dbr wrote:
Whose biggest acquisitions came from assets Mike Keenan had acquired, who was just building with the blocks Pat Quinn had brought in. All hail Jack Gordon!
Burke, the same guy who went into Anaheim, signed Selanne, traded for Pronger, Niedermeyer, Beauchemin etc, and then wins the Stanley Cup. [/quote]
Let me see if I've got this right.
Burke signed Selanne, to a hometown discount, what credit does he get for that? Selanne would have signed anyways.
Chris Pronger's wife wanted out of Edmonton so Burke brought them to Anaheim, good trade but he's lucky it fell in his lap and that he had assets (like Lupul) that the Oilers wanted.
Scott Niedermayer, everyone knew where he was going to sign. Burke is supposed to get credit for getting hired by a franchise that already had been playing Rob Niedermayer for two seasons?
He brought in Beauchemin, big deal, I should hope you'd be able to get a player that good in return for a marquee forward like Sergei Fedorov.
Nevermind all the guys he inherited like Getzlaf, Perry, Pahlsson, Giguere, Bryzgalov, et al.
Big deal.[/quote]
Where to begin on this:
There was no "Hometown Discount" for Selanne. You seem to forget, Selanne looked done when Burke signed him. There was very little interest in him. Only after his signing did he start playing his best hockey in year. Selanne was such a bust in Colorado teams thought he was done.
In what world was Fedorov "Marquee"? He had a horrible contract and was already past-his-prime. Burke was desperate to rid himself of that deal. To save 6 million on a 39 million cap was an incredible deal. AND get Beauchemin? One of the best cap saving deals ever. There's no cup alone without it.
Just because Pronger wanted out, does not mean it was so easy to get him. He somehow convinced Lowe to take Lupul instead of Perry. He had to give Lowe the best deal.
He used Rob to help him get Scott. He still got Scott signed for less than other teams offered.