lazy26 Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242532&...os=topStory_nhl After a year of enduring the wrath of Brian Burke, Edmonton Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe finally fired back at the Anaheim Ducks' executive on Friday. I laughed my ass off when I read this. Lowe's response is long overdue, and he makes some valid points. I can't wait to hear what Burke says in retaliation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFT77 Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Had fun listening to Lowe's comments. Can't wait for Burke's response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doktor Kosmos Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 They are both idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoRvInA Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 speaking of idiots! I had never seen this happen to Umberger!1 man sure makes me feel good watching him get clobbered by Campbel! too bad I didtn wacth this during the philly series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I love Burke - here's a guy who is never afraid to speak his mind. And he did so no matter where he was, hockey market or no, GM or working for the league itself. Lowe needs to go back in time to realize that no matter where Burkie has been, he's always had a mouth. Burke is one of the most refreshing guys in hockey. (And he's a great GM to boot - I completely disagree with Lowe's evaluation of his skills.) I have a lot of respect for Lowe, on the other hand, but he's hardly proven himself as a competent GM yet. Since taking over he's done some wild things, hasn't really chosen a path on how to build the Oil, and made those RIDICULOUS offer sheets (which, I believe, every other GM in the league disliked). The jury is still out on his skills. Then again, it's nice to see him stand up for himself rather than just take it. I don't care if they're playing to the media or not, at least it's fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 That was pretty funny. All his antics aside though, I think Burke is a solid GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Bunch of cry babies and kids in the sand box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revvvrob Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I have a lot of respect for Lowe, on the other hand, but he's hardly proven himself as a competent GM yet. Lowe put together a team that went to the finals in Edmonton when no one expected them to have anything close to that kind of season. perhaps if Pronger doesn't decide he wants to move back to the US - Edmonton remains a top club for a couple of seasons. i would never confuse Lowe with being among the very elite GMs of the NHL - but - i think Lowe is as underrated as Burke is overrated. personally - i'm really hoping Burke goes to TO next so that Gainey can put him in his place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
House11 Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 I think Lowe pretty much had a right to go after Burke this time ... all last year Lowe didn't say a thing about all the crap he was getting from Burke. I'm sure Lowe figured he was going to get ripped a little for the offer sheets .... but come on Burke a year later and your still ripping Lowe for something done a year ago ? Get over it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 This is a nice change from the usual ways GM deal with each other in the medias. It's out in the open. But it's kinda WWE-like. I dont think neither Burke or Lowe are that great of GMs. Burke is flashy but he hasn't really stayed long with one team to built it from the ground up and into a multiple years contender the way, say, Lamoriello, Holland, Regier, Rutherford or Poile did in their respective teams for 10+ years. And like Lowe pointed out, Burke left Vancouver with virtually nothing of value. Same thing with Lowe. The Oilers missed the playoffs 4 times in his 7 seasons tenure. He had some hits (Hemsky, Cogliano, Gagner) and some misses (Niinimaki, Dubnyk, Shremp) at the draft. So it's pretty much a 50-50 success rate overall for Lowe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trizzak Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 This is a nice change from the usual ways GM deal with each other in the medias. It's out in the open. But it's kinda WWE-like. Let me tell you something, brother. Let me tell you something, dude. Burke talks a lot of trash, man, but I got the largest pythons in the world brother. SO WHATCHYA GONNA DO! when the Lowester goes WILD ON YOU!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Let me tell you something, brother. Let me tell you something, dude. Burke talks a lot of trash, man, but I got the largest pythons in the world brother. SO WHATCHYA GONNA DO! when the Lowester goes WILD ON YOU!! IF YA SMELLLLLL-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA..... What the Burke... Is... Cookin'. <people's eyebrow> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 IF YA SMELLLLLL-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA..... What the Burke... Is... Cookin'. <people's eyebrow> Then Gainey arrives, flips Lowe & Burke, Stuns them both, gets up on the 2nd rope and downs two cold ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 far as I am concerned Thank god Bob is running the Habs and not one of these morons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doktor Kosmos Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 (edited) I think they both have a good point or two, but like someone else said earlier, they're acting like kids in a sand box. I think that Lowe has contributed to an inflation in player salaries, although more with his offer to restricted free agent Thomas Vanek than the offer to Penner. This seems especially stupid and hypocritical to me becayse Lowe and Edmonton was, unless my memory's shot, among the strongest advocates for salary caps and all of that. I don't see how him making that outrageous