THE BEST…OR THE WORST RIVALRY IN HOCKEY…IS NOT FOUND ON THE ICE…
IT EXISTS BETWEEN THE FRONT OFFICES OF THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS…AND THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS…
AND IT ALL CAN BE TRACED BACK TO MAY OF 2004…
THE CANUCKS CHOOSE NOT TO RE-NEW BURKE’S CONTRACT…
IN THE WORDS OF DONALD TRUMP…”YOU’RE FIRED”…
4 YEARS LATER…HIS RIGHT HAND MAN…DAVE NONIS RECEIVED THE SAME TREATMENT…
THAT DYNAMIC DUO NOW IS RUNNING THE LEAFS…
BUT THAT’S JUST THE START…
IN THE FALL OF 2004…FRANCESCO AQUILINNI BOUGHT THE CANUCKS …
IT WAS THE START OF A LEGAL FIGHT BETWEEN AQUILINNI AND HIS FORMER PARTNERS…
TOM GAGLARDI AND RYAN BEDDIE…
THE BATTLE WAS UGLY AND IT “DRAGGED ON” FOR OVER 3 YEARS…
AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT…GAGLARD AND BURKE WERE AND STILL ARE…GOOD FRIENDS…
AND THE WORD ON THE STREET WAS…IF GAGLARDI AND BEDDIE HAD WON…
BURKE WOULD HAVE BEEN RE-HIRED AS PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE CANUCKS…
IT ALL HELPS TO EXPLAIN WHY…IN THE FALL OF 2008…WHEN THE CANUCKS RETIRED TREVOR LINDEN’S NUMBER 16…
BURKE WAS NOT INVITED TO THE CELEMONY…
KEEP IN MIND…
IN 1988…IT WAS BURKE WHO WAS AN ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF THE CANUCKS WHEN LINDEN WAS DRAFTED…
AND IN 2001…IT WAS BURKE WHO TRADED TO BRING LINDEN BACK TO VANCOUVER…
WHEN TOLD OF THE SNUB…BURKE STATED…”I’M EXTREMELY DISSAPPOINTED”…
LAST SUMMER HE GOT A LITTLE PAY BACK…
THE LEAFS POSTED VIDEO ON THEIR WEB SITE OF BURKE SAYING THE CANUCKS WERE SHOPPING ALEX BURROWS AND KEVIN BIEKSA…
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE…THE CANUCKS WERE OUTRAGED WHEN THEY SAW IT…
THEN IN LATE JUNE…HEAD COACH RON WILSON WENT ON A LOCAL TORONTO RADIO STATION AND TALKED ABOUT HOW INTERESTED THE LEAFS WERE IN SIGNING THE SEDINS…
THIS WHILE THE TWINS WERE STILL UNDER CONTRACT TO THE CANUCKS…
WILSON WAS HIT WITH A $25 THOUSAND DOLLAR FINE FOR TAMPERING…
IN THE LIGHT OF ALL THIS…IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY…TOMORROW NIGHT IS MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER HOCKEY GAME…
LIKE THE MAN SAID…”REVENGE IS A DISH…THAT IS BEST SERVED COLD”…
2 comments:
Dave it was Christopher Plummer as the Klingon Captain in Star Trek Five, I believe, who utter those words, but you are right he is the man. I worked with him a little on Terry Gilliam's last movie The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Anyway here is a video of the other "man" The Mystery Fan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVzRATByEvA
Bryan Burke is a good gm. it's easy to say now but seriously? the day he snagged the Twins....beauty. team u.s.a has steamrolled to the gold medal game.
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