The Sean Burke Story

This all happened just before I really got into hockey, and before the internet also. So I don't know what happened, but I'm wondering.

What was the reason why he left new jersey to play for canada then get traded to Hartford.

This all happened just before I really got into hockey, and before the internet also. So I don't know what happened, but I'm wondering.

What was the reason why he left new jersey to play for canada then get traded to Hartford.

if i remember correctly, he was part of the trade that landed us Bobby Holik ('92 i think). We had Terreri and Brodeur was waiting in the wings, so we really didn't need Burke anymore, and it gave us an important part of 2 cups. I'd say we won that trade

if i remember correctly, he was part of the trade that landed us Bobby Holik ('92 i think). We had Terreri and Brodeur was waiting in the wings, so we really didn't need Burke anymore, and it gave us an important part of 2 cups. I'd say we won that trade

We also got a draft pick which turned into Jay Pandolfo. It was a good trade.

Sean Burke was a free-agent, and the Devils still owned the rights to him. Those were the early days of free-agency in the NHL when compensation had to be given if a player was signed, like Scott Stevens for the Blues signing Brendan Shanahan.

Burke was able to play for the Canadain National Team while the Devils worked out a trade.

Here's a New York Times article (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D81331F934A35750C0A9649582 60) from 1992 about the possibility of the Devils trading Burke. Bobby Holik and a 2nd Round pick (which was used to select Jay Pandolfo) is what Bukre and Eric Weinreich got the Devils.

A funny aside is that I was upset that the Devils traded away Burke. He erned hero status from me for his play in late 1988, going 10-1-0 for the Devils after the 1988 Olympics. I didn't think Terreri was the type of goaltender that could take a team to the next level. What I didn't know was how good the young man that would play the coming 1992-93 season in Utica would be. Early in the 1993-94 season, I realized that Brodeur was the goaltender that would help bring the Devils to the next level.

__________________
Vote Brodeur!
http://cdn.nhl.com/photos/asfb/8455710.jpg
Vote Brodeur! (http://www.nhl.com/allstarballot/)

This all happened just before I really got into hockey, and before the internet also. So I don't know what happened, but I'm wondering.

What was the reason why he left new jersey to play for canada then get traded to Hartford.

Inconsistent play & he also wore out his welcome here. After his rookie run at the close of the 1987-88 season, in which the Devils qualified for the playoffs for the first time, there was sort of a 'honeymoon period' with him and a lot was expected from him. The Devils failed to make the playoffs the next season of 1988-89 and some of the blame was placed on his poor play. By the 1989-90 season, he started to get serious competition from Chris Terreri and played poorly in the 1st round of the playoffs vs. Washington. Terreri took over for Burke in that series, but the Caps ended up winning the series even though the Devils were favored. Terreri now became the #1 goalie for the Devils and Burke was the back up for the 1990-91 season. Because so much was expected from Burke, many times he was booed by Devils fans for his poor performance. He didn't handle criticism well. He was quoted by one of the local papers (I forgot which one-probably the Post lol) for telling fans who booed him to "go to hell". I remember from then on, many Devils fans would chant "Go to Hell Burke, go to hell Burke", everytime he would give up a soft goal or get pulled in favor of Terreri. He took a "play me or trade me" attitude with Lamoriello and was in effect bannished from the team. I think he might have had some kind of contract hold out during the 1991-92 season, and he ended up playing for Canada in the 92' Olympics and played for the IHL for a handful of games. He didn't appear in a single game for the Devils that season. That summer, Lou ended up trading him and Eric Weinrich to Hartford for Bobby Holik. (I just looked up that we also got a draft pick out of that which turned out to be Jay Pandolfo). (If anyone can correct me on specifics it would be appreciated)

Lou really should have traded Burke in 1991-92 instead of letting him sit out and play for team canada. JOhn MacLean blew out his knee in that pre-season, and all season long we had trouble scoring. There were rumors he tried sending Burke to Calgary for Gary Roberts, but Calgary wanted more than just Sean Burke. Thankfully, we got Holik, and the rest is history.

Thanks for the article Puddy, man Hawerchuk would have been pretty nifty to have, but Holik worked out for the better and that Pando pick.