Sean Burke emerges as name for Vancouver Canucks GM as search narrows

Dhaliwal also went on to speak about who the top finalists could be.

“The usual suspects are all out there, Donnie. A lot of other names that have been bandied about, but Sean Burke is a new one,” he said. “If (Burke) gets a second interview, that speaks volumes too. But yes, you are correct — Patrik Allvin is the one everybody expects to get it.”

Burke is an interesting name to say the least. After an 18 year career as a goaltender in the NHL, Burke transitioned right into organizational roles. In 2007-08, he was hired as the director of player development with the Arizona Coyotes.

He held various roles that included assistant general manager and goaltending coach, but left the club after the 2015-16 season. He joined the Montreal Canadiens as a professional scout out west, but also took on managerial roles with Hockey Canada. He’s served as the general manager of the Spengler Cup and various other international tournaments since then.

Burke has been highly regarded around the NHL for sometime. In the last number of years, he’s interviewed for GM jobs with the Edmonton Oilers, Seattle Kraken, Arizona Coyotes, and Florida Panthers.

In a 2019 Q&A with The Athletic, his role with the Canadiens was detailed as one where he would be assigned a number of Western Conference teams and he was expected to have a detailed knowledge of each and every player within their organization.

While he’s been promoted to goaltending coach on top of his scouting roles, it’s safe to say Burke would have a good grasp on things that have been happening in the Western Conference.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.