BRIAN BURKE on the Pittsburgh Penguins

President of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins and friend of the podcast, Brian Burke takes some time out of his summer to talk with Bob and John.

On todays show, the three discuss the Penguins off-season and the moves they have made so far. Bob and John pick Brian's brain about the salary cap and how to stay under it. We discuss the idea of teams "trading cap space" and how the hard cap influences trades and free agent signings, and Brian shares his opinion on handing out incentives during contract negotiations.

We also get into the deal that brought Jeff Petry to Pittsburgh as Brian talks about the process it took to get him before moving on to his philosophy when it comes to building a team, his relationship with the Pens current GM Ron Hextall and the nuances of working with a former player in the front office.

Before we go we talk to Brian about the shelf-life of NHL coaches and his time in Calgary, getting his opinion on the growing discourse aboutAmerican players not wanting to play for a Canadian organization.

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