offer to Vanek makes it easier for a small market team to compete. That said, I think Burke is the biggest moron in today's NHL. I don't think he's the least bit refreshing, I think he's a fukken dinosaur. Just because you say it loud doesn't mean that what you're saying is right. Empty cans rattle the most. Edited July 5, 2008 by Doktor Kosmos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Lowe didn' go agains the rule book. i's been done before and it will happen again. if I remember, the Rangers signed Joe Sakic to an offersheet that colorado matched and fedorov was signed by Carolina. now if Burke didn't have the cap space to get Penner back, that's his problem. However he got the best of the Deal so he really should shut up. I think Lowe was creative with the signing of Penner or the trying for Vanek. did he overpay, of course but so did the Isles to get Streit or Chicago for Campbell. Lowe has to work in a difficult environment and he did what he had to to get a potential top notch powerfoward. Although I'm not a huge fan of Burke, I still like him. he doesn't give you a BS answer and he's always a good quote. Still, he should grow up and swallow the pill and move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Lowe didn' go agains the rule book. i's been done before and it will happen again. if I remember, the Rangers signed Joe Sakic to an offersheet that colorado matched and fedorov was signed by Carolina. now if Burke didn't have the cap space to get Penner back, that's his problem. However he got the best of the Deal so he really should shut up. I think Lowe was creative with the signing of Penner or the trying for Vanek. did he overpay, of course but so did the Isles to get Streit or Chicago for Campbell. Lowe has to work in a difficult environment and he did what he had to to get a potential top notch powerfoward. Although I'm not a huge fan of Burke, I still like him. he doesn't give you a BS answer and he's always a good quote. Still, he should grow up and swallowthe pill and move on. Completely disagree. Sakic and Fedorov are bad examples because they were vets already when the offers were made. And those offers are the exact reason GMs stopped going after RFAs for so long. Where Lowe f***ed up is by offering these huge signing sheets to YOUNG RFAs who were still vastly unproven; therefore messing up the entire comparative scale for the rest of the League when it comes to 2nd contracts. This was the type of crazy salary inflation the lockout was supposed to have get us rid of, but Lowe had to go and it up because he messed up too many draft picks and trades and didn't have enough quality young players on his team so he went after those other teams drafted and developped. Dumb all around. Lowe is a moron too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAKS-AVENUE Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Completely disagree. Sakic and Fedorov are bad examples because they were vets already when the offers were made. And those offers are the exact reason GMs stopped going after RFAs for so long. Where Lowe f***ed up is by offering these huge signing sheets to YOUNG RFAs who were still vastly unproven; therefore messing up the entire comparative scale for the rest of the League when it comes to 2nd contracts. This was the type of crazy salary inflation the lockout was supposed to have get us rid of, but Lowe had to go and ###### it up because he messed up too many draft picks and trades and didn't have enough quality young players on his team so he went after those other teams drafted and developped. Dumb all around. Lowe is a moron too. It's allowed to be done. The offer was made and Lowe won. There is salary inflation all around, from vets to rookies. I don't think a single finger can be pointed at Lowe. He didn't kidnap the player and force him to sign. Lowe is the one who will get stuck with the salary so he also is taking a big risk by making the move. Burke needs to stop crying and Lowe should continue to keep his mouth shut. I do like the fact Gainey has stated that he would never do business that way, but we have to realize that it is allowed and one day it could happen to us, I thought it might with Big TlTS this year. Now that the ice is broke look to more of it happening in this league in the coming years. I say Keep the prospect pool of high quality and never match unles it is worth matching, teams like the Oilers and Vancouver who are screwed will eventually f**uck themselves. Burke got a shit load of draft picks he'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hahahaha. I love the part where Lowe says his offer for Penner reflected those of Patrice Bergeron, Rick Nash, and llya Kovalchuk. What a moron, putting Penner in that class. No wonder he doesn't think the contract he offered was completely and utterly ridiculous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 It's allowed to be done. The offer was made and Lowe won. There is salary inflation all around, from vets to rookies. I don't think a single finger can be pointed at Lowe. He didn't kidnap the player and force him to sign. Lowe is the one who will get stuck with the salary so he also is taking a big risk by making the move. Burke needs to stop crying and Lowe should continue to keep his mouth shut. Do we need to staple the point to the floor so you won't miss it? Lowe offered a five-year, $21.25 million contract to a player who had only ONE full NHL season and a seven-year $50 million to Vanek who had only TWO full NHL seasons. Both were 2nd contracts who normally would have been lower, if Lowe didn't it all up by offering contracts on a level of established NHLers with a proven track record. So Lowe single-handedly bumped the pay scale of the entire NHL when it comes to 2nd contract players. To say that "there is salary inflation all-around" is just completely and utterly dumb. You just have to look to the damn Habs to see the results of Lowe's stupid offer sheets. Gainey just signed A. Kostitsyn to his 2nd contract. Before Lowe's Penner/Vanek blunders, Gainey could have signed Kostitsyn to around 1.4/1.5 per year; like he did with Plex and Higgins when their 2nd contract came up. But thanks to Lowe ing up the 2nd contract scale, Gainey had to give Kostitsyn 3.25, which is the type of money that was reserved for established 30-goals scorers like Ryder before. So there it is. Plain and simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 and if Burke didn't screw up with Neidermayer and Selanne Sundin would have his number 13 mtl jersey right now. anyways, I just dont see why people take it so much to heart. to me it's just a big farce !