Over the holidays we’ll be re-visiting staff writers’ favourite pieces from 2015. Today: Luke Fox explains how an unscripted question lead to his favourite byline of 2015.
The greatest answer from the most peculiar player in the oddest setting came from a question that was never scribbled in my notebook.
Covering the NHL Awards is a grind of the funnest variety. (I mean, the thing takes place in Vegas and you may or may not run into Daniel Alfredsson and he may or may not regale you with some incredible off-the-record stories into the wee hours.)
After tuxedoed players win their trophies, they’re whisked into a media area offstage where they stand at a podium and meet variants of “What does it mean to you to win?”
Brent Burns had claimed the Foundation Player Award, which, y’know, when compared to the Norris or Hart, doesn’t register as high on the prestige scale. With Carey Price needing helpers to tote all his hardware, Burns wasn’t exactly the story of the night.
So Burns starts talking enthusiastically about his connection with Defending the Blue Line, and it comes from a genuine place. He says his two major passions are the military and animals.
At this point, most of the reporters started to wander away to grab Aaron Ekblad quotes.
Tired and curious, I hit Burns with the hammer: What is your favourite animal?
For five minutes, the dude went off, excitedly discussing his love for crocodiles, his penchant for kangaroos, and his soft spot for giant sea turtles. That all these giddy Wild Kratts tidbits were spewing from a big beard and bowtie in a swanky Vegas casino made the whole thing silly and surreal.
I looked over at his PR handler, and she was laughing. The next winner needed to take the podium, but Burns was still on a high, talking reptiles and predators.
Then he provided me with my favourite headline all year: “Brent Burns wants a tiger, but his wife says no.”
Later, I learned a reader of the article made this Photoshop.
And they say there are no personalities in the NHL…
——
Excerpt: Brent Burns wants a tiger but his wife says no
The San Jose and Team Canada star — meaty beard, meagre teeth — was dressed in a blue tuxedo, complete with bowtie, yet his personality managed to outduel his appearance. (If he was going for the “James Bond meets wookie” look, dude nailed it.)
He spoke excitedly about his charity work with Defending the Blue Line, and his efforts to bring military families to hockey games and practices had helped land him the 2015 NHL Foundation Award.
But we got him chatting about that other passion, too.
Fitting that a Shark wants to swim with one. Appropriate that the only NHL player with his own evolution chart is a big animal guy, and has been since he can remember.
So we asked Burns a simple question that led to a lengthy and wonderful monologue:
What is your favourite animal?
Full story: Brent Burns wants a tiger but his wife says no
More of Luke’s favourites from 2015:
Connor McDavid, Lucky Bill and the golden ticket
Q&A: Domi on Leafs, enforcers and his BFF Lemieux
Shot Callers: Q&A with Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick
NHL Power Rankings: Haikus for all 30 teams
