Fighting Words As Kevin Lowe Fires Back

"Where do I begin?" asked Kevin Lowe.

"He's a moron, first of all.  Secondly, he really believes that any news for the NHL is good news.  Thirdly, he loves the limelight and I don't think anyone in hockey will dispute that.  Lastly, he's in a pathetic hockey market where they can't get on any page of the newspaper let alone the front page of the sports, so any of this stuff carries on."

Where did this come from?

After being relatively silent for the past year after Brian Burke chewed up the former all-star defenseman turned GM about the Dustin Penner offer sheet during last off-season, today Kevin Lowe fired back.

Lowe stated that Burke pretty much destroyed the Vancouver Canucks franchise before he left, citing that Dave Nonis' deals to get Roberto Luongo were the only thing that kept Nonis there as long as he was there.

And then the punchline - "He won a Stanley Cup?  Great.  I've won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings?  Who cares, it's just a little pathetic that he carries on."

And rightly so.  Burke's latest claims that the Penner offer sheet was the reason for the increased and inflated playing salaries for younger players seemed to finally set the Oilers GM off.  Burke blamed Lowe after he had to re-sign Corey Perry to a deal that will play the young star forward just over $5 million a year.

"I mean, if he wants to debate what our offer sheet did to them or to the salaries, anytime," Lowe explained in his interview with Edmonton radio station Team 1260.

"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.  I know our peers are like, 'Well, that's Burkie.'"

"This guys is an absolute media junkie and I guess he's achieving what he wants because he gets his name in the headlines."

Lowe also cited problems with Burke in terms of acquiring Scott Niedermayer as well as Chris Pronger en route to their 2007 Stanley Cup.

The feud has reached a point where other GM's didn't believe that the rivalry was that bitter.  Many thought the two were doing it to increase controversy and grab headlines.  However, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Now we wait for a rebuttal.

Or for Burke to shut his trap...for once.

Sources:

www.tsn.ca/nhl

www.habsinsideout.com