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan84 Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Burke is just trying to get in the headlines that is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zowpeb Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Completely disagree. Sakic and Fedorov are bad examples because they were vets already when the offers were made. And those offers are the exact reason GMs stopped going after RFAs for so long. Where Lowe f***ed up is by offering these huge signing sheets to YOUNG RFAs who were still vastly unproven; therefore messing up the entire comparative scale for the rest of the League when it comes to 2nd contracts. This was the type of crazy salary inflation the lockout was supposed to have get us rid of, but Lowe had to go and ###### it up because he messed up too many draft picks and trades and didn't have enough quality young players on his team so he went after those other teams drafted and developped. Dumb all around. Lowe is a moron too. I'm not so sure that you couldn't easily negotiate directly, or with an arbitrator, with the point that as those players were signed via offer sheets they were signed to inflated contracts. I don't believe that those contracts would have a significant impact in any RFA contract negotiations. All a GM has to say is "look we all know that the Penner and Vanek contracts were overpays due to RFA offer-sheets. You're value is in line with players X and Y since they were standard RFA signings the SAME AS YOURS". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAKS-AVENUE Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Do we need to staple the point to the floor so you won't miss it? Lowe offered a five-year, $21.25 million contract to a player who had only ONE full NHL season and a seven-year $50 million to Vanek who had only TWO full NHL seasons. Both were 2nd contracts who normally would have been lower, if Lowe didn't ###### it all up by offering contracts on a level of established NHLers with a proven track record. So Lowe single-handedly bumped the pay scale of the entire NHL when it comes to 2nd contract players. To say that "there is salary inflation all-around" is just completely and utterly dumb. You just have to look to the damn Habs to see the results of Lowe's stupid offer sheets. Gainey just signed A. Kostitsyn to his 2nd contract. Before Lowe's Penner/Vanek blunders, Gainey could have signed Kostitsyn to around 1.4/1.5 per year; like he did with Plex and Higgins when their 2nd contract came up. But thanks to Lowe ######ing up the 2nd contract scale, Gainey had to give Kostitsyn 3.25, which is the type of money that was reserved for established 30-goals scorers like Ryder before. So there it is. Plain and simple. Not sure what your all lit up about. What do you think I don't get? I'm just stating that Lowe is taking a big risk ripping an unproven player with a stupid contract. He obviously believes Penner will turn out to be worth it. These kinds of things are going to keep happening until a team can't afford to do it anymore. Yes, it does have a trickle down effect. It surely screws teams and good GM's like Bob Gainey but it's in the rulebook so how are you going to stop it. I was worried a GM like Lowe would come after Kostitsyn with 5 million so we are lucky to have him for 3.25. Regardless how many goals he has. I think we both can agree his potential is very high. Yes Lowe did single handedly bump up the pay scale but no differently than Gretzky did when he signed for his 1st million or Mario,or Vancouvers 10 mil offer for Sundin, or OV's 10 mill a year. It's a form of inflation and it has been happening forever and will continue to happen forever. What kind of paychecks do you think we would be seeing if 1st round draft picks didn't have a cap on them? There would be 10 million dollar 18 year olds that have never stepped on NHL ice. My point was, It's allowed by the rules and as dirty as that method is ......it will NOT be the only method that will drive up players salaries in the years to come. As long as the cap keeps going up and you keep buying Jersey's and tickets, GM's will find ways to spend your money as Lowe did, whether you agree or disagree with his assessment of a young players worth and potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Let's face it, almost by definition offer sheets are inflationary, If you want to sign a guy then you have to make sure that the offer is one that the other gm will not match. As a tactic it is dirty pool but is legal. I am actually surprised that there are not more of them ,I mean if you see a team in trouble with the cap and you start offering contracts to their RFA's you could put them into very serious trouble quickly. And that is what happened to Big Baby Burke last year. He did not have the room to match and he wants to blame someone else for the mess he created. But to say that those 2 offer sheets resulted in salaries taking the big jump they did is ridiculous. Do I think Penner is worth the money Loonie Lowe game him NO! but neither is Huet worth 5.6 or ryder 4.0 or striet 4.0 and i don't think loony tunes Lowe had anything to with those or the other stupid signings by GM's with far more money than brains. Once again Thanks be to the Creator that we Have Big Bob Gainey to protect us from the infidels :hlogo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.