Brian Burke

Brian Burke
Date of birth	June 30, 1955
place of birth	Providence , Rhode Island , USA
size	185 cm
Weight	84 kg
position	striker
Career stations
1973-1977	Providence College
1977	Springfield Indians
1977-1988	Maine Mariners

Brian P. Burke (born June 30, 1955 in Providence , Rhode Island ) is a former American - Canadian ice hockey striker and was General Manager and President of the Toronto Maple Leafs and General Manager of the US National Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics until 2013 . From December 2013 to April 2014 he also acted interim as General Manager of the Calgary Flames .

Career

Playing career and studies

Brian Burke was born in Providence and grew up in the state of Minnesota . He later returned to his hometown and from 1973 attended Providence College , where he studied history and at the same time played for the university's ice hockey team. In 1977 he completed his studies with a Bachelor of Arts , but first decided to start a career as a professional ice hockey player after he had signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers from the NHL . He made his debut towards the end of the 1976/77 season with the Springfield Indians from the lower class AHL . In the summer of 1977 he moved within the league to the Maine Mariners , for whom he scored three goals in 65 league games and prepared another five. The Mariners finally won the Calder Cup after successfully contesting the playoffs .

However, Burke then ended his playing career and decided to continue studying. At the Harvard Law School Burke studied law for three years and received the 1981 Bachelor of Laws .

management

The following years he worked as a lawyer in Boston and represented ice hockey players from the NHL, before he finally moved to the league himself in 1987 and was appointed Director of Hockey Operations and Vice President by the Vancouver Canucks . In 1992 he left the franchise and moved within the league to the Hartford Whalers , where he took over the post of general manager.

But after just a year, Burke was fired and decided to join the league leadership, where he became Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations. His main role had Burke in the disciplinary committee of the NHL, which he had to decide on penalties and suspensions of players.

After five years in this position, Burke returned to the Vancouver Canucks as General Manager and was supposed to restructure the ailing team. One of the most important official acts was the signing of the twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin via the NHL Entry Draft , who should soon be one of the pillars of the team. Under Burke's leadership, the Canucks managed to return to the playoffs and in 2004 they won the Northwest Division title for the first time .

However, his contract was not renewed after the season and in the summer of 2005 the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim signed him as the new General Manager and Vice President. Burke brought on Randy Carlyle as a new coach and with the obligations of veterans Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selänne he signed two important contracts. In addition, he brought Chris Kunitz , who had not been able to convince in previous years, back to Anaheim via the waiver , who then played the best season of his career and became a pillar of the team.

In the first season under Burke, the Ducks reached the finals of the Western Conference , where they were subject to the Edmonton Oilers . Burke made another important commitment during the 2006 summer break when he transferred star defender Chris Pronger from Edmonton to Anaheim. With a well-established squad, the Ducks finally managed to win the Stanley Cup in the 2006/07 season . More experienced players were then committed, such as Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi , who already played in Vancouver under Burke. In addition, the squad of the championship was largely retained, but the title was not defended. One month after the start of the 2008/09 season , Burke resigned his position as general manager to Bob Murray after he had refused to extend his contract beyond the summer of 2009, but initially remained in an advisory role to the Ducks. On November 29th, Brian Burke was introduced as the new President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs , after rumors had raged about it for months. On January 9, 2013, he was removed from office with the Leafs and replaced in the role of General Manager by Dave Nonis .

In the summer of 2008, Brian Burke was named general manager of the United States national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics .

In addition to his ice hockey roles, Burke has also served as visiting professor at the British Columbia University School of Law and is a member of the National Sports Law Institute and the Sports Lawyers Association . Due to his long involvement in Canada, he has both US citizenship and Canadian citizenship.

In 2008 he was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for his services to ice hockey in the United States .

Since September 2013 he has held the post of President of Hockey Operations with the Calgary Flames . After Jay Feaster's dismissal , Burke took over the role of General Manager of the Flames on an interim basis before hiring Brad Treliving as his successor in April 2014 . In late April 2018, he stepped down from his position as President of Hockey Operations with the Calgary Flames.

Achievements and Awards

As a player

• 1978 Calder Cup win with the Maine Mariners

As general manager

• 2007 Stanley Cup win with the Anaheim Ducks
• 2008 Lester Patrick Trophy

Web links

Commons : Brian Burke  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Brian Burke at hockeydb.com (English)