Sean Burke

Report: Toronto approached Chiarelli before he took Oilers job

By Dhiren MahibanApr 26, 2015, 2:00 PM EDT

Peter Chiarelli is already at work assessing the Edmonton Oilers depth chart.

The newly appointed President of Hockey Operations and GM of the Oilers was reportedly at prospect Leon Draisaitl’s game with the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night. With Chiarelli on the scouting trip was former GM Craig MacTavish.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Chiarelli has asked MacTavish to remain with the club at a position, which has yet to be defined. Chiarelli is also expected to meet with current Oilers’ head coach Todd Nelson in the coming days.

Friedman reports that prior to Chiarelli taking the Oilers job, the Leafs called the 50-year-old to gauge his interest in the in the Toronto vacancy.

The Leafs fired GM Dave Nonis along with interim head coach Peter Horachek and several scouts on April 12.

Leafs’ President Brendan Shanahan is also reportedly interested in both Sean Burke and George McPhee for GM role. The pair are currently part of Team Canada’s management staff for the upcoming World Hockey Championship.

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Can Mike Smith repeat his incredible year?

By Joe YerdonJul 21, 2012, 2:19 PM EDT

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Perhaps the biggest reason why the Coyotes landed in the Western Conference finals this past season was goalie Mike Smith. Smith’s acrobatic saves, curious ability to draw penalties, and dogged work helped buoy Phoenix even when teams turned up the pressure late in games.

While he was stellar in the playoffs, he was arguably the team MVP all season long. Smith racked up stats unlike the kind he’s put up throughout his career. His .930 save percentage was by far the best he’s put up and was tied for third-best in the NHL with Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist. His 2.21 goals against average was a career-best as well.

Of course, the biggest question facing Smith now is: Can he do it again? Many point to his success in Phoenix thanks to being both taught by goalie coach Sean Burke and being a part of coach Dave Tippett’s system.

While Tippett does have a defensive scheme in place, Jonathan Willis of The Cult Of Hockey says Tippett’s influence is a bit overstated. Goalie analysis blog Brodeur Is A Fraud (a divisive and awesome name, by the way) says Smith’s 2011-12 season is not likely to be repeated and a regression is likely. Good goalie? Yes. Consistently great goalie? Perhaps not.

That said, Smith’s defensive corps in front of him next season is set to be really good, and really deep. Thinking he’ll return to the kinds of numbers he put up in Tampa Bay that saw him wind up playing behind Dan Ellis would be a mistake.

Phoenix names Burke assistant (to the) GM

By Mike HalfordJul 10, 2012, 2:09 PM EDT

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Sean Burke is movin’ on up.

That was the word out of Phoenix on Tuesday as ‘Yotes GM Don Maloney promoted Burke to assistant (to the) general manager.

Burke signed a three-year contract extension with the club, one that will see him undertake a new gig while still serving in his previous roles as goalie coach and director of player development.

“For the past three years, Sean has done a tremendous job working with all the goaltenders in our organization helping them improve and succeed on the ice,” Maloney said in a statement. “We look forward to him continuing in this role and also assisting our hockey operations department in all areas of the business.”

Burke has been largely credited with Mike Smith’s remarkable turnaround, arguably the defining act of his time in Phoenix.

Last season, Smith reached career highs in games played (67), wins (38), goals-against average (2.21), save percentage (.930) and shutouts (eight) — this after he was allowed to walk from Tampa, where he served as Dwayne Roloson’s backup.

What’s more, the Coyotes signed Smith for $2 million — a bargain basement price considering he finished fourth in this year’s Vezina voting (earning two first-place votes) and 11th in Hart Trophy voting.

Anders Lindback will try and fix Tampa’s long-running goalie problem

By Joe YerdonJun 17, 2012, 12:39 PM EDT

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When the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with Nikolai Khabibulin in net, things were looking good in goal. Following the lockout, however, things have been nothing short of ugly for Tampa Bay in goal.

When you run down the list of guys who have taken up residence in the Lightning net since then you can understand why GM Steve Yzerman ponied up big for Nashville’s Anders Lindback.

Take a look at this list of failed goalies since the Cup-winning year: , Gerald Coleman, Brian Eklund, John Grahame, Sean Burke, Marc Denis, Johan Holmqvist, Karri Ramo, Mike McKenna, Olaf Kolzig, Riku Helenius, Mike Smith, Dan Ellis, Antero Niittymaki, Dustin Tokarski, Cedrick Desjardins, Dwayne Roloson, Sebastien Caron, and Mathieu Garon.

Yikes. Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune hears from Yzerman about what he’s hoping Lindback can provide the Lightning next season.

“It’s an important position, I can’t deny that,” said Yzerman, entering his third season at the Lightning helm. “Ultimately, you want to find that starter that you can put in there for 65 games, under two goals against (average) and in the .930 (save percentage) range – and that’s a priority.

“There aren’t many of them out there and it’s a tough position. The consistently elite guys, you just don’t get those guys.”

Can Lindback be the new stud to bring Tampa Bay to glory or is he just another name to add to the list? Lindback hasn’t gotten to prove much in the NHL and his future could be great or mediocre. Who knew Yzerman was such a gambler?

Comparing Smith’s shutout streak to Boucher’s record run

By James O'BrienApr 5, 2012, 8:00 AM EDT

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Martin Brodeur owns the all-time shutout records, but for single-season deals, the Phoenix Coyotes are filling up the record books. Brian Boucher became the unlikely record holder for the league’s modern shutout streak at a whopping 332 minutes in 2003 while Mike Smith made the most saves (54) in any regulation shutout on Tuesday. That goose egg was just the historical exclamation point on a great three-game shutout streak that continues into Thursday, so it only makes sense that NHL.com’s Jerry Brown decided to compare the two.

Here are some of the highlights from Brown’s findings:

Despite needing two more shutouts (and more than 100 minutes worth of scoreless time) to pass Boucher, Smith has amazingly already made more saves (157) during his streak than Boucher (147) did during his.
To put that run in perspective – and raise Dave Tippett’s blood pressure – Smith has faced 45.3 shots per game in the last three contests, so it’s not exactly like he’s easing into those shutouts.
That trio gives Smith eight shutouts on the season, tying a Coyotes franchise record.
Let’s not forget that his great run is coming when Phoenix needs it the most. The Coyotes aren’t yet guaranteed a playoff spot, but if they end up in the postseason for the third straight year, it’ll be because they’re so tough to score on. Credit Tippett all you want but Smith is worthy of praise.

Speaking of praise, Tippett gushed about his goalie, even if he isn’t ecstatic about the defense in front of him.

“Smitty’s been unbelievable. Time after time, he’s made big saves for us and it’s been an incredible run,” Tippett said. “But this is three games in a row now. Right now, thinking about (winning) the division should be an afterthought. If we’re going to have any chance at all, we have to play better as a group. A lot of other guys need to jump in. We have to dig a little deeper. We’re going to have to figure out some things, like lineup changes.”

Perhaps Sean Burke deserves a portion of the credit for the Coyotes not even missing a beat – if not getting stronger – in net after Ilya Bryzgalov’s high-profile departure.

Whenever Smith’s streak ends, it’ll likely be an impressive achievement – and he might just make a little more history in the process.