Q&A: Brian Burke still roots for the Maple Leafs and defends the Kessel trade … but wishes they’d played hardball with Nylander

Brian Burke sits on his sofa sipping water, looking exhausted, his tie in trademark fashion — dangling around his neck rather than done up.

There is no evidence in his living room or dining room that he has spent a lifetime in hockey as a player, manager, league executive and now as a broadcaster. Not even a miniature Stanley Cup, the one you get when you win it, as Burke did with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

“That’s upstairs,” says Burke. “There’s no hockey stuff anywhere in this house except for my office upstairs.”

What he does display is an array of family pictures, some maps, including one of Ireland, and a rare 37-star Star Spangled Banner that celebrates his background as an American of Irish heritage living in Canada.

And now he has a book — “Burke’s Law: A Life In Hockey,” co-authored by Stephen Brunt — that explains how he got from there to here: a kid who took up hockey in Minnesota a bit later than most, yet still made it to the pros as a player and a Stanley Cup champion as a manager, graduating from Harvard Law School in between.

The Star sat down with Burke to discuss the book and his life, his time with the Maple Leafs … and regrets.

People in this city got to understand a little bit about Lou Lamoriello, but he was a huge inspiration to you. Sounds like he guided you, both as a player and toward law.

Lou hasn’t changed since I met him in 1972. His values are the same. He was wonderful to me. I was a green kid from Minnesota, one of 10 kids. I didn’t know anything. He was great to me. Taught me how to be a player. Taught me how to be a man, too. I owe him a lot.

You’re a “Hockey Night” regular now, working for Sportsnet. Are you completely finished with team management?

Yes. I have been approached. I’ve gotten two solid job offers since I took this job. I like my lifestyle. I sleep in that bed upstairs every night. That’s the thing I don’t miss. The five years I can’t figure out how I survived was working for the league, all the travel I did.

How hard was it to write the chapter about the death of your son, Brendan?

They asked me to read the book for audio. If you listen to it, you’ll be able to tell it was tough to even read what I’d written. That part wasn’t fun. It was not easy to talk about. Ten years later, it’s still not easy. (Brendan Burke died after a car crash in Indiana at age 21.)

You seem like you’re loving being on TV. You were on fire talking about how lucky the Rangers were to win two draft lotteries.

It’s like when I was in Toronto, people would say: Why don’t you follow the Pittsburgh plan? The Pittsburgh plan? So win a lottery for a generational player and go win Cups. Sign me up. (Rangers GM) Jeff Gorton is doing a great job, but the draft lottery is wrong. You can’t believe the number of hockey people who are imploring me to keep banging on that drum.

Speaking of Toronto, some people still say you gave up too much for Phil Kessel (two first-round picks and second-rounder).

We (management) talked about it. We asked ourselves if there was any chance this is going to be a top-five pick. We said: No, we have a good team. Then we lost nine in a row, or 10 of 11. People say: Would you like a mulligan? I say I’d like a mulligan for the way it turned out — Dougie Hamilton and Tyler Seguin — but Phil Kessel was good for the Leafs. We got what we wanted.

How about Dion Phaneuf. Do you think he was misunderstood in this market?

I think Canadians despise athletes they see as overpaid, and not giving their all. That’s the label they put on Dion. Two things hurt him: He got the big contract, and Dion did a TV show where he’s showing his Armani suits and Swatch collection. I remember calling Dave Nonis and saying, “Whose idea is that?” If you work for Stelco in Hamilton, you don’t want to see that on TV.

Do you see the same things happening with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner or William Nylander?

Not yet. Auston had 47 goals. I hear it with Nylander … his contract was a disaster. I feel like I’m fair when they do something good, like picking up T.J. Brodie, Wayne Simmonds, Zach Bogosian. I’m in. When I see something, I call it in real time. I said it about Nylander, that day. I said they just gave their fourth-best player $7 million a year. What’s it going to cost to sign Matthews and Marner now? Lou would have said: Stay in Sweden.

Sounds like you might harbour some bitterness toward the Leafs.

I’m not bitter about the Leafs. I’m a season-ticket holder. The better they do, the better I do in my job and as a season-ticket holder. I absolutely want the Leafs to win.

You make the point in the book that the hardest part about working for the league is you can’t cheer for a team.

It’s torture, if you’re a competitive guy. I’m at games and praying two things happen: My referees don’t mess up, and I don’t have to suspend anyone.

Now as a media guy, do you root for anyone?

I have a soft spot for my old teams. Mostly players, guys I drafted, or guys I traded for. Obviously that crop dwindles every year. Those guys in Calgary that were there when I drafted, they’ll be there for 10 more years. I cheer for Sam Bennett, Johnny Gaudreau. The one team I’ll always have a soft spot for is Philly, because it’s the only organization I ever played in. I only played one year pro, won a Calder Cup. Flyers were great to me. I scouted for them in my first year of law school.

How do you think the game has changed since you started?

