Brian Burke revisits challenging former Oilers GM to a fight: "I'll drive him to the hospital"
Long before the Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg debacle, the Edmonton Oilers found themselves in a much more heated situation involving an offer sheet.
During the 2007 offseason, former Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe decided to sign Anaheim Ducks restricted free agent Dustin Penner to a five-year, $21.7 million offer sheet. This incensed then-Ducks GM, who, at the time, challenged Lowe to a barn fight.
The Ducks chose to let Penner walk, and since then, cooler heads have prevailed. Today, Burke appeared on the Winged Wheel Podcast and explained that he and Lowe have a good relationship.
Burke admitted, however, that at the time, his offer to fight the Hall-of-Fame defenceman was no joke. He even called up Glen Sather, who was the head coach and GM of the Oilers during Lowe’s playing days, to explain just how serious he was.
“I’ll be in Lake Placid at a tournament from August 1 to 3. I will rent a barn, I will kick the sh*t out of Kevin Lowe, and I’ll drive him to the hospital,” Burke said.
Burke then revealed that he believes Sather informed the NHL, because he received a call from league commissioner Gary Bettman a short time later, which helped calm down the entire situation.
According to Burke, the two biggest points of frustration revolved around the fact that he felt the contract was an overpay for Penner, and he believed a heads-up should have been given from Oilers management.
“What bothered me was that, first off, I thought it was a ridiculous amount of money for Dustin Penner, so that pissed me off,” Burke said. “He didn’t even call me and tell me it was coming. Common courtesy would be that you call and say, ‘Look, we’re sending an offer sheet.’ I didn’t get that call, so I was sour.”
Lowe, who at the time of the ordeal referred to Burke as a “moron” during a segment on Edmonton-based radio station 630 CHED, hasn’t commented publicly on the tense war of words since.
Based on Burke’s comments, however, it seems the two have buried the hatchet. Though the entire situation wasn’t one the NHL seemed too keen on, it was certainly one of excitement for hockey fans all across the globe.
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