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Burrows? Do We Really Need Him?

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PhillipBlunt Canucks Hall-of-Famer

PhillipBlunt

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1 hour ago, shayster007 said:

Apples and oranges. One of Burrs trade conditions was that the team who traded for him would resign him for a few more years. The direction the canucks were moving in no longer left a spot on the team for burrows, and he wanted to continue playing hockey. If he didn't accept a trade, he would have walked in the summer and sought a team who would have given him a few more years and the canucks would have not received a prospect when the situation played out. Ideally I bet Burr wanted to resign in Vancouver and retire here, but that wasn't in the cards.

 

The Sedins will retire when their time is done in Vancouver. They are not looking to squeeze a few more years out of their career with another team in the league. Yes by trading them at the deadline they could compete for a cup and the canucks would receive a pick or prospect, but then they don't get to achieve their dream as retiring together in the franchise that drafted them. 

 

The twins are absolute gladiators and they have earned the right to retire together as canucks. 

Didn't Burrows, Bieksa, and Hamhuis earn the right to retire as Canucks as well?

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MeanSeanBean Canucks First-Line

MeanSeanBean

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19 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Didn't Burrows, Bieksa, and Hamhuis earn the right to retire as Canucks as well?

Sure they did, if that's how their careers would have played out. Each of those players found themselves in the position that the organization had moved past the point where they were viable parts of the team, and they still wanted to play meaningful hockey. For those players to continue to play games, it was best for them and us to part ways. Burrows got his contract and went to a team he was happy with, Bieksa had a say in where he re-located to, and Hamhuis was given the opportunity to choose where ever he wanted to finishes his career and not asked to waive his NTC un-necessarily after freshly coming back from a pretty devastating injury. In my opinion the canucks reacted to each players situation in a respectful way and did what was best for both sides (though at the time I desperately wanted to see a Hammer for Honka trade at the deadline).

 

All this is difficult for me to day because Boom and Burr round out my top 3 favorite canucks behind Trev, and I would have loved to see those guys retire in one organization. Again, each player you brought up, in my opinion, would fall under the exact same apples to oranges situation 

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The Ressurection Junior Prospect

The Ressurection

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16 hours ago, debluvsburrows said:

Emotionally S-P-E-N-T.   Listened to the post game interview with Burr on the drive home.  He said he was kind of glad that they didn't have Luc in the tribute as he would have lost it.  Said it was weird to look to the other end of the rink too.  He sure is a class act and is missed here.

I lost it without Luc in the tribute. I hope when Burrows decides to retire we can sign him for a day so he can retire a Canuck.

Edited by The Ressurection
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apollo Canucks Franchise Player

apollo

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Wow... I just read this article... had no clue there was an offer for a 1st rounder + 3rd line guy for Burr in 2009 TDL. This totally deserves it's own thread in Canucks talk but I don't wana be the guy to get bashed by some haters for putting it in Canucks talk when it's a former player... 

 

Figured I'd post it here :)

 

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canucks-almost-trade-alex-burrows-2009-gilman

 

Gilman and MG were absolute genius with cap.

 

Quote

 

Canucks came very close to dealing Alex Burrows at the 2009 trade deadline

Alex Burrows returned to a hero’s welcome on Tuesday.

A heart and soul player for the Canucks for 12 seasons, Burrows quite clearly had a strong connection with the fans in Vancouver. He received a standing ovation after a tribute video was shown on the big screen.

 

It was the type of ovation you don’t often see when a non-star player comes back to play against their former team. But Burrows is special.

His rags to riches story is well known. So were his defining moments with the team, which includes one of the biggest goals in franchise history, the overtime winner in Game 7 against the Blackhawks in 2011.

He slayed the dragon.

But did you know how close Vancouver was to never experiencing peak-Burrows?

Turns out, pretty damn close.

Former Canucks assistant general manager spilled the beans on Wednesday, during his weekly two-hour cameo with Matt Sekeres and Blake Price on TSN 1040 (listen to the full segment here). Gilman, by the way, has been must-listen radio ever since he began this regular segment with TSN 1040 last month.

Gilman told a few great Burrows stories from back in the day, but the most intriguing one was about how they almost traded him.

Burrows was in the midst of a breakout season in 2008-09. It was also a contract year.

With the trade deadline looming, Burrows was unsigned for the next season and was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The Canucks didn’t want to lose him for nothing.

“We were operating on two tracks,” Gilman said on TSN 1040. “On one track, I was negotiating the contract, or acting as the point person with his agent, Paul Corbeil, and at the same time we were looking at what we were going to do at the trade deadline. And Alex’s name was coming up.”

Gilman explained that teams were asking about the former ball hockey star, but the Canucks were also shopping Burrows in case they couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract.

You can understand why finding an appropriate number for Burrows was difficult at the time. Just weeks before his 28th birthday, the former ECHL player’s previous career high was 12 goals.

Now, after finding a home on a line with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Burrows had 16 goals and 33 points in 62 games.

Was he still a third-liner that simply got hot for a few weeks? Could anyone score with such frequency if given an opportunity to play with the Sedins?

Gilman said the negotiation became contentious.

