Burke: Tokyo Trip ‘Great’

Despite several glaring problems, NHL vice president in charge of hockey operations Brian Burke declared the two-game series between the Ducks and Vancouver Canucks in Tokyo a rousing success.

“It was a great trip,” Burke said. “Not good and not OK, but great.”

Perhaps from a marketing standpoint that was true. And certainly the sellout crowds of more than 10,000 for each game at Yoyogi Arena enjoyed themselves.

But Yoyogi’s makeshift rink, constructed over the swimming pool used for the 1964 Olympics, was a disaster.

The ice conditions were nearly unplayable and there was an almost 10-minute delay while workmen repaired a broken pipe below the ice late in the second game. The pipe was ruptured by a skate blade cutting through the soft ice, and it spewed coolant over the boards and the ice.

“We’ve had worse ice problems in other NHL buildings,” Burke said.

No Duck player or coach could recall ever seeing what happened when Tomas Sandstrom slammed a Vancouver player into the boards and the pipe burst late in the third period, however.

Then there was Paul Kariya’s absence, a disappointment to his legion of Japanese fans. Kariya, a Canadian of Japanese decent, is expected to play in the Nagano Olympics in February. But that was little consolation for those who hoped to see him in Tokyo.

“These games were a lot bigger than one hockey player. This trip was a lot bigger than one hockey player,” Burke said when asked about Kariya’s absence. “I don’t think anyone can complain about the stars we trotted out.”

Asked if the games made money, Burke said: “It wasn’t designed to be a financial winner and it wasn’t. It’s not why we came. We came to put a great big load of fertilizer on the sport and we did just that.”

What he meant was, the league hoped the games would continue to help hockey grow around the world and he thought it had.