Almost two months to the day after false rumors of his demise began to surface, legendary coach Pat Burns succumbed to complications due to lung cancer.
It has been almost a week since his passing and the NHL community is still numbed by the news though not unexpected certainly, not welcome either.
Professional hockey lost a number of things with Burns' passing, not the least of which was one of the few remaining members of the "old guard" type of coaches.
Those coaches who wore their hearts on their sleeves every day and were as passionate about their teams as their fans were.
In the 14 years Pat Burns spent as an NHL coach, his teams only missed the playoffs once. He was fired twice, in 1995-96 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and again in 2000-2001 by the Boston Bruins.
Despite these two firings, Burns would go on to coach the New Jersey Devils to a Stanley Cup during the 2002-2003 season and continued to work for the organization until the time of his passing.
Former Canadiens bench boss Jean Perron who not only preceded Burns in Montreal, but also worked with him at a local radio station:
“Wha ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Eric Warren
Toronto Maple Leafs’ Pat Burns: The Passion That Unites Us All
November 25th, 2010 by Eric Warren Leave a reply »
Advertisement