made it. I hope they don't trade him, his talent level needs to be taken a chance on and to be patient.

I think that this is an instance in which we are reading way too much into an off-the-cuff comment, accompanied by a joke.

Honestly, his comments don't require much work to understand: Gaudreau is really small.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Burke was making a joke at an off-the-record event for season ticket holders. He was NOT IN CONVERSATION with Gaudreau, nor was he speaking publicly about him. In all likelihood, this is a comment that will never get back to Gaudreau, and even if it does, he would have to be irrationally sensitive and insecure to interpret it as anything other than a comedic barb.


Do you sincerely believe that this bit of information from a private, informal STH session is the only way for Gaudreau to gauge support from the team and the city? I can guarantee that he hears ALOT more directly from Burke and the Flames than ANY of the season ticket holders.


The sky is not falling. Burke's comments about size and the little bits that the media and Flames fans get from his public statements about Gaudreau aren't nearly precise enough to make ANY judgements about his impression of him. Especially in light of Burke's dearth of praise for ALL prospects in public, his statements about Gaudreau appear to be far too general from which to draw any meaningful insight.


Show me some indication that the Flames are not behaving professionally in their handling of Gaudreau, and I will share your concern. But Burke's public comments about his size, and the jokes that proceed from this reality do not qualify as evidence for any lack of professionalism.

Again, this is borderline paranoia. Its an hysterical over-reaction bred from a pathological fear.

Right....

Did I say the sky was falling? I'm really not that paranoid about it, just edgy about the manner in which Burke sometimes speaks of the prospects. I was more or less explaining the likely reasoning behind those who are bothered by the comments. I myself raised an eyebrow at the quote initially, I wasn't exactly suffocating in paranoia, but like I reminded everyone in the post, I am sure that there is plenty of conversation that goes on behind the curtain and that it's not truly an issue. I was more irked by the 2011 draft comments, which I believe were a mistake on his part to be going public with, with the trade deadline approaching and all. At the same time for you to be guaranteeeing something is a bit ridiculous in itself. So long as you're not tapped into Burke's phone calls you can't say anything is certain. Unless you're working with interpol or the canadian secret service, 'BACON' or whatever it's called again (hah) and have access to this.

But of course, nice job with the whole.. dissection.. of the thing, despite it really not being necessary. I hope you can help cure me of these pathological fears that are clearly borderlining on paranoia.

And forgive me, as being a STH I didn't quite take these comments quite as 'off the record'. Especially when many quotes instantly get leaked all over places like CP, twitter, so on, which Burke himself should expect. Nothing these days (and in this league) is exactly entirely off the record when you're that position, speaking about your team to basically a large group of clients...

[SebC]

Maybe Burke didn't get the memo that CalgaryPuck has spies. Or he did, but he's not the type to care.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by SebC

Maybe Burke didn't get the memo that CalgaryPuck has spies. Or he did, but he's not the type to care.

He probably think's we're a bunch of reactive cry babies

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Oh yeah, I am 4 ft 3 and 106 lbs.
Internet Anti-Tough Guy.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Right....

Did I say the sky was falling? I'm really not that paranoid about it, just edgy about the manner in which Burke sometimes speaks of the prospects. I was more or less explaining the likely reasoning behind those who are bothered by the comments. I myself raised an eyebrow at the quote initially, I wasn't exactly suffocating in paranoia, but like I reminded everyone in the post, I am sure that there is plenty of conversation that goes on behind the curtain and that it's not truly an issue. I was more irked by the 2011 draft comments, which I believe were a mistake on his part to be going public with, with the trade deadline approaching and all. At the same time for you to be guaranteeeing something is a bit ridiculous in itself. So long as you're not tapped into Burke's phone calls you can't say anything is certain. Unless you're working with interpol or the canadian secret service, 'BACON' or whatever it's called again (hah) and have access to this.

But of course, nice job with the whole.. dissection.. of the thing, despite it really not being necessary. I hope you can help cure me of these pathological fears that are clearly borderlining on paranoia.

And forgive me, as being a STH I didn't quite take these comments quite as 'off the record'. Especially when many quotes instantly get leaked all over places like CP, twitter, so on, which Burke himself should expect. Nothing these days (and in this league) is exactly entirely off the record when you're that position, speaking about your team to basically a large group of clients...

