Say what you want about Brian Burke. You may love him or your may hate him. Hell, you may love the Toronto Maple Leafs or you may hate them. But whether you agree with the way he builds teams or not, you have to admit the man is entertaining.
Jason Farris had a book that came out a little while ago called “Behind the Moves: NHL General Managers Tell how Winners are Built.” Who is this Jason Farris guy? He’s was recently hired as the Vice President of Business Operations for the Dallas Stars, so he has a pretty good idea of what he’s talking about here.
Within the hardback, Farris talks to current GMs like Lou Lamoriello, Ken Holland, and even the always compelling Brian Burke (among many others). If there’s another book out there that talks to a bunch of GMs about running NHL teams, I’ve never seen it. So if you’re a hockey nerd, this kind of thing should be right up your alley.
Let’s be honest: if you’re reading View From My Seats, you’re probably a hockey nerd. The first step is admitting.
The book costs about $100. For that price, I would want an NHL GM to hand-deliver the book and explain the interworkings of an NHL team over lunch (that they pay for). In lieu of personally picking Brian Burke’s brain, here’s a video where he pulls back the curtain and gives us an idea as to what goes on behind the scenes of an NHL organization. If you have about seven minutes, it’s well worth your time.
If nothing else, you get to see Brian Burke rant like only Brian Burke can.
If you liked Part I, here’s a link to another four minutes of Burke talking to Farris including the gem, “if you’re the last person to figure [something] out as a general manager, you’re screwed.”
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
