In what is likely the bluntest of his remarks to date, Burke explains the importance of building a new arena for the Flames to a business luncheon at the Canadian Club of Calgary. “We’re not going to make the threat to leave. We’ll just leave. We still have a building that was built in 1983, the oldest in the league by more than 10 years."

"They figured it out in Edmonton, where they know that a new building can rejuvenate the downtown. But I guess we’re just smarter than that here.” Hours after Burke’s comments were published online, Ken King, Flames president and CEO, issued a statement saying Burke is not the club’s spokesman on the new arena and that the Flames are still committed to working with the city toward a solution.

• Calgary Sun: The Best of Brian Burke: Quotables from the former Flames president of hockey operations - https://calgarysun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/calgary-flames/the-best-of-brian-burke-quotables-from-the-former-flames-president-of-hockey-operations