Sean Burke

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For other people named Sean Burke, see Sean Burke (disambiguation).
Sean Burke
Sean Burke.jpg
Burke with the Springfield Falcons in 2006
Born (1967-01-29) January 29, 1967 (age 54)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Hartford Whalers
Carolina Hurricanes
Vancouver Canucks
Philadelphia Flyers
Florida Panthers
Phoenix Coyotes
Tampa Bay Lightning
Los Angeles Kings
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 24th overall, 1985
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1987–2007

Sean Burke (born January 29, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current director of goaltending for the Montreal Canadiens. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings. He was born in Windsor, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto, Ontario.

Playing career[]

As a youth, Burke played in the 1980 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the St. Michael's minor ice hockey team from Toronto.[1]

Burke was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the second round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He earned national attention from his international play, backstopping the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team to a silver medal in the 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and a fourth-place finish for the men's national team at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Burke transitioned directly from Canada's Olympics national team to the Devils. He started 11 games for the Devils in the 1987–88 season, including an overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on the final night of the season that qualified the Devils for their first Stanley Cup playoff series.

Dubbed a "rookie sensation", Burke helped the Devils go on a strong playoff run, defeating the division-leader New York Islanders in the first round in six games and then the Washington Capitals in seven games. The Devils were one game away from the Stanley Cup Finals but lost in Game 7 of the Wales Conference Finals to the Boston Bruins. Burke's play was widely heralded, with The Hockey Digest stating, "Burke is now the franchise for the Devils, and to whatever heights he rises, the Devils will rise with him," and in December 1988, Burke became the first Devil to appear on its cover.[2]

Because he played just 11 games in the 1987–88 regular season, Burke maintained his rookie status for the 1988–89 season. That season, he was named to the 1989 All-Star Game.

Burke played for the Devils through the 1990–91 season, then sat out the 1991–92 season due to unhappiness. Instead, he played for the Canadian national team and played in the Winter Olympics for a second time, backstopping Canada to a silver medal.

On August 28, 1992, Burke was traded to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for Bobby Holík, a second-round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft (used to select Jay Pandolfo) and future considerations.[3] He played there (and with the relocated Whalers team, the Carolina Hurricanes) for six seasons. He was voted Whalers' team MVP from 1993 to 1997. Burke then played with several teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers. He subsequently signed with the Phoenix Coyotes and played there for five seasons, where he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy and third finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy in the 2001–02 season.[4]

After that, Burke played for the Philadelphia Flyers (for the second time) recording his 300th career NHL win (the 20th goaltender to reach this milestone), and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Burke was placed on waivers by Tampa Bay before the 2006–07 season but was not picked up. He then played for Tampa Bay's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Springfield Falcons. However, he struggled with the Falcons and lost his starting job to Karri Rämö. He was then placed on waivers by the Lightning and picked up off re-entry waivers by the Los Angeles Kings.

Burke, a three-time NHL All-Star (1989, 2001, 2002), announced his retirement from professional hockey on September 18, 2007.[5]

International play[]

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing Canada Canada
Canada Cup
Gold medal – first place 1991 Canada
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1992 Albertville
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1997 Finland
Gold medal – first place 2003 Finland
World Junior Championship
Silver medal – second place 1986 Canada

Burke played in 11 games for the Canadian national team in the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics.[6] He served as the back-up goaltender in the 1991 Canada Cup and has also played in 130 games for other Canadian national teams from 1985 through 2003.[7]

In 2020, Burke was introduced into the IIHF All-Time Canada Team.

Post-NHL career[]

On March 4, 2008, the Phoenix Coyotes hired Burke to become its director of prospect development.[8] He was also the assistant to the general manager and Coyotes' goaltending coach.[9]

In September 2016, Burke joined the Montreal Canadiens as a professional scout.[10] On July 25, 2017, he was announced as the general manager of Canada's men's team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.[11] In March 2021, Burke was appointed as the director of goaltending for the Montreal Canadiens.

Personal life[]

Burke and his wife Christy gave birth to their first son Hudson on April 9, 2015.[citation needed]

Burke also has a son Brendan and a daughter, Andie.

Burke currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife, their son Hudson, and Burke's two stepchildren, Alexis and Jimmy.[citation needed]

