After being fingered
by general manager Harry Sinden for the Boston Bruins' failure
to make the playoffs last season, Burns was cast off early in
his fourth year in Boston and replaced with Mike Keenan.
Burns knows that the life of an NHL coach with one team
is short, and given the growing bitterness developing between
himself and Sinden, he knew his time was limited in Beantown.
Addressing the media to announce Keenan's hiring on Wednesday,
Sinden said the team needed to go in a different direction.
It's an ironic statement, since Burns and Keenan use a
similar coaching style to get the best out of their teams.
Burns and Keenan have a reputation for being strict disciplinarians
and perfectionists, coaches who demand respect and an all-out
effort from their players.
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While this attitude does not win many friends among the players,
it's a technique that's been a recipe for success for both
coaches.
"They're both intense," said Toronto Maple Leaf Shayne
Corson, who played for both coaches. "They both push their
players very hard to make them better.
"They're on top of you at all times because they want
you to become better players and better people."
A former Gatineau, Que. police officer who spent 17 years
on the force, Burns likes to play down his past and maintains
that there's a stereotype among the media that he'll throttle
someone in the dressing room when something goes wrong.
True to his background, Burns is a blue-collar, lunch-pail
type that gets extraordinary efforts from solid teams.
"Pat's a good coach," Habs forward Benoit Brunet said. "He's
tough, but fair. Look at what he did the first year (in Boston).
He didn't have a great team and they went to the playoffs."
In stints with Montreal, Toronto and Boston, Burns made
a
quick impact on the team before losing his appeal in his
fourth season with the franchise.
In his rookie year in Montreal, Burns guided the team
to a 53-18-9 record and a berth in the Stanley Cup final.
In Toronto, Burns took the Maple Leafs twice to the conference
final.
The Bruins made a 30-point improvement in Burns' first
season behind the bench for Boston.
All three seasons earned him the Jack Adams award as the
league's best coach. He is the first person to ever win
the honour three times.
Burns isn't expected to be out of a job for very long.
With a career coaching record of 412-314-129 over 12 seasons
-- enough, some say, for a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame
-- general managers will soon be scrambling for his phone
number.
While Burns' answering machine will be filled with job
offers soon, this may be Keenan's last chance to coach in
the NHL.
Once thought of as the best in the NHL for winning a Stanley
Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994, and taking both Philadelphia
and Chicago to the finals, Keenan has developed a reputation
as being a person who is impossible to work with.
And it's just not management that constantly argues with
him. Many players despise him.
Just ask Brett Hull, who openly fought with the general
manager/coach over player moves Keenan made when they were
both with the St. Louis Blues.
Keenan dismantled the franchise, trading popular goaltender
Curtis Joseph to Edmonton and forward Brendan Shanahan to
the Hartford Whalers.
But he does win. Keenan's career coaching record of 507-372-117,
one Stanley Cup, one Jack Adams award and two Canada Cup
victories is testament to that fact.
"Mike has no tolerence for a lack of commitment and he's
prepared to get ugly with people and in this business sometimes
you need to do that," said Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock.
"His teams don't win by accident."
Keenan soon wore out his welcome in
St. Louis, and in Vancouver too. After two stints with two
disastrous teams, word quickly spread that Keenan's coaching
tactics were outdated and he was more trouble than he was
worth.
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