I started in 1987, and it’s night and day. No internet. Finding junior rinks was a major problem. Dave Nonis and I were trying one time to get to a game in Oshawa and could not find a rink. And we could not stop for directions because someone would have said: Those two idiots, they’re running the Canucks and they don’t even know where the rink is. No GPS. No email. Fax machine was state of the art; still have one upstairs. Just the sheer inability to communicate with staff, and the size of the staff too. When I got to Vancouver we had eight scouts; now you’re up to 20 or 25.

What about the game itself?

The concussion awareness, that part’s great. We just didn’t know. We didn’t have any science. What (commissioner) Gary Bettman has done is tremendous. As he’s grown the revenue, he’s invested back in the game. They got player safety (in New York). Used to be me and Dave Nonis; now they have a room with 12 guys watching every game every night: the war room in Toronto. We didn’t have anything like that. Used have four VCRs. Four.

The scope of the league. It’s become a huge factor, a huge platform. Social justice, Hurricane Katrina. The league has turned into a great public service.

The rule changes that came in in 2005, fantastic. Salary cap, great development. Every team has a chance now. Officiating, going to two officials is better. The game is way better than when I started back in 1987. Light years ahead. The product we’re getting from junior hockey is way better. I was part of almost all those positive changes. I feel really good about where the game is today. I voted for all those changes. I’m proud of that.

You say Gary Bettman is one of the most misunderstood individuals by Canadians.

He’s brilliant, and he’s been a great friend of hockey in Canada. I remember in Vancouver, we were losing money and he put in the Canadian assistance plan. He made the American teams subsidize us. We got a cheque for $3 million that year. It might have kept a team or two in Canada. I know when Winnipeg wanted to move, Gary fought it for two years. Said we have to try to make it work and keep the team in Winnipeg. Now with revenue sharing and TV contracts, there’s a team back in Winnipeg. Fans just won’t cut him any slack. His image has to have been polished by the last three months.

Yes, it was pretty remarkable what they pulled off. When do you think it’s coming back?

I think January is realistic with no fans. March or April with socially distanced fans. I think it will be safe with masks and social distancing. It’s never going to be all the way back until we get a vaccine, but we have to play. We can’t give people a reason to switch to other sports. And I think because of the quarantine rule, you’ll probably see an all-Canadian division. You’ll have more back-to-backs, more three-in-fours.

How do you think the pandemic is going to affect the game?

I said right away, we’re not going to play and it’s going to be a massive wage reduction. There is, 30 per cent this year. The industry is not going to recover quickly from this. Teams will have layoffs. Teams are cutting way back. Everyone has had to take pay cuts and furloughs. The industry is in trouble. More importantly, the core businesses of the owners are in trouble. (Stars owner) Tom Gagliardi is in the hotel and restaurant business. How do you think that’s going?

Have you had any conversations with Steve Moore? (The former Colorado Avalanche centre suffered a career-ending injury against the Vancouver Canucks in 2004.)

None. The morning after it happens, he wouldn’t take my call. I got on the phone to (former NHLPA executive director) Bob Goodenow, asked him because I just wanted to see if he’s OK. Goodenow says he won’t take his call, either; nurse tells him he’s checking his emails. Here’s a guy fighting for his life, checking his emails. He could have played again, for sure. The lawyers read the book and said, you’re making some pretty bold claims here, that the injuries occurred in the pileup (as opposed to the sucker punch from Todd Bertuzzi). I said I believe they did. I will believe that till I die. I don’t believe Todd Bertuzzi did anything to that kid. But he suckered punched him and should have gotten suspended.

What happened to Steve Moore should never have happened to Steve Moore. He fought Matt Cooke early in the game. I thought he paid his tab. But the players said he jumped Cooke. So Cooke never had a chance in the fight. Then Sean Pronger comes out and throws him up against the glass, giving him a clear chance to fight. Sean Pronger, not Donald Brashear. Doesn’t take the fight. Todd sees this and now Todd’s chasing him. We’re upstairs screaming, “No, Todd, get off the ice.” And then …

Any regrets?

Oh yeah. I made a bunch of bad trades. Someone always asks me what’s the worst trade I’ve ever made. I answer, “How much time do you have.” I traded Donald Brashear for Jan Hlavac and a pick. You’re going “Jan Hlavac?” Exactly. Now I turned Hlavac into Marik Malik, so salvaged that one. I made some horrible trades. You’re going to — especially if you’re fishing with big lures, you’re going to make big mistakes. So regrets? Yes. Two failed marriages, so obviously I never prioritized that right. Proud of my record as a dad, but not proud of my record as a husband. Worked too hard. Never got the balance right. Didn’t manage up properly. Five jobs. Got an NHL record: Only guy who’s been a GM of five teams. Not a record anyone wants.

But I did a lot of good things. I was honest with my players, made them active in the community, made a difference in every city I worked in. Except Anaheim. I had no platform there. No one knew who I was.

I want people to say this guy was a good guy. You can’t find one player who played for me to say: “He wasn’t honest with me.”