On November 2, 1997, Burke was arrested for assault of his then-wife Leslie following an alleged altercation at their home.[12][13] Despite the incident, the Carolina Hurricanes chose not to suspend Burke.[14] In January 1998, Burke was fined $200, sentenced to 18 months probation, and required to complete an educational program on domestic violence after pleading guilty to the assault charge.[15][16]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1983–84 St. Michael's Buzzers MetJHL 25 — — — — 1482 120 0 4.86 — — — — — — — — —
1984–85 Toronto Marlboros OHL 49 25 21 3 — 2987 211 0 4.24 — 5 1 3 266 25 0 5.64 —
1985–86 Toronto Marlboros OHL 47 16 27 3 — 2840 233 0 4.92 .862 4 0 4 238 24 0 6.05 —
1986–87 Canada Intl. 42 27 13 2 — 2550 130 0 3.05 — — — — — — — — —
1987–88 Canada Intl. 37 19 9 2 — 1962 92 1 2.81 — — — — — — — — —
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 13 10 1 0 — 688 35 1 3.05 .883 17 9 8 999 57 1 3.42 .889
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 62 22 31 9 — 3590 230 3 3.84 .873 — — — — — — — —
1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 52 22 22 6 — 2914 175 0 3.60 .880 2 0 2 125 8 0 3.84 .860
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 35 8 12 8 — 1870 112 0 3.59 .872 — — — — — — — —
1991–92 Canada Intl. 31 18 6 4 — 1721 75 1 2.61 — — — — — — — — —
1991–92 San Diego Gulls IHL 7 4 2 1 — 424 17 0 2.41 — 3 0 3 160 13 0 4.88 —
1992–93 Hartford Whalers NHL 50 16 27 3 — 2656 184 0 4.16 .876 — — — — — — — —
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 47 17 24 5 — 2750 137 2 2.99 .906 — — — — — — — —
1994–95 Hartford Whalers NHL 42 17 19 4 — 2418 108 0 2.68 .912 — — — — — — — —
1995–96 Hartford Whalers NHL 66 28 28 6 — 3669 190 4 3.11 .907 — — — — — — — —
1996–97 Hartford Whalers NHL 51 22 22 6 — 2985 134 4 2.69 .914 — — — — — — — —
1997–98 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 25 7 11 5 — 1415 66 1 2.80 .899 — — — — — — — —
1997–98 Vancouver Canucks NHL 16 2 9 4 — 838 49 0 3.51 .876 — — — — — — — —
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 11 7 3 0 — 632 27 1 2.56 .913 5 1 4 283 17 0 3.60 .860
1998–99 Florida Panthers NHL 59 21 24 14 — 3402 151 3 2.66 .907 — — — — — — — —
1999–2000 Florida Panthers NHL 7 2 5 0 — 418 18 0 2.58 .913 — — — — — — — —
1999–2000 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 35 17 14 3 — 2074 88 3 2.55 .914 5 1 4 296 16 0 3.24 .904
2000–01 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 62 25 22 13 — 3644 138 4 2.27 .922 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 60 33 21 6 — 3587 137 5 2.29 .920 5 1 4 297 13 0 2.63 .902
2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 22 12 6 2 — 1248 44 2 2.11 .930 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 32 10 15 5 — 1795 84 1 2.81 .908 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 15 6 5 2 — 825 35 1 2.55 .910 1 0 0 40 1 0 1.50 .889
2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 35 14 10 — 4 1713 80 2 2.80 .895 3 0 1 109 7 0 3.85 .877
2006–07 Springfield Falcons AHL 7 2 5 — 0 345 26 0 4.52 .856 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Los Angeles Kings NHL 23 6 10 — 5 1310 68 1 3.11 .901 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 820 324 341 101 9 46,440 2290 38 2.96 .902 38 12 23 2149 119 1 3.32 .888

International[]

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1986 Canada WJC 2 1 1 0 120 7 0 3.50
1987 Canada WC 5 2 2 1 300 12 0 2.40
1988 Canada OLY 4 1 2 1 238 12 0 3.02
1989 Canada WC 5 — — — 275 10 1 2.18
1991 Canada WC 8 5 1 2 479 21 0 2.63
1991 Canada CC 0 — — — — — — —
1992 Canada OLY 7 5 2 0 429 17 0 2.37
1997 Canada WC 11 7 1 3 608 22 3 2.17
2003 Canada WC 6 — — — 329 7 1 1.28
Junior totals 2 1 1 0 120 7 0 3.50
Senior totals 46 — — — 2658 101 5 2.28

References[]

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  2. ^ Jersey purges its demons, Hockey Digest, May, 2003, by Alex Gordon
  3. ^ Bio on hockeygoalies.com
  4. ^ "Vote totals for NHL awards". USA Today. June 21, 2002.
  5. ^ "Goalie Sean Burke announces retirement". CBC News. September 18, 2007.
  6. ^ "NHLPA.com Player Biography – Sean Burke". Archived from the original on 2007-02-07. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
  7. ^ NHL.com Players – Sean Burke
  8. ^ "Sean Burke joins Coyotes front office". CBC News. March 5, 2008.
  9. ^ "Inside the mind of goalie coach extraordinaire, Sean Burke". Hockey Primetime. August 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014.
  10. ^ Fontaine, Hugo; Cudzinowski, Matt (July 25, 2017). "Sean Burke named general manager for Team Canada in Pyeongchang". NHL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2017. The 50-year-old former goaltender joined the Canadiens in September 2016 as a professional scout for the western region.
  11. ^ Wharnsby, Tim (July 25, 2017). "Canadian men's Olympic hockey management team offers no surprises". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Jacobs, Jeff (November 6, 1997). "It Seems To Play Out Sadly For Burke". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  13. ^ Vacchiano, Ralph (November 9, 1997). "Burke arrest latest disaster for Hurricanes". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  14. ^ "Burke may play despite assault charge". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. D2. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  15. ^ "Punishment for Burke". The Washington Post. January 21, 1998. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  16. ^ "Goalie Burke Must Attend Domestic-Abuse Program". Los Angeles Times. January 21, 1998. Retrieved March 2, 2018.

External links[]

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