Burke unsure about moves

With the NHL general manager’s meeting scheduled to begin Monday in Naples, Fla., Brian Burke of the Ducks still isn’t certain what he hopes to accomplish, if anything.

“I’ll be going into the meeting groping around like a sightless person,” Burke said Wednesday. “I’m not sure what I have yet, and I’m not sure what I’m looking for. . . . If we can add at the right price, we will.”

As the Feb. 26 trade deadline approaches, Burke said two issues may affect if and what type of transaction the Ducks attempt: the health of Doug Weight and the success of the Edmonton Oilers.

Weight, a 37-year-old center acquired from the St. Louis Blues in mid-December, will be out until at least early next week because of a shoulder injury suffered during the recent eight-game trip.

As for the Oilers, the Ducks own the rights to their 2008 first-round draft pick as compensation for losing winger Dustin Penner to an offer sheet in the off-season.

Heading into tonight’s game at San Jose, the Oilers have won three of their last four games but still are tied with the New York Islanders for the fifth-fewest points in the league.

With every move in the standings, Edmonton’s first-round pick changes in value, Burke said.

If the Oilers continue to win over the next week to 10 days, Burke said he might be tempted to trade the pick for short-term help, but if Edmonton remains near the bottom of the standings, he said he would rather keep the pick or trade for a player who would be with the team over the long haul.

“If it’s high enough, I don’t want to deal for a rental,” Burke said of the Edmonton pick. “Let’s assume Edmonton is fourth or fifth [in the draft], you’re talking about a 10-year guy. You trade that for a rental?”

Burke, however, was quick to point out that it’s not always the general manager who is pushing for an upgrade.

“A lot of time, it’s the owner barking at you too,” Burke said. “You get up in the morning trying to figure out a way to win, you’re going to bed trying to figure how to win. . . . If you don’t, you’ll get canned.”

In light of the serious neck injury suffered by Richard Zednik of the Florida Panthers, when his carotid artery was cut by a teammate’s skate during a game Sunday in Buffalo, some are asking whether a neck protector should be part of the players’ equipment.

Burke doesn’t believe additional safety equipment is needed. “You can equip a player in such a way that he cannot get hurt,” he said. [But], equipment also becomes a weapon.”

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dan.arritt@latimes.com