Dan Murphy

Alex Burrows admits he would not change a thing in how he dealt with the scrutiny placed upon him.

It's hard to believe, but a few important facts were missed in all the ink spilled over Burrows & Auger.

First off, let me state that I am a little biased when it comes to this topic. I cover the Canucks full-time and probably know Alex Burrows as well as any member of the media. I have always found him to be available to the media, honest with his answers and open to all lines of questioning -- when times are good and bad.

Also, what's not to love about his story? Undrafted, toiled for some time in the ECHL, received a tryout contract with the Manitoba Moose, broke into the NHL as a fourth liner and now is part of one of the hottest lines in the game.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's get on with it. I'm not going to get into the things that have reported countless times on this subject. I'm hoping to add a few tidbits that haven't been revealed:

1. Burrows does not regret what he said, does not want to retract what he said and adds he'd go about it the same way even if he had a do over. He knows it brought unwanted attention on himself, his teammates and the Canucks organization and yet he feels strongly that his club was wronged and he did the right thing by speaking up.

2. Nothing was lost in translation. Burrows and Stephan Auger had their little discussion in French and Burrows is adamant that the message from the official was that, "He was going to get him back." Burrows told me a few days ago that during his NHL career he's had a number of referees come up to him pre-game to say such things as: "Stay on your feet tonight"; "Stay clean after the whistle"; "I'll be watching you closely" and things of that nature. You can't tell me that Burrows didn't get a penalty in any of those games and yet he didn't go screaming to the press after.

3. The NHL's stance that there was no way to substantiate Burrows' comments is a little misleading. For one, Burrows told Canucks back-up goaltender Andrew Raycroft before the game (and I'm paraphrasing here) that 'It was going to be a long night because the ref just told me he was out to get me for embarassing him.' Another thing that hasn't been mentioned is that Auger (during more than one TV time out) told Burrows to stay by the Canucks bench if he was going to be on the ice. You see Burrows and the Sedin twins routinely skate around during TV timeouts to discuss strategy and stretch their legs. One of the linesmen came to Burrows during one of these timeouts and told him he'd better stay by the bench. Burrows told the linesman he would do it for him but not Auger; because Auger had been on him since before the game had begun. So at least one of the linesman was aware that Auger and Burrows were not on good terms from the pre-game. Now this may not be much of a revelation because the officials obviously talk before games and during the intermissions about certain players involved in the game, but it at least shows that another offical in the game was aware that Auger had approached Burrows before the game.

Now all this may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but I just felt it needed to be said. I also fully understand why the NHL decided to fine Burrows and yet not discipline Auger at all (at least not that we know about). The NHL has to protect itself, and to admit that a referee could somehow have altered the outcome of a game because of a grudge he held against a player would be a huge blow to the league. The incident was bad enough pub as it was and Colin Campbell and the league had to make a swift and final decision.

Finally, I know that Burrows doesn't have a great reputation with the league and its officials. He has taken some dives and embellished things; the Jerred Smithson hit was a good example. There's no doubt it was a penalty, but by staying down Burrows goaded Auger into calling a major and a match. Neither of which were deserved; however, I don't think this is a good enough reason for some to compare Burrows to Sean Avery and Steve Downie. Burrows has never beeen suspended in the NHL -- not once. Yes he's been spoken to on occasion: spear on Pierre Marc Bouchard, punching Zack Stortini from the bench and leaving his feet to hit J.P. Dumont; however, the league never felt a suspension was warranted.

I hope this whole mess ends up doing some good for the game. I hope Auger learns that he has to be held to a higher standard than the players because it's his job to protect the players and call the game fairly -- no matter what.

I also hope that Burrows cuts out any faking and diving from his game. He's a top line player now and should be able to draw penalties the old fashion way.