Brian Burke: Trade Diary

[Ontario Wingsfan 0]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/...rke-diary_x.htm

This is his diary of his efforts to make the major deadline deal:

Wednesday, Feb. 7

We're interested in Peter Forsberg, but when Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren calls I tell him we aren't trading (first-round pick) Bobby Ryan. We go through a package and I reject several names, including Corey Perry. I say, "No." Homer and I are fishing buddies, and he jokingly says he wants to help us win the Stanley Cup by trading me Forsberg. I say, "We're out," and Homer says he wants me to stay in.

Thursday, Feb. 8

Homer and I talk again on Forsberg and this time he talks about Perry again. He tells me that he has a better offer on the table than Perry and a high pick. I say Perry isn't going anywhere. We discuss multiple names to go with the high pick and they ask for specific players (Perry, Ilya Bryzgalov, Chris Kunitz). I like Homer and want him to succeed, but I'm thinking we would be better off looking at Todd Bertuzzi and the possibility of landing another defenseman. But (Florida GM/coach) Jacques Martin isn't shopping Bertuzzi yet. We are looking at defensemen around the league who could end up being available â€â€Brent Sopel, Brad Stuart and Sami Salo. But I think Vancouver is trying to re-sign Salo.

Friday, Feb. 9

I speak to Los Angeles about Sopel. Trying to trade is like playing musical chairs. You are always afraid to you aren't going to have a chair at the end. You worry that if you say 'no' on one deal, you may not get any. Also, there is a "keeping up with the Joneses mentality", particularly in the Western Conference. Players, coaches and fans want you to add. The allure of making the right trade draws you in. Remember last season when Edmonton was on the verge of missing the playoffs, made some deals, including getting goalie Dwayne Roloson, and they go to the Finals. It's the most pressure you face all year, and it's also the most fun you have.

Saturday, Feb. 10

Phoenix offered me Ladislav Nagy for a first-round pick. I call Doug MacLean about the possibility of acquiring Fredrik Modin. He says he's trying to re-sign him. One of my problems in trying to make a deal is that I don't have a first-round pick. I'm thinking I could move defenseman Shane O'Brien to get a first-round pick.

Sunday, Feb. 11

I think Tampa Bay's (GM) Jay Feaster is interested in O'Brien. Homer calls and tells me that two teams are offering two first-round picks and a player for Forsberg, and another team is offering a first, second and another pick. To me, this is too rich for our blood. I think it's too high of a price for a rental player.

Tuesday, Feb. 13

Feaster tells me he is interested only in hockey deals, not rentals. I have a long talk with St. Louis Blues President John Davidson about Keith Tkachuk. They want Bobby Ryan in a package.

Wednesday, Feb. 14

Officially turn down the Blues. Vancouver GM Dave Nonis, my former assistant, tells me he is going to re-sign Salo. New York Rangers GM Glen Sather tells me he's not a seller, at least not yet.

Thursday, Feb. 15

Forsberg goes to Nashville. Homer was frustrated with me. He said I didn't know the marketplace. But I have to give him a lot of credit. He really helped the Flyers with that deal. Tampa Bay offers goalie Gerald Coleman and a second for O'Brien. We want a first- round pick.

Saturday, Feb. 17

I talk to Florida assistant GM Randy Sexton about Todd Bertuzzi, and he tells me "the guy we like is Perry." I offer him profanity. If you are offended by profanity, it's difficult to make a trade in the NHL. If you are going to try to rob me, at least wear a mask. We talk to Philadelphia about Kyle Calder.

Monday, Feb. 19

At the general managers meetings in Naples, Fla., Feaster sweetened his offer to a first-round pick and Coleman and he wants a third to go with O'Brien. I call Sather to see if he can better that offer for O'Brien.

Tuesday, Feb. 20

Sather talks to me about O'Brien, and Pleau asks if I want to revisit the Tkachuk deal and make it bigger. We decide it's not going to work, but we are interested in Bill Guerin. Sather tells me he's got a good offer for Aaron Ward from another team.

Wednesday, Feb. 21

I call Montreal's (GM) Bob Gainey and push him about whether he's going to move any of his defensemen. Gainey says he's unsure if he's selling. Timing is beginning to be a problem. I decide to push on this, but I don't get anywhere.

Sunday, Feb. 25

Tkachuk is finally traded to Atlanta for Glen Metropolit and first-, second- and third-round picks, plus another first-rounder if the Thrashers re-sign him. Davidson and GM Larry Pleau hit it out of the park on that one. We decide to trade O'Brien to Tampa Bay. We need the first-round pick to get into the card game. We felt comfortable making the deal because of the way Kent Huskins had played when he was called up. Oilers GM Kevin Lowe thinks he could have trouble re-signing Ryan Smyth. Would I be interested? He said he would want a "Tkachuk style package." I say we can't do it. Craig Rivet is traded to San Jose by Montreal, and I call and whine to Gainey about not calling me back and telling me he was available. He tells me that I was late to that party, and he had been talking to Doug Wilson for three weeks. Fair enough.

