Brendan Burke’s untimely death is tragic – but not in the typical hockey sense of the word. Our Rob Del Mundo reports from Toronto:
It’s impossible to comprehend the loss for Brian Burke (Providence, R.I.) and his family with the sudden passing of the Maple Leafs general manager’s youngest son, Brendan, at 21 years old.
When the Leafs skated off the ice at New Jersey's Prudential Center on Friday evening, having lost a game in which they held a two-goal lead late in the third period, words such as “heartbreak” and “devastation” were used by the team’s fans and critics to describe the defeat.
But, when news broke of the car accident that claimed the lives of Brendan and his friend Mark Reedy, 18, the unspeakable tragedy overshadowed any on-ice result.
Brendan was described as “a good kid” and a tireless worker by all who were fortunate to have known him. Messages of condolences immediately flowed onto the Web site of Miami (Ohio) University, where the young Burke served as student manager of the RedHawks’ hockey team.
“You never think of something like that happening, and when it does happen, it brings you down a little bit for sure,” said a somber Francois Beauchemin on the morning after the shocking announcement.
Beauchemin recalled with fondness the celebration in which Brendan participated after his father managed the 2007 Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup. That championship team was backstopped by Jean-Sebastien Giguere, whom Toronto acquired from the Ducks last week in a trade engineered by the elder Burke.
“We can’t even comprehend what Burkie is going through at this point,” said Giguere. “We're in shock. It's not supposed to go that way.”
Often in sports, athletes are described as being “courageous” in descriptions of their performances on the ice, or on the field.
But, as told in a story to ESPN just over two months ago, no one exemplified courage more than Brendan Burke when, in December 2007, he disclosed to his father that he was gay. With homophobic attitudes unfortunately still very much prevalent in hockey culture, Brendan’s news certainly had potential for backlash.
“I had a million good reasons to love and admire Brendan. This news didn't alter any of them,” replied Brian Burke, the man who builds his teams on pugnacity and testosterone, in the ESPN piece. “This takes guts, and I admire Brendan greatly, and happily march arm in arm with him on this. I hope the day comes, and soon, when this is not a story.”
In the wake of the tragedy, the Leafs team responded by performing just as their boss would have wanted. They halted the Ottawa Senators’ 11-game winning streak on Saturday, dominating their opponents from start to finish by a score 5-0. For good measure, Miami crushed Lake Superior State, 10-4, on the same night.
Had he known that, Brendan Burke would have been flashing the trademark smile with which he greeted everyone.
“I’ve known Brendan since almost the day he was born,” said Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson (Riverside, R.I.). “It’s just the worst thing that any parent can possibly imagine.”
During the Olympic Games next week, several athletes will be crowned as heroes. The American hockey team, managed by Brian Burke, will certainly be affixed that label should they repeat the “Miracle on Ice” from 30 years ago.
However, when placed in a proper perspective, the greater hero – for his openness in the face of a prejudicial culture – is Brendan Burke. His voice is forever silenced, but the best way for the hockey community to honor his memory is to look past the stereotypical attitudes that unfairly cloud the lives of openly gay men and women.
When the day does arrive at which a person’s sexuality isn’t an issue in the dressing room, Brendan Burke will be remembered as the pioneer of the cause.
Observations
* Ken Hitchcockis gone from Columbus, leaving a key question to be answered: What makes a good coach?
‘Hitch’ has been a winner elsewhere and looked good with the Blue Jackets last year. Perhaps his military inspired-style turned off the young troops.
Then again, the soft touch often doesn’t work either. Ask Tom Renney or maybe even Claude Julien, if his Bruins fail to find the winning track. Replacing Hitchcock is his sidekick, Claude Noel, who is applying a light-hearted touch. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you have a competent goalie, a decent defense and, perhaps, an Alex Ovechkin.
* Bob Gainey’sdeparture as Canadiens GM comes as a shock simply because of its timing. His replacement, Pierre Gauthier, arrives with excellent credentials – and not only because he’s French-speaking. Gauthier has worked as a GM for the Senators and Ducks. Before this promotion, he was serving as Gainey’s assistant.
Habs president Pierre Boivin insists that the Canadiens are hiring Gauthier on a permanent basis. Pierre must work quickly because the trade deadline is fast approaching. His Habs must make some moves in order to solidify their playoff position.
Gossip
* Asked if the Bruins require a new player to score goals, center Marc Savard was wise enough not to put his foot in his mouth.
“That’s up to management. I’ve got a couple years before I get into management,” he joked. “We’ve just got to keep trying and if someone comes in here, hopefully, he’s a hell of a player and can score some goals.”
Savard also realizes what Boston is missing with Ilya Kovalchuk going to the Devils.
“It’s obviously a good pickup by New Jersey,” said Savard. “He’s a good scorer. We would have loved to have him, but it didn’t work out. So we just have to keep going with what we’ve got and, hopefully, it comes from in here.”
* In a recent interview with NHL.com, Rick DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.) offered this about his injury-riddled 20 months: “It's a scary thought when somebody tells you – at 28-years-old – that your career might be over.”
* Sid Crosbygraces the cover of Sports Illustrated; but only the one distributed in Canada. This week’s issue has an Olympics preview. But the U.S. issue omits Sid from its cover.
Stan Fischler can be reached at FischlerReport@aol.com.
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