Flames president Brian Burke likes assembling big teams that play a physical game. That black-and-blue style is the direction he wants Calgary to go in and he thinks the defending Eastern Conference champions would benefit from embracing that philosophy.
“We started that arms race in Anaheim when we won (the Stanley Cup) in 2007 with a big, ugly team,” Burke, who was the GM in Anaheim in 2007, said, per the Calgary Herald. “Now, if you’re not big and ugly, you can’t win in the (Western Conference).
“I think the New York Rangers are finding out the hard way that they’re not big and ugly enough. That’s our goal this summer — to increase our hostility quotient.”
The gap between the Rangers and Los Angeles Kings isn’t huge. Although the Rangers squandered a 2-0 lead in Game 1, they still held their own despite having comparatively less experience playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
Although Burke’s philosophy doesn’t boil down to just executing more hits, it’s worth adding that while the Kings were tied for the league lead in that category during the regular season, the other members of the top five (Columbus, Toronto, Ottawa, and Winnipeg) weren’t exactly top-tier teams in 2013-14. Meanwhile, the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks finished last in hits for the third consecutive season.