Brian Burke killed the Dougie Hamilton trade rumor with an AK-47.
Earlier this afternoon during an appearance on TSN 1050, Burke was asked about Dougie Hamilton trade rumors that have been running rampant for weeks.
Hey, Burke, is Dougie available for trade?
What came next was radio hall of fame material. Burke defended his GM, Brad Treliving and Hamilton while throwing major shade at the anonymous loose-lipped NHL club that told tales out of school.
“Well, no,… said Burke.
“Let’s step back. This is one where it’s very frustrating when you have to deal with leaks. And as soon as one of the teams that’s in the mix in the leaks is the Toronto Maple Leafs, now it’s an army of leakers. An army of people who have no goddamn idea what they’re talking about, who’ll happily go on and say, ‘The Toronto Maple Leafs are doing this and they’re in on that.’
“This is one where we think we can trace the leak. We got a call. Our GM got a call. Brad Treliving is the GM. "Tre" got a call from a team who shall remain nameless, at least for now. If this goes on much further, I’m probably not going to remain nameless. They said, ‘Would you move Dougie Hamilton.’ And "Tre" said "No".
“We expended a tremendous amount of assets to get this player. We’re really happy with him. He’s a quality guy. He’s 6-foot-5, he weighs 237 pounds, he’s a right shot, he skates like a deer, and he’s a good hockey player.…
Then Burke crushed the rumor with a deluge of sarcasm.
“Yeah. Let’s move him. Let’s get rid of him. It’s not hard to get guys like that. …
It got better:
“So we told this team – and by the way, the offer they made was insulting. So we told the team, ‘No, we’re not moving him and next time you have an idea that stupid, just save the quarter. Don’t go to the payphone.’
“That team started telling teams, ‘Yeah, we made an offer on Hamilton.’
“Now, it’s a rumor. It’s got legs, right. Someone’s like, ‘Well, they must be moving him.’
“We haven’t offered him to anyone. We don’t intend to move him.
“Now, you say ‘If you got the right offer.’ Okay, if someone offers us 20 first round picks are we making that deal? Probably. Wayne Gretzky got traded. But the difference between listening and listening attentively and shopping – those are different things.
“So would you listen? Yes. It’s your job to listen. Is he a guy that we intent to move? Not a chance. Is he a guy that we think will move? Not a chance.…
Boom!! Roasted!!
I feel sorry for the NHL GM who took the proprietary Hamilton conversation to the hockey insiders. Hell hath no fury like a Brian Burke scorned.
Thanks, Nichols On Hockey