Former NHL coach Pat Burns dies

Pat Burns, one of the most successful NHL coaches of the past 20 years, died Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Burns, 58,diedwhile surrounded by his family at La Maison Aube-Lumire in Sherbrooke, Que.

During his 14-year NHL coaching career, Burns posted a 501-353-151-14 record in 1,019 games behind the bench of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils.

Burns won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2003, and is the only person in league history to win three Jack Adams Trophies, awarded to the NHL's coach of the year.

"Just as they will remember Pat for his success as a coach, hockey fans also will remember his humour, his honesty, his humanity and his courage. As it mourns the loss of an outstanding contributor to the game, the National Hockey League sends heartfelt condolences to Pat's family and friends," NHL commissionerGary Bettman said in astatement.

A former police officer from Gatineau, Que., known for his passion, Burns took over as coach of the Habs in 1988 after serving as the bench boss of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Hull Olympiques and the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League.

Within a year of his arrival, Montreal was playing in the Stanley Cup final, and even though the Habs lost to the Calgary Flames in six games, Burns's star was on the rise as he won the Jack Adams Trophy at the end of the season.

His next port of call was Toronto, where he made an immediate impact, guiding the Maple Leafs to the 1993 conference finals and winning another Jack Adams Trophy in his first campaign with the club.

"Pat forged a tremendous bond, not only with a very good veteran team in Toronto, but also with Leafs fans everywhere," said Cliff Fletcher, the Leafs senior adviser and the general managerresponsible for bringing Burns to Toronto.

"He commanded respect from the players and the team quickly had great success while taking on the identity of the head coach. The Leafs rise at the time was a testament to Pats strength, toughness and determination. Hiring him 18 years ago was easily my best decision in hockey, and we developed a great friendship that I will always treasure. Pat will be greatly missed."

Burns and the Leafs made the conference finals the next year, but he was fired during the 1995-96 season.

Unprecedented success

Burns wasn't out of work for long, as he landed the head-coaching job with the Bruins, andwon an unprecedented third Jack Adamsaward in 1998.

"On behalf of the Jacobs family [Jeremy Jacobs is the owner of the Bruins] and the entire Boston Bruins family, I would like to express our deep sorrow on the passing of Pat Burns," saidBruins president andHall of Fame player Cam Neely. "Pat was a great coach and more importantly a wonderful man.The Bruins are honoured to have him as a part of our history. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burns family."

Success in Boston was fleeting asthe Bruinsmissed the playoffs in 2000. It was the only time a team coached by Burns failed to qualify for the post-season.

A poor start to the 2000-01 campaign resulted in his being fired after only eight games, but Burns had the last laugh as coach of New Jersey, guiding the Devils past the Bruins in the first round of the 2003 playoffs en route to winning the Stanley Cup.

Burns was on top of the hockey world, but his career took a life-altering direction following the 2003-04 season when he was forced to step down as coach of the Devils after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

He survivedcolon cancer but was diagnosed with liver cancer the following year. Once again, he beat it and everything appeared to be back to normal in his life.

But in 2009, Burns revealed he had been diagnosed with cancera third time, this time lung cancer.

During his final years,Burns lived in Florida, where he attended NHL games in Tampa Bay as a consultant for the Devils. He credited his wifeLine for helping him win his cancer battles, and always stressed that he didn't want hockey fans to pity him.

"I don't want anybody feeling sorry for me. I've had a great life, I've had an enjoyable life, I've had some fun," Burns told Scott Morrison of Hockey Night in Canada in 2009.

"I've been lucky to be part of one of the greatest sports around [and] the National Hockey League."

Erroneous demise

There were erroneous reports on Sept. 17 that Burns had died. Twitter went ablaze with the newsand some media websites reported the story,but Burns confirmed to Morrison he was very much alive and merely visiting family in Quebec.

"Tell them I'm alive. Set them straight," he said at the time.

Burns'slast public appearance was in early OctoberinStanstead, Que., for the groundbreakingceremony for an arena to be named after him.In March, Prime Minister Stephen Harper greeted the ailing Burns in announcing the arena's construction.

"I had the privilege of meeting with Pat Burns in March when the Government of Canada joined with the City of Stanstead and the Government of Quebec to announce that a new hockey arena would be built and named in honour of a man best known for his tough and gritty approach to the game of hockey," saidthe prime minister in a statement Friday. "He met his final and most difficult battle with that same tough and gritty spirit.

"Canada has lost a sports legend today, but Pat Burns' legacy will live on in the players and coaches whose careers he touched, as well as the young people who will skate in the Pat Burns Arena for years to come. He will not soon be forgotten."

Led by Morrison and hockeycommentator Don Cherry, there was hopeBurns would get enough support to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame without the mandatory three-year waiting period, but he didn't get in.

Burns is survived by his wife, his daughter, Maureen, son Jason, stepdaughter, Stephanie and stepson, Maxime.