West Side (Conference) Story: Burke's Fightin' Words
Brian Burke, Anaheim Ducks general manager, likes a good scrap. He's a big fan of having mindless brutes on the ice and he's a big fan of unleashing those brutes on unsuspecting, smaller men.
With this in mind, Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe better frickin' check himself before he wrecks himself.
In response to Lowe's recent submission of an inflated offer sheet to Ducks forward Dustin Penner (a poorly-concealed effort to hurt the Ducks' salary cap budgeting), Burke had this to say,
"Edmonton has offered a mostly inflated salary for a player, and I think it's an act of desperation for a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."
Apparently, the term "gutless" was also used by Burke to describe his Edmontonian counterpart.
Oh snap!
It's obvious, at least to Dear Lord Stanley, that Lowe better watch his back from now on. Burke is known for sending enforcers to do some dirty work now and again, and Lowe just might find himself face down on the ground with a broken neck.
Dustin Penner, on the other hand, will probably just find himself a lot richer but stuck playing in cold, unforgiving Alberta for a really lousy team instead of sunny Anaheim playing for a really good one. Such is life.
