UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Brian Burke's next road trip will be a doozy.
The Maple Leafs general manager is in the next group of NHL alumni and musicians heading to Afghanistan to visit Canadian and U.S. troops and experience life in the region. The group will be leaving for its morale-boosting tour sometime later in the spring.
Previous trips have included NHLers such as Tiger Williams, Bob Probert and Stu Grimson. The participants usually play a series of ball hockey games at the rink the troops have constructed and get to see some military hardware.
Though some of the troops are in far-flung forward operating bases, they have a huge loyalty to their home teams back in Canada and the U.S. and follow the game results whenever and wherever they can.
The Leafs alumni has been a huge supporter of the visits the past few years and the Stanley Cup has been brought along, too. Burke is a dual citizen.
