from Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post,

Burke, now president of hockey operations with the Calgary Flames, spent parts of five years as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs before he was fired last year. The Leafs dominate the headlines like no other team in Toronto, and their relationship with the media became a talking point after a blowout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, when winger Phil Kessel told a reporter seeking comment: “Get away from me.”

“Look, it’s a different experience in Calgary than it was here in Toronto,” Burke said on Tuesday. “You have 100 outlets covering the Toronto Maple Leafs. So if they have a game like they had in Buffalo the other night, where they didn’t play particularly well, now those 100 people have to single out a target.

“So 20 of them go after the (general manager), 30 of them go after the coach, 30 of them go after the captain, and the rest go after Phil Kessel because he refused to talk to the media after.”

Burke was the executive who acquired Kessel’s rights for the Leafs, a highly scrutinized trade that sent two first-round draft picks (and a second-round pick) to the Boston Bruins in 2009. Kessel has been notoriously hesitant to speak with the media since he arrived.

“Why should Phil Kessel have to talk to these pukes every day?” Burke asked the room.

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