Is there anything more fun in the NHL than a feud between general managers? When players don't like each other, it's nothing special – you might get some good scraps out of a players feud but they're often not bright enough to say anything worthwhile to the press. When coaches feud, it's almost to be expected. Every coach thinks every other coach is a hack and they all inevitably accuse each other of goon tactics or encouraging dives.

Now general managers are a different breed altogether. They're presumably smarter than your average bear and they almost have to have a huge ego as a job requirement – don't you have to think highly of yourself to think you're qualified to run an NHL team? So when they don't like each other and voice their displeasure publicly – well, kids, that's when the magic happens.

Anaheim Ducks GM (and potential future Maple Leafs GM) Brian Burke has been taking potshots at Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin for almost a year now – ever since Lowe offered Dustin Penner $21 million over five years to leave the Ducks for the temperate climate of Edmonton. At the time Burke called Lowe's offer "act of desperation by a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."

Burke took further potshots at Lowe throughout the past year until Lowe finally struck back in an Edmonton radio interview on Friday:

"Where do I begin? He's a moron, first of all. Secondly, he really believes that any news for the NHL is good news. Thirdly, he loves the limelight and I don't think anyone in hockey will dispute that. Lastly, he's in a pathetic hockey market where they can't get on any page of the newspaper let alone the front page of the sports, so any of this stuff carries on."

After wounding Burke with that opening salvo, Lowe applied the finishing touch to an excellent rant by concluding, "He's an underachieving wannabe in terms of success in the NHL. He won a Stanley Cup? Great. I've won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings? Who cares, it's just a little pathetic that he carries on."

Ahhh... that's some first-class, Grade-A hatin'! Of course, my enjoyment of Lowe's rant might have something to do with the fact that I'm an Oilers fan. (Side note: contrary to the clearly popular beliefs of multiple angry e-mailers, our hockey columnist Jeff Mackie is, in fact, a true-blue Leafs fan.)

But I mostly believe that I am enjoying this spat both because of its potential to escalate while I imagine their encounter at the next GM meeting. Will Kevin wear all six of his Stanley Cup rings? Will Brian offer to sell Kevin the cheese danish from his complimentary breakfast for 50 bucks? Stay tuned, because this war of words is just starting to get fun.

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