Hoge: Burish Eager to Face Old Team
By Adam Hoge
Adam Burish already has a list of former teammates he can't wait to go after Wednesday night.
Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith and Jake Dowell are just a few of the names Burish rattled off Tuesday while standing in an unfamilar place at the United Center: the visitor's locker room.
When told Sharp was gunning for him too, Burish replied: "Sharp hasn't gone after anyone his entire career. Who's he going to hurt? I'm not scared of Sharpy, he's not going to hurt anyone. He's good looking. He's got the nice hair and the nice smile, but that's all he's got going. I'm not scared of him."
Oh, it's going to be a fun one Wednesday night when Burish and the Dallas Stars invade the United Center.
By now, the Blackhawks are more than used to their talkative former teammate who helped them win the Stanley Cup last season. Burish was of course kidding when talking about his good friend Patrick Sharp, but you better believe the Stars forward will be running his mouth and looking to take jabs at his former team Wednesday night.
"I've been excited about it for a while, I've been talking to the guys a lot about it and joking about it. When I walked into the building today it was weird," Burish said. "But I'm really excited about it. I'm really looking forward to it."
After finally receiving his Stanley Cup ring a few weeks ago, Burish and his new team arrived in Chicago Tuesday, which allowed him to catch up with his old friends. He said he accidentally walked into a Blackhawks team meeting and proceeded to sit down right in the middle of it.
"Do I miss it here? Yeah, I miss it a ton," Burish said. "I miss those guys. I miss the fans here at the United Center, but I'm in a good place now. I'm really really happy."
Burish's happiness stems from an increase in opportunity with the Stars. Now wearing No. 16 -- the number he wore in college at the University of Wisconsin -- Burish said he has played against a lot of top lines, including encounters with Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. That's why it was no surprise to hear his disappointment with not being able to play against Patick Kane, who is expected to miss up to three weeks with an apparent left ankle injury.
"I was looking forward to playing Kaner," he said. "I told him he must have the Burish flu. He was a little scared. He said, 'Aw I wanted to play against you.' I said, 'You're easy to play against. I'd shut you down.'"
Burish added that he and a number of Blackhawks players were planning on going out to dinner Tuesday night. No word on who picked up the check.