Lol holy #### man, this is most rabidly defensive post I've seen on the internet in 2014 so far. Your concern over the 2011 draft comments were about he only thing that was relevant, the rest is you going "No I'm not paranoid".

[troutman]

I still await the Burke vs. Francis blow-up.

[Phaneufenstein]

Did I miss something?

Burke didn't specifically say he doesn't like the 2011 draft.

He said he likes the 2013, but not the rest.

He didn't single 2011 out to say he hates it.

It'd be nice to have the exact quote too, not paraphrased bits, before we start losing our minds here.

[Aarongavey]

I am not too worried about his comments about Gaudreau, I am more worried that he is mediocre at this job. Poor drafting history with a decent trading record amounts to a middling hockeyman in my books. Not the worst but definitely not in the upper tier of hockey guys.

[troutman]

I wouldn't judge GMs too hard on drafting history. IMO, it is 80% luck. No one can really predict how 18 year olds will turn out. I want a GM that accumulates picks, makes good trades, does good contracts, and has a vision on how to build a team.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Phaneufenstein

Did I miss something?

Burke didn't specifically say he doesn't like the 2011 draft.

He said he likes the 2013, but not the rest.

He didn't single 2011 out to say he hates it.

It'd be nice to have the exact quote too, not paraphrased bits, before we start losing our minds here.

This thread is 12 pages.... I'm sure at this point most people debating have forgot what was actually said, and what they think they said.

[Hackey]

Originally Posted by troutman

I wouldn't judge GMs too hard on drafting history. IMO, it is 80% luck. No one can really predict how 18 year olds will turn out. I want a GM that accumulates picks, makes good trades, does good contracts, and has a vision on how to build a team.

The draft is based on a lot of luck but there are certain teams who consistently draft really well and this is definitely not a fluke. I'm sure theit prospect development plays a large roll in this as well.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

I am not too worried about his comments about Gaudreau, I am more worried that he is mediocre at this job. Poor drafting history with a decent trading record amounts to a middling hockeyman in my books. Not the worst but definitely not in the upper tier of hockey guys.

this is exactly what I think we have, which is what the majority of other teams do as well. it's hard to expect landing an elite hockey man at any point because those are usually locked up good and tight by those that have them.

the only difference with our middling guy is he's much more of a character than his peers. that seems to be splitting this forum into the camp that doesn't mind it, and the camp that's constantly rubbed the wrong way by it. I suspect that a few years down the road, unless we get really lucky, the middling results from Burke will gradually push more people into the latter category.

[mikeecho]

Originally Posted by troutman

I still await the Burke vs. Francis blow-up.

Francis has no guts, so he'll just serve Burke soft balls and be a mechanism to deliver Burke's message to the masses. They will not have a blow up... as much as I'd like to see Francis blasted apart.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Hackey

The draft is based on a lot of luck but there are certain teams who consistently draft really well and this is definitely not a fluke. I'm sure theit prospect development plays a large roll in this as well.

Which teams are those? The teams that draft well are generally the teams drafting really high.

The drafting record of the best drafting teams are mostly misses. Look it up.

[Pliddy]

Originally Posted by troutman

I wouldn't judge GMs too hard on drafting history. IMO, it is 80% luck. No one can really predict how 18 year olds will turn out. I want a GM that accumulates picks, makes good trades, does good contracts, and has a vision on how to build a team.

Then how do you explain the Detroit Red Wings?

[Scoreface]

^^Not to mention the best drafting teams are those with the most picks, especially in the first two rounds.

I see Burke's situation as a tightrope where he has to re-sign guys to be competitive and to reach the cap floor like he did with Stajan. But he also must acquire more picks through dealing some of the upcoming UFA's and perhaps other players in order to have a better chance of this draft being a real good one.

I trust him quite a bit to get full value in trades, and hopefully he defers to Button a lot at the draft.

[Gaskal]

Heck, if I was one of Johnny Hockey's teammates ribbing him good-naturedly on his height, I'd go further than Burke.

I'd hang one of these over his dressing room stall just a few inches higher than his normal height.