Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. And it’s especially potent when applied to one’s university years, ex-lovers, and favourite sport teams.

So it was that the asinine rumour of Brian Burke returning to the Canucks as an adviser started getting some play.

https://twitter.com/SatiarShah/status/991706940462936064

Look, we get it.

The retirement of Daniel and Henrik Sedin brought out the fuzzy feelings for anyone who’s ever worn a Canucks sweater. Even those who had been desperately pleading with the Canucks to tank all season started softening their stance to see the twins have a memorable farewell. 

It makes sense then that the man who was responsible for bringing Daniel and Henrik to Vancouver has also started to see some residual love as fans hark back to the olden days.

Add in the fact that Burke and the Calgary Flames recently parted ways and you have the perfect components for a NHL-ready rumour.

Unlike the rumblings that have another recently departed Flames staff member in Glen Gulutzan returning to the organization (who would ostensibly help develop the Canucks young players like he did in Calgary with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau), the idea of Burke coming back to Vancouver is hard to stomach.

For one, in his new role with Sportsnet he hasn’t held back one iota, which is always interesting. What would we do without these gems from Burke?

https://twitter.com/DhaliwalSports/status/991684197428346880

Not a terrible assessment of Benning, to be honest.

But more to the point, Burke hasn’t yet shown to be capable of rebuilding an NHL franchise since acquiring the Sedins in the 1999 NHL draft.

Yes, Burke also unearthed Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa during his time in Vancouver, but also didn’t seem to care about building through the draft, trading first round pick R.J. Umberger to the New York Rangers for a veteran forward in Martin Rucinsky before Umberger even played a game with Vancouver.

Can you imagine that kind of outdated thinking in the Canucks organization now?

And that move wasn’t simply a sign of the times when the draft wasn’t regarded as highly as it is now.

In Anaheim, Burke was able to leverage prospects into veteran players and win a Stanley Cup, mostly because Scott Niedermayer wanted to play with his brother Rob and Chris Pronger forced his way out of Edmonton to California.

But the same tactics failed brutally in Toronto, where Burke tried desperately to fast-track the rebuild, dealing two first round picks (which turned out to be future stars Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton) to Boston for Phil Kessel.

The Flames also had limited success in Burke’s time as president of hockey operations. Calgary made the playoffs twice in his five-year tenure, only making it past the first round against the Canucks in 2015.

They also rifled through two coaches and, last year, pulled a Burke special: trading a first round pick and two second rounders to the New York Islanders for defenceman Travis Hamonic, who was coming off an injury plagued season.

This year, the Flames missed the playoffs, meaning the pick was included in the draft lottery. The selection wasn’t moved up during the lottery, but it sits at 12 overall, meaning the Islanders stand a good chance of recouping a promising prospect.

Meanwhile, Hamonic had one of his worst seasons as a pro, registering 11 points and a minus -9 rating in 74 games. 

The Canucks are now, thankfully, on a path of a full rebuild and management has insisted there are no quick fixes. Why bring in a man who fundamentally disagrees with that?

Leave Burke and his (surprisingly knotted) ties to the Sportsnet desk.

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