Burke speaks his mind!

Fans of the Vancouver Canucks will want to pull up the CKNW website, find the audio archive and select Friday, February 20, 9-10 am. Brian Burke was the guest on the Bill Good show and held court on many of the issues of the day.

He spoke briefly and sparingly about his contract status, claiming he never wanted the situation to become the public affair it has become. He went on to say that he wanted to stay in Vancouver, if the team wants him. Also mentioned something strange, he said he "was trying to set up a meeting with Mr. McCaw". Now I'm not one much on knowing how billionaires work, but you wouldn't think that the guy running your hockey team would have trouble reaching you. Something slightly un-nerving about that statement. Would be nice to know where the Canucks sit on the whole issue of Burke's contract. Faithful readers of HockeyNation know we've been calling for him to be signed quickly, that opinion still stands.

After dealing with that smoldering issue, Burke went on to his team and the league in general. The big topic was the hit on Naslund. Burke said he disagreed with his captain on that hit. Naslund says he didn't think the hit was dirty. Burke said that in his opinion the hit was a cheap shot, dirty hit, given by a borderline player on a star. He also said he wasn't going to whine about it to the league office, having done Colin Campbell's job in the past. Burke added that he expects somebody in blue to take care of the situation for him. I assume that means that Mr. Moore had best keep his head up in the next game against the Canucks.

The bulk of the conversation was about the Canucks travails this season and if there were any plans to improve the lineup by the trading deadline. Burke says if there is a deal out there "that makes sense" he'll do it. Suggesting he had a few chances to make some changes but was expected to give up too much.

The hour was typical Burke, candid, outspoken and loyal to his team. The fans for the most part all urged Canuck management to get him signed ASAP. We imagine he should be able to get a call through to John McCaw shortly now.