Kevin Lowe Verbally Destroys Brian Burke

[asianflow]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242532&l...headlines_main

"Where do I begin?," started Lowe. "He's a moron, first of all. Secondly, he really believes that any news for the NHL is good news. Thirdly, he loves the limelight and I don't think anyone in hockey will dispute that. Lastly, he's in a pathetic hockey market where they can't get on any page of the newspaper let alone the front page of the sports, so any of this stuff carries on."

This guy is an absolute media junkie and I guess he's achieving what he wants because he gets his name in the headlines. But the reality is, I hate the fact that my name is linked to his. He's an underachieving wanna-be in terms of success in the NHL. He won a Stanley Cup? Great. I've won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings? Who cares, it's just a little pathetic that he carries on."

He's all bluff and loud and Mac T (head coach Craig MacTavish) said it best - he's like the Wizard of Oz, you pull the curtains away and there's not much substance."



Wow!

[Psyblast]

Yikes.

[SPTO]

Wow...I hope that Burke comes to Toronto because you know this feud will be magnified 10x more in the fishbowl that is Toronto.

[headrulz101]

Good. I hate Burke!

[mercalnd]

The irony is that Burke was far from being entirely wrong in the comments he made about Lowe. No doubt Lowe's ridiculous offers for Penner and Vanek last year played a big part in some of the ridiculous contracts that were given out this week.

The Oilers are my favorite team in the West and I have a lot of respect for Lowe but I can't agree with those two RFA moves he made last year. I'm not against making offers to RFAs but those two offers were just insane.

[OSUFan_88]

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

The irony is that Burke was far from being entirely wrong in the comments he made about Lowe. No doubt Lowe's ridiculous offers for Penner and Vanek last year played a big part in some of the ridiculous contracts that were given out this week. The Oilers are my favorite team in the West and I have a lot of respect for Lowe but I can't agree with those two RFA moves he made last year. I'm not against making offers to RFAs but those two offers were just insane.

He did nothing wrong, IMO. RFA is part of the CBA, and Burke can't deal with it.

Good job Kevin, dude attacked you first....way to fight for yourself.

[Vince]

he deserves it...burke is a pos. a hell of an executive, but a piece of crap nonetheless.

[mercalnd]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUFan_88

He did nothing wrong, IMO. RFA is part of the CBA, and Burke can't deal with it. Good job Kevin, dude attacked you first....way to fight for yourself.

As I said, the problem is not that he made offers to RFAs. They are indeed part of the CBA. However the offers he made were grossly overpaying for good but far from elite players. This factors into the salary inflation. I don't know how anyone can dispute that. Vanek made 10 million last year for crying out loud. Penner was also overpaid for what he delivered. This is exactly what led to the lockout and it seems they're headed down that same path. I don't know if you followed back then but the cycle went like this:

1-A GM gives a good but not elite player a much bigger contract than players of his level usually get at the time
2-Every comparable player expects the same kind of contract
3-The salary of players of this level becomes similar the the one given by the GM in step 1
4-Rinse and repeat

Salaries went up ridiculously fast in the 90s because of this cycle and it seems we're headed down this path at rapid speed. When a player starts negotiating for a new contract, he generally tends to expect to be paid as well as the highest paid player that is comparable to him. So everytime a guy gets contract that is well over what comparable players usually makes it has a huge impact.

[OSUFan_88]

Quote: Originally Posted by mercalnd

As I said, the problem is not that he made offers to RFAs. They are indeed part of the CBA. However the offers he made were grossly overpaying for good but far from elite players. This factors into the salary inflation. I don't know how anyone can dispute that. Vanek made 10 million last year for crying out loud. Penner was also overpaid for what he delivered.

True he overpaid and that is leading to contract inflation.

But does Burke really need to be trashing Lowe like that? I don't think so.

I think everything Lowe said was pretty much true.

[Psyblast]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUFan_88

But does Burke really need to be trashing Lowe like that? I don't think so.

Nope, but it's what he does. Burke is probably the biggest crybaby in hockey. He cries when his team chokes (Vancouver in 2002 vs. Detroit), he cries when his players get punished for their thuggery (Pronger in the playoffs last year), and he cries when his young talent gets poached (Penner).

Kudos to Lowe for not beating around the bush. I wish someone would beat the **** out of Burke.