Dave Poulin doesn’t know if he’s a candidate to become the next general manager of the Calgary Flames, as he has yet to receive a call from his friend Brian Burke.
Among others, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ director of hockey operations is believed to be a candidate, but Poulin told Sportnet The Fan 590 Friday that he had yet to be contacted by his good friend.
"Brian Burke and I have a long-lasting relationship. We’re 30-plus years together," Poulin said, "and we’ve kept in touch through each of those 30 years.
"This is a game of connections. The natural assumption is that the people he has worked with in the past are people he will work with in the future, but I have not heard anything."
Burke, Calgary’s president of hockey operations, relieved Jay Feaster from his GM duties Thursday and is trying to find a replacement. Time could be of the essence as the Buffalo Sabres, too, are in the process of interviewing candidates to fill their GM role.
Burke expressed interest in interviewing former Flames player and ex-Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk, who is not interested in the position.
Poulin said everybody in his seat thinks of being a GM one day but that the situation must be right.
"You want to work with people that are likeminded and you know and you trust. That’s why you see people that have known each other for a long time work together in our business," Poulin explained. "The learning curve is very constant and steep in this business, and I’m still learning."
Regarding the Leafs, Poulin said the absence of captain Dion Phaneuf due to a suspension for two games, both losses, reaffirmed what a big part of the team the defenceman is.
Phaneuf plays "hard minutes and big minutes," Poulin said, and the team is in "constant conversation" with Phaneuf’s camp regarding his next contract.
Dave Poulin talks Flames GM opening, Dion Phaneuf, and Morgan Rielly
