"It's not something that can be taught," he said. "I think you have to have the ability and instinct to be in the right place. Some people talk about it being luck but I think some guys have that knack of being in the right place.

"A lot of it is the thinking part of the game, just being smart. It's about finding seams, knowing when to go in front of the net and get clobbered by a defenseman in pursuit of a puck and knowing sometimes you don't have to do that."

Watch the reaction of most players, on the ice and on the bench, when a teammate takes a shot. You can see their anticipation and then the cheering or disappointment. Burton got past that stage a long time ago. He knows if there's cheering, that's fine, and if not, there's a job to be done. Where some players see a puck fall at their feet and think, "Oh my God, it's the puck," guys like Burton and Chris Drury know what to do with it.

"I always anticipate that my teammate who is taking the shot is not going to score and then I think, 'Where is the best place to be when it comes off the goalie?'" he said. "I'm not a super-fast skater and I don't have a super-fast shot. I'm average at just about everything so I guess I have to find a way. My biggest asset, and the reason I've been able to play the game so long, is the thinking part of my game."

Burton is generously listed as 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. That would have been fine in the NHL in his grandfather's day, but would rank him in the smallest five percent today. He's always been smaller but it hasn't stopped him from fashioning a nice hockey career.

"I played youth hockey in Garden City, Mich., and then I played a year of Junior B for the Redford (Mich.) Royals in the North American Junior Hockey League," Burton said. "Then I went to the University of Michigan at Dearborn. We were a Division I Independent made up of local Michigan kids, which is kind of rare in college hockey. We did surprisingly well playing against teams like Lake Superior State, Bowling Green and most of the CCHA teams. We played Michigan one year. We were always about a .500 team. We also played against some smaller schools like Lake Forest, Notre Dame back then, Huntsville, Ala., and some Alaska schools. In college, I played against guys like Mike Peluso, Shawn Chambers and Mike McNeil who played with the Blackhawks and Nordiques."

Blazers General Manager Doug Sauter said the Coyotes gesture to Burton gave him a good feeling.

"The thing I liked about it was how the Coyotes players treated him as an equal," Sauter said. "I think they've all walked in his shoes, especially the guys who played in the minors and got their shot at 'The Show.' Guys like Kelly Buchberger wanted to make him feel part of the team. Joe knew and the Coyotes players knew that he wouldn't get a lot of playing time. It was more of a way of saying, 'Thank you, Joe, for 10 years of great hockey here in Oklahoma City.' It was cool when the fans started chanting, 'We want Joe. We want Joe.' It was kind of like 'Rudy.'"

"I practiced for a week with the Phoenix Coyotes at their training camp then played in the game here against the Los Angeles Kings. It was a neutral-site game and they used me to promote the gate," Burton said. "I had never been to even a Triple AAA camp before so it was my first experience at a higher level. I've watched those guys on TV and played against some of them in summer hockey but I'd never played in as fast-paced a game situation.

"It was a dream of mine to play in an NHL game, it's what every kid who played hockey wants to do. I knew it was a promotion but I was glad to have the opportunity at the end of my career. It was pretty impressive to watch Tony Amonte and Daniel Briere skate."

Burton would liked to get started on his business career then move his wife and children back to Michigan.

"I'll try to get some business experience here before moving back to the Detroit suburbs, where we have a house in Garden City, about a half hour west of the city," he said.

Burton showed he's team oriented when he was asked his career highlight. He also displayed his ready wit.

"We won two championships here and team-wise that's the most important thing in my career," he said. "Last year, I scored my 500th goal in a 3-2 win against Amarillo. I had a hat trick that night and I got my 500th goal off a slap shot. Yeah, I was three feet to the right of the goalie and I redirected a slap shot through the goalie's legs. It was a typical Joe Burton goal."