“A lot of the work leading up to the draft can’t be done remotely,” said former Vancouver Canucks GM Brian Burke.
The NHL is reportedly planning to move to a decentralized draft format, where teams would stay in their home base and draft instead of traveling to a central location.
Aside from the draft, which was held remotely in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the draft has been centralized since 1963. Each NHL team sends a large number of staff members to the event, including the general manager, assistant general manager, various scouts, and even communications staff and other support staff.
According to a report by Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman, and other reporters who chimed in using their own sources, the “vast majority” of teams Voted in favor of decentralization of the draft..
“Under the proposed decentralized model outlined in the Oct. 18 memo, the league would use 5,000 to 10,000-seat venues and have one or two representatives from each club.” Read The Athletic’s coverage. “Prospects will be greeted by Commissioner Gary Bettman and team representatives at the draft stage, have a short photo opportunity after being selected, complete broadcast and media duties, and then be flown to the club’s home base with their families.” It will be sent to you.”
The NBA and NFL both have decentralized drafts, and the NHL is planning a similar format due to a number of reasons, including travel and lodging costs and privacy concerns due to the teams’ tables being so close together. There is a reason.
However, Brian Burke, one of the Vancouver Canucks’ former general managers, is adamantly opposed to the plan.
“I think it’s a really important place and a lot of business is done there.”
One of Burke’s signature moves as general manager of the Canucks was when he led the team to select Daniel and Henrik Sedin with the second and third overall picks in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. It was compatible.
Burke said the trade that led to the Sedins becoming the Canucks and the blockbuster deal he signed for Chris Pronger when he was general manager of the Anaheim Ducks would not have happened with a decentralized draft.
“I made two big trades on the floor [of the draft] — Two big trades were made on the floor, two of the biggest in league history on that floor. ” Burke said on the Jeff Malek Show.. “I think it’s a really important place and a lot of business is done there.”
For Burke, it meant meeting in person with the other general managers involved, Rick Dudley of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Don Waddell of the Atlanta Thrashers.
The really difficult trade was with Dudley and the Lightning, who owned the No. 1 overall pick. Burke and the Canucks had the No. 3 and No. 4 picks, but the No. 1 overall pick to ensure Dudley or Waddell didn’t take either (if not both) of the Sedins before the Canucks made their pick. needed to be acquired.
Further complicating the deal, Dudley wasn’t technically the Lightning’s draft manager until draft day, as the Lightning were in the sale process and outgoing owner Art Williams was notorious for overcommitment. Thing. The Lightning sale was completed on the eve of the draft. If that wasn’t the case, the trade for the No. 1 overall pick might not have happened.
“The decision was made quickly,” Dudley said at the time. “If Art had to do this, it would have been difficult to pull it off.”
The Canucks then traded the No. 1 overall pick to Waddell and the Thrashers for the No. 2 overall pick, ensuring the Thrashers selected Patrick Stephens instead of Sedin, giving Burke and the Canucks the No. 2 overall pick. He gave him the third pick. they needed.
I will tell the full story of how Burke acquired both Sedins in my next book. On the Clock: Behind the scenes with the Vancouver Canucks at the NHL Draft (Shameless Excuse) But suffice it to say, it’s a complex series of deals with many moving parts, and those deals can’t be accomplished without Burke meeting face-to-face with Dudley and Waddell. It’s completely understandable that it wouldn’t have happened.
“A lot of the details involved in the draft, being on the floor, working on trades, talking to people on the side, a lot of the work involved in the draft can’t be done remotely,” Burke said. “Most of it was last-minute meetings in person or late-night phone calls. In fact, we closed the deal on the floor that morning.”
Marek then directly asked Burke if the Sedins would have been the Canucks in the dispersion draft.
“I would say no,” Burke said. “All I can say is… if they had made the change, and it had happened in the remote era, it would have been much harder, much more complicated.”
“They’re going to ruin the greatest spectacle that exists in professional hockey.”
Burke and Marek cited several other good reasons to keep the draft centralized.
“I keep coming back to the players and their families,” Marek said. Seeing me shake the hand of a general manager who just drafted me, or a team that’s trying to help his son take the next step in his hockey career, is really special.
“For me, that handshake — I don’t know, Burkey, maybe I’m just too romantic in general, but that handshake means so much. I really love that moment at the draft. . It’s almost never going to be the same.”
“I think it’s a great drama where the kids are picked up from the floor and put in hats and sweaters, and then the family stands up,” Burke said. “They’re trying to ruin the greatest spectacle that exists in professional hockey… Our draft is special and unique and amazing and we’re going to get out of it. I know that, but it’s really stupid. I think that’s the case.”
Burke placed the blame on the younger generation of general managers driving this change, but his anger may be misplaced.
“When I think about this millennial generation, I think these idiots don’t know any better,” Burke said. “They’re all going to vote for this because it’s easier, it’s more NBA-like, it’s more NFL-like, you don’t have to get the whole staff together, you can do it all in one room.”
For the record, two NHL general managers who fall into the “millennial” generation are Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas and Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson. Only two people.
The generation Boomer Brian Burke should blame is Generation X — about 23 of the NHL’s general managers fall into that category.
