Once Jobless, Burke Now an All-Star

Sean Burke loves Led Zeppelin. His goalie mask features images of Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. He also reads the writings of the Dalai Lama.

Rock ‘n’ roll and serenity--just the right mix for an NHL goaltender, who must somehow stay calm and focused while all heck is breaking loose around him.

Burke’s “let’s not get excited” approach, no matter what the distraction, has served him well through the ups and downs of a 13-year NHL career.

He bottomed out just before this season began, when he didn’t have a job. Five months later, he is on top as never before, an All-Star for the Phoenix Coyotes, playing so well that Hockey News magazine named him the league’s most valuable player for the first half of the season.

“He’s managed single-handedly to give us the season that we’ve had,” teammate Jeremy Roenik said. “We’ve played very inconsistent except for his play. He’s probably won nine or 10 games by himself. You take nine or 10 games away from us and we’re way under .500.”

Burke leads the NHL with a .929 save percentage and is third in goals against average at 2.04.

On Oct. 30 in Denver, he had 45 saves in a 4-0 victory. Only Curtis Johnson (52 saves on Dec. 10, 1996) and Patrick Roy (46 saves on March 25, 1997) have had more saves in a shutout in the past decade.

On Sunday, Burke will be back on the Denver ice for his second All-Star appearance. His first came as a rookie 12 years and seven NHL teams ago.

“People have to understand the predicament this guy went through,” Phoenix coach Bob Francis said. “He was basically without a contract. He signed with us two days before training camp. He’s had all sorts of adversity.

“He took the approach that the only thing that he can control is his play. What he’s done for us has been phenomenal.”

Burke came to Phoenix in a trade from Florida in November 1999. He was viewed as a stopgap until the Coyotes could be sold and holdout Nikolai Khabubulin signed.

When Burke finished out last season, he and the Coyotes thought they had parted for good. But the proposed sale of the franchise to Wayne Gretzky and developer Steve Ellman ran into complications.

Burke came from his home in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, to Phoenix to retrieve some equipment just before the Coyotes started training camp. He skated for a week just to show the Coyotes’ coaches and management he was in shape. At the last minute, he signed a one-year contract that will pay him $1.3 million. The deal includes incentives that will raise it to $2 million.

A storybook half-season followed.

“There’s no Hollywood to it. It’s fact. I didn’t think I was going to be here. I thought I was out of a job,” he said. “Halfway through the season I’ll be playing in the All-Star game. It’s a good story.”

At 34, Burke credits work with Coyotes goaltending coach Benoit Allaire for his improvement.

“We worked very hard all last season and from day one this year on a lot of little things in my game and just tried to be more consistent,” Burke said. “So far it’s worked. As a professional you can’t ever think that you’ve learned everything.”

Then there’s the Dalai Lama.

“I read a lot of books. That’s one of the ones I’ve been reading this year,” Burke said. “I’ve found that relaxation for me is the key to playing well. Just come to the rink and enjoy what I’m doing, not get wrapped up in everything else that’s going on, not to be thinking so much about the end result. I try to have a sort of inner peace with just the whole game.”

The distractions are still there. The sale of the team is expected to be completed in the next week or so. Khabubulin should sign sometime after that. Gretzky, who will oversee personnel matters, must decide which goalie to keep.

The team won’t have much money, and one of them will have to go. Burke’s performance has turned what was supposed to be an easy choice into a very difficult one.

“They were going to make a decision and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t easy for them,” Burke said. “I don’t know how tough their decision is, but I think it’s tougher than it was in the summer, and that was my goal.”

In the 1988-89 season with New Jersey, fans made Burke the first rookie to start in an All-Star Game.

He said it was a popularity contest based on his strong play with the Devils when he was first brought up to the NHL club late in the previous season.

This time, being chosen as an All-Star reserve by the league’s general managers is even better.