Monday, Feb. 26

Modin re-signs. While at a game in San Jose, I initiate a deal for Brad May via e-mail. I know him well and like his toughness.

Tuesday, Feb. 27

We were in on several trades. We offered a first and a fourth for Bill Guerin, but the Blues liked the Sharks' deal better. (Los Angeles GM) Dean Lombardi talked to me about how Mattias Norstrom wanted to stay in southern California and I offered him a first-, second- and third-round pick, but I now believe he never intended to trade him to us. The Anaheim-Los Angeles rivalry is real. We looked at Bertuzzi, but the price was too high. I wanted to make a deal, but I stuck to draft picks. I told our younger players that I wouldn't trade them and I kept my word. But I did get May. He's a great character guy with a sunny disposition.

[theman19 47]

somehow i'm thinking Brian isn't going to make to many friends by making this knowledge public

[rick zombo 3,739]

Interesting that he thought the price for Bert was too high, and that he was interested in Calder.

[Aki 0]

This was interesting to read. I'm surprised when he said that they looked at Bertuzzi, "but the price was too high". I think it was a fair deal for what we gave up. Also I noticed that Burke was also interested in Calder

somehow i'm thinking Brian isn't going to make to many friends by making this knowledge public

I think he wants to show the Ducks fans that he DID try to pull off a trade, and that he didn't sit back and do nothing

[jpfalcon09 0]

Even more reason to give Holland props, he stole Calder from Philly/Chicago and worked his way around the "high price" for Bertuzzi with a bunch of great conditions. We'll see if the Ducks can keep up their play with the moves that the other West teams made.

[superstarsingh 23]

Holland owned him

[Cruiser008 37]

Well that was a great read.

[Cicada 4]

so basically, Anaheim got hosed

[puckbags 863]

somehow i'm thinking Brian isn't going to make to many friends by making this knowledge public

Living on the west coast and getting to see alot of Burke manage a hockey team when he was with the Canucks I don't think he give's two s***s about what other people think about making this public. He is a great GM..he has balls...and is true to his word and his players. He wasn't going to give up the future for one big push this year when he know's this team will eventually have the potential to make a run for multiple years in a row!!

[Matt 1,048]

Fantastic read. Always nice to get this kind of insight into front office dealings...

I would've *really* been interested if Holland did something like this, so we could find out what the "3rd trade" Holland was working on involved that either couldn't get done before the deadline or fell through. (If it wasn't the Nolan deal, that is.)

[Airborn 0]

Thanks for posting; it's amazing to see what's going on in these GMs minds during the trade teadline process.

-One thing stuck out to me that hasn't been mentioned. Burke offered a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for Norstrom, and was turned down. If I'm a Kings fan, I want to know why.

- Also, I guess Smyth's availability wasn't as secretive as believed.

[eva unit zero 271]

This is awesome for those of us who have supported Holland.

People on here have bashed Holland as a horrible GM for years while praising Burke as a genius...yet Holland gets two guys Burke wanted for perfectly reasonable deals in a year when prices were crazy.

Just awesome.

[DraperFan MN 0]

Fantastic read. Always nice to get this kind of insight into front office dealings...

I would've *really* been interested if Holland did something like this, so we could find out what the "3rd trade" Holland was working on involved that either couldn't get done before the deadline or fell through. (If it wasn't the Nolan deal, that is.)

Matt,

Previous to the Bertuzzi deal going down, did you read somewhere about the possibility of conditional draft picks for him? When I heard the details of the deal, I thought of your response to my statement in another thread that Detroit should just stand pat.

[T-Ruff 47]

I would be really interested if any other GM did this.... awesome read....

[rwfan007 18]

Yeah, I think Holland really showed some balls and genious by really stealing Bert and Calder. Like I have posted before, GM's aren't stupid, they know whats going on and will look for the right price before sacrificing the team's entire future.

[DatsyukRules 0]

When he says the "price was too high" for bertuzzi, he never says what they wanted. They could have lowered the price when he was traded here. It also didn't seem like he showed much interest in Bertuzzi anyway, he mentioned him once or twice, it was probably the health issues.

EDIT: he says FLA wanted Perry, but that was 10 days before hand.

Edited March 1, 2007 by DatsyukRules

[Icer 0]

Holland owned him

But Burke owned Holland last summer when he added Pronger. Holland's big summertime acquisition was Danny Markov.

[DraperFan MN 0]

This is awesome for those of us who have supported Holland.

People on here have bashed Holland as a horrible GM for years while praising Burke as a genius...yet Holland gets two guys Burke wanted for perfectly reasonable deals in a year when prices were crazy.

Just awesome.

While I have never been a vocal supporter of Holland, I've never been a vocal detractor. A fence rider I guess.

Going as far to speculate Bert isn't completely healthy this year, but builds a relationship, re-signs, and is productive next year, without a doubt, Holland will have gotten the most for the least at the deadline.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Definitely a great read.

