Why does NHL Commish Gary Bettman want to shut down the fued between Burke and Lowe. It's the most interesting and enjoyable event going on in the NHL right now. You know Vince McMahon would be promoting this like crazy. He would have the two in a ring going at each other as an opener before the next Duck-Oiler game with Don Cherry calling the fight. But prior to that he would have the two mouths yapping at each other just to make sure the pay per view numbers were there. Just shows the NHL knows nothing about marketing.
It all started last July when the Oilers made a US$21.25-million, five-year offer sheet to restricted free agent Dustin Penner and the Ducks did not match it. Burke was immediately critical of Lowe and has never let up. Burke has repeatedly blamed Lowe and the Penner offer sheet for spiralling salaries on young restricted free agents.
Lowe finally shot back at Burke last week during an interview that included some stinging comments about the Anaheim GM on Edmonton radio station The Team 1260.
"I mean, if he wants to debate what our offer sheet did to them or to the salaries, any time," Lowe told the radio station. "The reality is, Rick Nash's contract a number of years ago, (Patrice) Bergeron's and (Ilya) Kovalchuk's; that sets the standard – that's been going on for decades. I'm sick and tired of it. I know everybody in hockey is."
But then Lowe added: “Corey Perry is a hell of a player. What I really want to say about his (Burke’s) bickering about parity and the salary cap is if you’re unhappy about them, then trade him (Perry) our way. We’ll be glad to have him.”Burke shot back (despite the league gag order): “It is our understanding that NHL member clubs are not entitled to express interest in the services of a player belonging to another NHL organization. Our understanding is that such an expression of interest constitutes tampering. We have asked the league to investigate whether a tampering episode has taken place. We’ve asked them to make a full investigation into that. We will have no further comment on this, and whatever the league’s decision is, we will abide by that.”
This is not going to end real soon.
