"Before everyone gets carried away with the reformation-of-Alex-Burrows storyline, the Canucks' winger offers this cautionary note.

"I don't know," he says. "I still thought I yapped quite a bit last year."

And that's true. To watch Burrows in a scrum last season was to see a man in his element. The one-liners. The glove to the face. The cocky smirk. Burrows was the total package; a once-in-a-generation pain in the arse.

But say goodbye to that guy. He appears to be gone.

Burrows acknowledges something is different this season. Whether it was pressure from the organization, pressure from his teammates or the simple realization that he wasn't doing himself any good with his street-punk act, Burrows, like longtime friend and fellow former delinquent Ryan Kesler, has returned to the Canucks a changed man.

True, you can still see him fight the almost irresistible urge to backslide, and that's what makes the metamorphosis so compelling. But six seasons after making it to the NHL as a professional agitator, it's occurred to Burrows that he's no longer the kid who had to fight his way up from the East Coast league's Greenville Grrrowl; that he is, in fact, a 29-year-old married man, a 35-goal scorer and a member of one of the NHL's best lines.

As such, there are certain behaviours which are beneath him, and while Burrows isn't exactly a Lady Byng candidate just yet, you just need to consult his penalty minutes this season to understand what's taken place.

Over the previous three campaigns, Burrows averaged 150 PIMs a year.

This season, he has 12 — two fewer than Henrik Sedin ...

"He was the only 35-goal scorer who was acting like Sean Avery," says a voice in the Canucks' organization. "He's too good for that."

"It's a process," says Burrows, sounding like just about everyone who's gone through rehab. "Now I'm a little more mature, a little older.

"Playing with the twins has a lot to do with it. I don't think they want to be involved after every whistle and get punched in the back of the head. Right now, it's for the team. This is part of the changes we had to make.""