Burke among the 2023 inductees to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
Former Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke was named to the 2023 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class on Friday.
Burke, who is currently the executive director of the Professional Women’s Hockey League Players Association, spent five seasons with the Flames starting in the 2013-14 campaign amidst an accomplished career.
He is among a class that also includes former NHL players Dustin Brown and Jamie Langenbrunner, 1988 Olympic gold medalist Katie King Crowley and official Brian Murphy. They will be inducted into the hall Dec. 6 in Boston.
Burke, who played in the NCAA ranks at Providence College and one full season in the AHL before attending Harvard Law School, was a player agent before spending five seasons as director of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks starting in 1987. He was general manager of the Hartford Whalers before working for the NHL as director of hockey operations for six seasons.
He returned to the Canucks as GM before moving on to become executive vice president of hockey operations and general manager of the Anaheim Ducks, with whom he built the 2007 Stanley Cup championship squad.
He became president and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2010 for three years before joining the Flames. He spent the last few seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Burke also has been part of the USA Hockey for both the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the 2009 and 2010 world championships and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Off the ice, he has been a huge supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, and helped establish the You Can Play project that targets homophobia and promoting safety and inclusion in sports, in honor of his late son, Brendan.
Despite having moved on from the city, he has hosted the annual Brian Burke’s Targets for Kids fundraiser for KidsSport Calgary for the past seven years.
