Ducks’ Brian Burke gets in final words

Before he declared the end of his feud with Edmonton Oilers General Manager Kevin Lowe, Ducks GM Brian Burke today sought to rebut certain inflammatory statements made by Lowe in a radio interview last week.

Choosing his words carefully in a wide-ranging conference call, Burke did so in light of Monday’s order by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman for both executives to stop their public bickering.

Burke addressed his re-signing of Corey Perry to a lucrative contract, his 2005 first-round pick, Bobby Ryan, the free-agent signing of Scott Niedermayer, and the Southern California hockey market, all topics Lowe raised last week when he referred to Burke as a “moron” and a “media junkie.”

The latest round of sniping began when Burke, in announcing Perry’s five-year, $26.63-million extension, told The Times that Lowe’s offer sheets to wingers Thomas Vanek and Dustin Penner last summer have driven up the prices for young players who become restricted free agents. (Buffalo matched the offer for Vanek, but Penner joined Edmonton when the Ducks didn’t match the five-year, $21.25-million sheet.)

In the radio interview, Lowe said, “What I really want to say about [Burke’s] bickering about parity and the salary cap is if you’re unhappy about them, then trade [Perry] our way. We’ll be glad to have him.”

Burke has asked the NHL to look into whether Lowe’s comments about Perry constitute tampering and wants the league to investigate his successful pursuit of Niedermayer in August 2005.

“If they conclude there’s no tampering, you’ll not hear another word from us,” Burke said today.

Any action taken against the Oilers isn’t likely. Bill Daly, the league’s No. 2 official, said there is no current investigation into Burke’s charge of “tampering” or the circumstances surrounding the Niedermayer signing.

Speaking generally, Daly said tampering penalties can range from moderate to very large fines and can include the loss of draft picks.

Burke also responded to Lowe’s comment about Niedermayer in which the Oilers’ GM said, “I’ve already lowered myself in terms of [talking about] how they acquired him. That’s a story for another day.”

On Thursday, Burke said that if there is an investigation, he expects to be exonerated by the league and wants it to take action if necessary.

“There was no allegations of impropriety of any kind at the time,” Burke said. “We do not feel it is in our place, for example, to create an impression of wrongdoing or misconduct on the part of another team without being able to back it up.”

Lowe also took shots at Burke’s drafting acumen, calling the 21-year-old Ryan “a questionable pick at No. 2” overall behind Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby.

Said Burke: “For Bobby Ryan to have been dragged into this in any way, or criticized in any way, goes outside what we believe is the treatment players should receive.”

Lowe also said Burke is “in a pathetic hockey market,” but Burke cited the team’s 77 consecutive sellouts at the Honda Center in a crowded Southern California sports scene as proof that the market is strong.

Burke said he would abide by Bettman’s directive to can the back-and-forth insults and considers the matter between him and Lowe closed.

eric.stephens@latimes.com