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He may well have one of the most recognizable names in hockey and he doesn’t even wear skates.

Brian Burke has built a reputation as a kind of front office phenomenon with a talent for turnarounds; making also-rans into champions. He did it for the Vancouver Canucks, the Anaheim Ducks and now he’s applying his formula to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Educated as a lawyer – Burke attended Harvard after a short stint in the AHL – he became a player agent after graduation. In 1987 Burke received his own “call-up” and moved into the front office of the Vancouver Canucks – his first stint with the team.

A few years later, after a short stop with the Hartford Whalers, Burke gained notoriety as a straight-forward, no-nonsense executive when he became the NHL’s Senior Vice-President and Director of Hockey Operations – the league’s chief disciplinarian.

Burke has a great deal of respect and admiration for the athletes he puts on the ice. He feels an obligation to make sure they get clear direction and he insists his players, and his teams, give back to the community.

It’s a winning approach and Burke used it to great effect during his second stint with the Canucks, then again in Anaheim. The Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007, cementing his reputation as a G-M who can turn losers into winners.

With the Leafs out of the play-offs for another season, Report on Business sat down with an increasingly busy Brain Burke to talk about his turnaround play book.

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