NHL Executive Legend Brian Burke (4/10/26)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey, it's Bob Stauffer. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Oilers Now ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. 5.34 in oil country. Bob Stauffer with the Oilers in Southern California. And we are going to head off to the River Creek Resort Casino Hotline. and go to Brian Burke. His appearance is presented by Ultrashine. Commercial cleaning done smarter. Request your free cleaning quote today. Visit Ultrashine.com. He is in a land from the, or a man from the land down under it this time. Anyways, we welcome back Brian Burke. Brian, you're in Australia, is that right?
Correct.
Where are you in Australia?
In Sydney on Bondi Beach, having a couple days off.
What time is it? It's Saturday there already. Is that correct? Correct. We're plus 14 hours, I'm pretty sure. So that would put it at, like, what, 9 o'clock in the morning there? 935, I believe. 935. There we go. Wow. Scouting some Australian hockey players, are you?
No. Visiting my daughter. My daughter is a third-year student at McGill.
She's doing a semester abroad. Oh, nicely done. Nicely done. My daughter is in her third year at Queen's. but in science, in honor of science. But she spends most of her time these days out in a place you're quite familiar with, actually, out in West Vancouver. I think I mentioned that to you before. Were you surprised that the Toronto Maple Leafs did not reach out to you? Or maybe you are actually being a consultant for the Maple Leafs organization, Keith Pelley and Company. What do you think of everything that's gone on in Toronto here over the last three weeks?
Where is Brian Burke calling in from and why is he in Australia?
Well, I think Keith Pelley is a friend of mine. We've been friends a long time since he worked at TSM when I was there. We've been friends for a long time. I'm not consulting with him on this stuff. He is consulting other people, obviously. He's got all the help he needs right now. He hasn't asked me for any.
Brian, you obviously were a man of gravitas when you went into Toronto at that point. I'm just trying to think. Hartford, Vancouver, Anaheim. Right. Right. Lots of experience. Do you think it's a prerequisite for the Toronto job? Now, maybe you split the job. First of all, do you need two different peoples? Do you need a president and then a GM, or can it be a president-general-manager combination position?
I think you can do a combination if you get the right people. It's all about the right people. It's all about having a fit. Having a president in hockey operations that doesn't share your vision, that doesn't work. So if you have the right fit, any format can work.
Keith talked about data and information points, and that led some people... into believing that, you know, somebody with a strong analytics background is required. If that person has never been an NHL general manager, could that be more challenging? I mean, you might have the analytics stuff up the wazoo, but you need to have a little bit of currency in terms of, I mean, you're going to as competitive as a hockey market as there is on the planet.
Yeah, I think you can staff up. You can always add people to your staff and add the expertise they need. But at some point, having training wheels on your GM, I'm not sure it makes sense to draw. I've said that before, not just in this case. So I'm not sure that works, but you can staff up.
Were you secretly doing analytics as far back as your days in Hartford?
We didn't call it that, but the analytics that were provided to us, we used. I think you ignore statistical data at your peril. I've said this from the start. When Moneyball came out, I bought 20 copies of the book and made everyone on my staff read it right away. That was 20 years ago. I think you ignore statistical data at your peril. Something tells you, don't draft this guy because of this. You have to pay attention to it. You may have other information. You may overrule that pick. You may say, our information is that this guy is going to be a good player. But you ignore that data at your peril.
We're joined by Brian Burke. He is down in Sydney, Australia. His appearance is presented by Ultrashine.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:18
2
Where is Brian Burke calling in from and why is he in Australia?
2:18–8:19
3
Did Brian Burke consult for the Toronto Maple Leafs after recent changes?
8:19–12:43
4
Can one person serve as both president and general manager in Toronto?
12:43–14:53
5
Should teams prioritize analytics when hiring a general manager?
14:53–15:15