Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin openly told reporters that he’d rather not participate in the 2020 NHL All-Star game in St. Louis, saying that he’d prefer to have the days off to rest.
And those comments really didn’t sit well with a former NHL general manager.
Red Wings fans may remember former Vancouver Canucks GM Brian Burke’s comments during the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs, openly whining to the media over Detroit not being nice to the Canucks’ top players. And now, he’s speaking out against Larkin.
“Well I think it’s stupid,” said Burke in response to Larkin’s desire to not play in the All-Star Game. “This kid is a good kid and he is a good player but it is a honor to be part of the all Star weekend, it is a very important weekend for the NHL and their sponsors and broadcast partners. You should get a speeding ticket on your way to the airport to fly to this game Dylan Larkin, and you shouldn’t scoff at it like that.”
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“A player acquires the right to turn this down, like Alexander Ovechkin, but that is after he played in about 12 or 15 of these, international hockey, all the other stuff he’s done, all the playoffs. Once you have done that you can say no to this game, otherwise if you are voted in get on a plane or keep your mouth shut.”
Larkin isn’t the first Red Wings player to opt out of All-Star festivities. Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom were infamously suspended by the NHL in 2009 for one game for declining to participate.
Burke is currently an analyst for Rogers Media broadcasts, and served as the GM of the Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, and Hartford Whalers.
– – Quotes courtesy of Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News Link– –