“(Burrows’ agent) felt without a doubt that Alex Burrows was worth north of three million dollars,” he said. “We just weren’t prepared to make that quantum leap on a long-term deal.”

Still unable to agree to a contract, the Canucks kept talking to other teams until eventually, they found an intriguing trade possibility.

“It got to the day before the trade deadline and we hit on a deal where a general manager called Mike (Gillis) and said ‘I want Alex Burrows and I’m prepared to give you a first round draft pick and a player.'”

Gilman said the player, who he didn’t want to name, was a bonafide third liner at the time.

Gillis and Gilman had a decision to make. So they gave Burrows an ultimatum.

“I called the agent and said ‘you have to make your mind up,'” Gilman explained. “What I told him was: ‘We have a deal to trade him. And you’re either accepting this contract – eight million over four years – or we’re moving him.'”

Burrows’ agent asked to speak to Gillis, who stood firm. When the agent tried to delay by saying that he couldn’t make a deal because Burrows was taking his pre-game nap, Gilman recounts that Gillis said: “Get him up. We’re either signing the contract or we’re trading him.”

Not long after, the agent called back, and they accepted the deal.

Gilman was convinced that Burrows’ agent told him he would earn more money if he waited until after the season when he became a free agent. As it turned out, he was absolutely right.

After agreeing to the four-year, $8 million contract, Burrows went out that night and scored two goals, helping the Canucks to a 4-2 win over Minnesota. He was named the game’s first star.

After the game, Burrows and his wife cracked open a bottle of champagne with Canucks management in the executive office. Gilman says it was the only time they did that with a player.

As it turned out, Burrows’ contract was a steal of a deal for the Canucks. His production wasn’t a blip on the radar.

Burrows went on to score 12 goals and 18 points in the final 20 games of the regular season in 2008-09, helping the Canucks to finish first in the Northwest Division. The next season, he scored a career-best 35 goals.

Burrows ranks 14th all-time in Canucks history in points and ninth in goals. He’s third all-time in plus-minus, behind only the Sedins.

He’s sixth all-time in terms of games played. Every player ahead of him will eventually have their jersey retired by the team. Burrows is a shoe-in for the Ring of Honour.

Burrows is tied for 10th all-time among Canucks in playoff points. He’s tied with Greg Adams for first in playoff overtime goals, having scored three of them.

And of course he’s first in dragon-slaying goals.

Thank goodness we got to see it.

 

 

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J-23 Canucks Hall-of-Famer

J-23

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On 10/11/2017 at 0:32 AM, Rivera said:

Don't know if this has been posted yet but I'll never forget his short handed goal against Carolina.  We were in the middle of a long losing streak and of course Burr was the one to break us out of it.

 

I feel like it sparked the accention of the Canucks into one of the league's elite teams.

 

 

Love this guy!

 

I remember this, used to score many shorthanded goals in those seasons.

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grumpworsley Canucks Prospect

grumpworsley

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37 minutes ago, alfstonker said:

I see Sad Sack Kassian couldn't take losing again and tried to victimise Burr. It seems to me Kassian is just where he belongs - with all the other bigheads at Edmonton.

 

Well played Sens,  humping of Edmonton 6-1

Bahaha still poking the bear I see

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oldnews Canucks Hall-of-Famer

oldnews

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On 10/16/2017 at 11:59 AM, alfstonker said:

I see Sad Sack Kassian couldn't take losing again and tried to victimise Burr. It seems to me Kassian is just where he belongs - with all the other bigheads at Edmonton.

 

I'd flip them a mid round pick for him in a heartbeat.

Love Zack.

Speed, hands and guts - and he has really improved his game without the puck (which was never anywhere near as bad as most people in this market suggested).

We could use him.

Wish him the best, and accept that he needed a few mulligans to get his life in order, but wouldn't hesitate to bring him back.

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alfstonker Canucks Star

alfstonker

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1 hour ago, oldnews said:

I'd flip them a mid round pick for him in a heartbeat.

Love Zack.

Speed, hands and guts - and he has really improved his game without the puck (which was never anywhere near as bad as most people in this market suggested).

We could use him.

Wish him the best, and accept that he needed a few mulligans to get his life in order, but wouldn't hesitate to bring him back.

Fine but his reaction to Burr was still crass and immature - nothing changes.

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riffraff Canucks Hall-of-Famer

riffraff

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Posted
1 hour ago, oldnews said:

I'd flip them a mid round pick for him in a heartbeat.

Love Zack.

Speed, hands and guts - and he has really improved his game without the puck (which was never anywhere near as bad as most people in this market suggested).

We could use him.

Wish him the best, and accept that he needed a few mulligans to get his life in order, but wouldn't hesitate to bring him back.

Just stop.:(

 

 

 

 

IMG_2145.JPG

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Boudrias Canucks All-Star

Boudrias

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On 10/16/2017 at 11:59 AM, alfstonker said:

I see Sad Sack Kassian couldn't take losing again and tried to victimise Burr. It seems to me Kassian is just where he belongs - with all the other bigheads at Edmonton.

 

Well played Sens,  humping of Edmonton 6-1

I would take Kassian back in a heart best! Now that he is gone I can only hope that Virtanen can evolve along the same line. Kassian is playing 2nd line but moves anywhere needed.  

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