Brian Burke is a smart man. We know that. We had many years with the fighting Irishman and we’ve seen a handful of shrewd (and not so shrewd) deals during his tenure here.
His latest shrewd maneuver may have been to put Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers.
Doesn’t make sense, right?
We all know that Brian Burke is a difficult man to negotiate with. Sometimes he overvalues his players or undervalues the players offered to him. In addition, he’s crafty. Like Kraft dinner crafty. As the days go by it’s becoming increasingly evident that the Ducks are going to find a way to lure back Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer for another Cup run.
This latest move by putting Bryzgalov tells me two things: One, that Brian Burke was looking to trade the Russian back-up and couldn’t find a partner or didn’t like what was being offered, and two, that Burke may be banking on a bottom feeding team to pluck him off the waiver wire.
And why would Brian Burke offer the uncharacteristic generosity? Considering the fact that Edmonton owes the Oilers three straight first round draft choices in the next three seasons and it’s becoming clear the Oil could finish in last place, Burke wants to ensure that the Phoenix’s, the LA Kings or the Atlanta’s that there’s a premium goaltender available who might just be the answer to getting their team out of the basement. In other words, Burke is helping other teams to ensure that Edmonton finishes as low as possible in order to get the highest draft pick possible.
This has been done before, too, folks. This is how the Montreal Canadiens acquired Guy Lafleur back in the day. Don’t think for one second that history may not repeat itself.