He uses a good analogy for the process:

Trying to trade is like playing musical chairs. You are always afraid to you aren't going to have a chair at the end. You worry that if you say 'no' on one deal, you may not get any. Also, there is a "keeping up with the Joneses mentality", particularly in the Western Conference. Players, coaches and fans want you to add. The allure of making the right trade draws you in.

and I loved this:

I talk to Florida assistant GM Randy Sexton about Todd Bertuzzi, and he tells me "the guy we like is Perry." I offer him profanity. If you are offended by profanity, it's difficult to make a trade in the NHL. If you are going to try to rob me, at least wear a mask.

It's great to hear what goes on in all these negotiations, but I do wonder how the other GM's feel about him putting this out there.

[Matt 1,048]

When I heard the details of the deal, I thought of your response to my statement in another thread that Detroit should just stand pat.

I prefered the Wings to nix a Bertuzzi deal if it meant Hudler and no "preview" of how Bertuzzi looked prior to the deadline. (In other words, trading away Hudler for a Bertuzzi rental sight unseen.) I always thought it'd be a conditional trade, but thought the Panthers would continue to ask for a more high-level prospect like Kindl or Emmerton.

I thought both deadline deals were fantastic for this club based upon the players we acquired AND what we gave up. The team did a great job.

[Airborn 0]

This is awesome for those of us who have supported Holland.

People on here have bashed Holland as a horrible GM for years while praising Burke as a genius...yet Holland gets two guys Burke wanted for perfectly reasonable deals in a year when prices were crazy.

Just awesome.

Absolutely - I don't know why Holland hasn't received more praise in the press for getting what he needed at such bargain prices when his peers had to give up the farm (literally).

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

That was the most interesting read thats been posted here in a while. Insider info like this is so intriguing.

It's great to hear what goes on in all these negotiations, but I do wonder how the other GM's feel about him putting this out there.

Or the players for that matter. I guarantee this isn't published if O'Brien hadn't been moved (not without some editing atleast).

Edited March 1, 2007 by Never Forget Mac #25

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Up until the Bert deal, I think a lot of people here think Holland's trade blog would go something like this:

Feb 7:

Seem to remember something about a deadline. Taxes? No, I've got a while still. Maybe I'm thinking of Valentine's day. Hmmm...

Feb 13:

Trade deadline! Right. Thank god for Eklund's blog. Otherwise the whole deadline thing would've completely slipped my mind. So let's take a look and see what he's got listed as E4...

Feb 16:

Still avoiding phonecalls from Yzerman and Scotty Bowman. I don't want all their great ideas clouding my thought

process.

Feb 18:

Made a lot of great trades today on my Playstation. Got Crosby and Malkin for Williams and a conditional 4th round pick.

Feb 21:

After looking around a little, this could be a tough year for us. I just don't see a lot of the soft small Euro players that I'm looking for. Instead everyone seems to be offering these big tough wingers who can score.

Feb 23:

Gone fishin'

Feb 24:

Tried to trade Lilja for a bag of pucks to St. Louis, but they were only offering practice pucks. I stood my ground and said no way. Game pucks only. Hey, I drive a hard bargain.

Feb 25:

I had some good offers for Datsyuk, but I figure if he bombs again in the playoffs I'll either re-sign him for the league max or let him walk away and get nothing in return.

Feb 26:

I've been glued to the Tradetracker on TSN all day. The trade deadline is so exciting! I wonder why won't my phone stop ringing? I think my voicemail box is full.

Feb 27:

Wow. Guerin's gone. Tkachuk is gone. Smyth is gone. That all happened so fast! Is Bernie Federko is still playing?

[Winged Scooter 0]

Up until the Bert deal, I think a lot of people here think Holland's trade blog would go something like this:

Feb 7:

Seem to remember something about a deadline. Taxes? No, I've got a while still. Maybe I'm thinking of Valentine's day. Hmmm...

Feb 13:

Trade deadline! Right. Thank god for Eklund's blog. Otherwise the whole deadline thing would've completely slipped my mind. So let's take a look and see what he's got listed as E4...

Feb 16:

Still avoiding phonecalls from Yzerman and Scotty Bowman. I don't want all their great ideas clouding my thought

process.

Feb 18:

Made a lot of great trades today on my Playstation. Got Crosby and Malkin for Williams and a conditional 4th round pick.

Feb 21:

After looking around a little, this could be a tough year for us. I just don't see a lot of the soft small Euro players that I'm looking for. Instead everyone seems to be offering these big tough wingers who can score.

Feb 23:

Gone fishin'

Feb 24:

Tried to trade Lilja for a bag of pucks to St. Louis, but they were only offering practice pucks. I stood my ground and said no way. Game pucks only. Hey, I drive a hard bargain.

Feb 25:

I had some good offers for Datsyuk, but I figure if he bombs again in the playoffs I'll either re-sign him for the league max or let him walk away and get nothing in return.

Feb 26:

I've been glued to the Tradetracker on TSN all day. The trade deadline is so exciting! I wonder why won't my phone stop ringing? I think my voicemail box is full.

Feb 27:

Wow. Guerin's gone. Tkachuk is gone. Smyth is gone. That all happened so fast! Is Bernie Federko is still playing?

Sheer Brilliance!

Edited March 1, 2007 by Winged Scooter

[Wings3:16 318]

Brian Burke scares the hell out of me.