Brian Burke reveals when he will take his next NHL job.

In spite of the fact that he has often courted controversy throughout his National Hockey League career there's little doubt that long time National Hockey League executive and former player agent Brian Burke has long been a respected voice in the world of hockey. 

Even if he has not always been beloved by fans there's no doubt that Burke is an extremely well respected executive among his peers in the National Hockey League and it is perhaps for that reason that many have wondered why he still remains without an NHL job. Burke of course most recently was the President of Hockey Operations for the Calgary Flames, a role he occupied for 5 years before he made the decision to step down in the spring of 2018. As the President of Hockey Operations for the Flames he helped oversee the construction of a highly competitive roster, one that is currently looking like it could do some real damage in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

So with that kind of success in his back pocket it should only be a matter of time before rivals NHL organizations come calling for help right? Well they may be calling, but if they are it has become clear that Brian Burke is not listening to those offers, not really anyways. In a very interesting interview with Sean Fitz-Gerald of The Atheltic Burke answered some pretty direct questions about his future, including "How long until we see you working for another NHL team?" I must admit the answer that Burke produced caught me more than a little by surprise.

"I don’t see that," began Burke as per The Athletic. "I like what I’m doing. I think I’m going to keep doing this. I like it. By the way, there’s no “out” in my contract. I don’t have an out, where I could go back to a team. I signed a two-year deal with Sportsnet, and I’m staying. I intend to make this a second career."

It seems like, at least for the next two years, Burke has no interest in a managerial role at the NHL level, perhaps preferring the much lighter schedule his current role will provide him with. Burke was also asked about one of his more controversial opinions as of late, an opinion regarding the Carolina Hurricanes post game celebrations. 

Like National Hockey League legend Don Cherry, Burke has made it quite clear that he feels the antics engaged in by the Hurricanes at the end of their games are an embarrassment to the National Hockey League. So Fitz-Gerald asked him if the apparent success of those post game celebrations had changed the way he feels about them at all, and if anything it sounds like Burke hates the post game celebrations even more than he did before.

"No. No. I think it’s embarrassing. I’m not going to change my view on it. I think it’s getting worse. The more choreographed and elaborate it is, the more embarrassing it is to me. The first couple were kind of spontaneous and I let it go. Now? I think it’s absurd. And by the way, I think Don and I speak for 85 percent of the fan base in Canada. I think the average Canadian can’t stand it."

It sounds like we are going to get plenty more controversial opinions from Burkie in the next 2 years.