Former Leafs GM Brian Burke joins Rugby Canada’s board of directors

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – Brian Burke is joining Rugby Canada’s board of directors.

Burke, who was fired as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs in January, is currently a part-time scout with the Anaheim Ducks.

But he has roots in rugby. Burke played for Harvard Business School Rugby Football Club while he worked on his law degree.

“Brian has a deep understanding of professional sports in North America and, with his successes and contacts across the National Hockey League and beyond, we’re happy to have him involved with Rugby Canada,” Graham Brown, chief executive officer of Rugby Canada, said in a release Tuesday.

Prior to his tenure with the Leafs, Burke had served as a GM with the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim, winning a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.

A dual citizen, Burke was also GM for the United States men’s team that won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Games and is the director of player personnel for the 2014 Sochi Games.