Burke’s extensive impact throughout sport led to Hockey Hall of Fame nod

Brian Burke paused after he was asked about his greatest contribution to hockey.

“I’m trying to think of an intelligent response. I don’t know. Certainly, the Stanley Cup was a big part of it, but I don’t know,” said Burke, who won the Cup while general manager of the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

“I’d say the Stanley Cup and now today. I didn’t expect this today. No one does. No one starts playing hockey and says, ‘I’m going to end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame,’ unless you’re an idiot,” the former NHL executive said to laughs on Monday. “You try to make an All-Star team. You just never think about it. For me, I never thought about it.”

It was one of many moments of joviality in an already happy conversation with the six inductees for the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.

Burke, who will turn 71 on June 30, will go into the Hall as a Builder. Former NHL forwards Patrice Bergeron and Keith Tkachuk and goaltenders Carey Price and Pekka Rinne, and former United States women’s forward Cindy Curley will also be inducted in the Class of 2026.

A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Burke was also inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.

Burke probably got plenty of texts on Monday. Former NHL coach and general manager Lou Lamoriello, who’s known Burke for years, was one of the senders.

“Certainly, a lot of pride, knowing him for so many years,” he said of Burke. 

Lamoriello, who was most recently president and general manager for the New York Islanders for seven seasons (2018-25), was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder in 2009.

“I think I go back with him when he was probably 14, 15 years old, watching him play midget hockey in Edina (Minnesota) and in Detroit. Then coming to Providence College certainly (where Lamoriello coached Burke). The relationship has never left,” Lamoriello said. “Those ties have a way of staying with you.”

This year’s induction ceremony will be in Toronto on Nov. 9.

Since Aug. 29, 2023, Burke has been executive director of the Professional Women’s Hockey League Players Association, the player union of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). He’s also been a big proponent of LGBTQ+ rights. He established the You Can Play project, which targets homophobia and promotes safety and inclusion in sports, in honor of his late son, Brendan.

Burke said the work he’s doing with the PWHLPA and You Can Play “are on the same level” as everything else he’s done.

“My hockey career’s never been separated from those other things,” he said. “When you have a son or daughter who’s gay, they come out, you have to become an advocate instantly or you’re not doing your job as a parent. So, to me, that was just as important as anything else I’ve ever worked on.”

Burke’s management career began in 1987 when he was vice president and director of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks. In 1992, he became general manager for the Hartford Whalers before becoming the NHL’s senior vice president and director of hockey operations in 1993.

In 1998, Burke began his second stint with the Canucks, this time as president and general manager. He helped orchestrate several trades at the 1999 NHL Draft, where the Canucks ended up with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, and drafted twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin. The Sedins were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022.

Burke said getting the Sedins was right up there with winning the Cup as one of his great NHL memories.

“A lot of hard work went into those deals,” he said.

Burke was also president and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2008-13, president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames from 2013-18 and held the same title with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2021-23.

“His legacy is he was his own person,” Lamoriello said. “He didn’t worry about what people thought he did and continues to do what he thinks is right, whether people agree or don’t.

“He has been extremely successful without question. Going through his years in the NHL, the role he played there and certainly going on and winning a Cup and being involved in different organizations and then doing the commentary he does at different times on TV (for Sportsnet). I guess the best way to express it is, he’s extremely comfortable in his own skin.”