Winnipeg Jets' Evander Kane mourns death of Pat Quinn

Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane is among many in the hockey community paying tribute toPat Quinn, the former NHL player, coach and executive who died on Sunday night at the age of 71.

Kane told reporters that he learned of Quinn's passing as he was stepping off the ice at the Jets' practice on Monday morning.

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Quinn coached five NHL teams in his 20-year coaching career, and also served as general manager with Vancouver and Toronto.

While he never won a Stanley Cup, his teams made the playoffs 15 times. He reached the Stanley Cup final twice, with Philadelphia (1979-90) and Vancouver (1993-94).

Quinn was also a co-owner of the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants, a team that Kane played for early in his career.

"I remember when I was 15, coming into Vancouver, [he was] one of the first guys that came up to me and introduced himself and said hello and made me feel real welcome," Kane said.

Kane remembered Quinn as an inspirational leader who left his mark wherever he went.

"I think just his calm demeanour and the way he was with the guys, and the kind of NHL mindset I think he brought to a bunch of junior players really helped us win and made us successful," he said.

Kane also played for Team Canada in 2009, when Quinn led the squad to a gold medal at the World Juniors in Ottawa.

One of Quinn's crowning achievements arguably came at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where he led Canada to its first gold medal in 50 years.

The Winnipeg Jets took to Twitter with the team's reaction to Quinn's death.

• ON MOBILE? View the Jets' tweets here and here.