Pat Burns National Hockey League coach died of cancer at 58. Patrick Burns was a National Hockey League head coach.

Over 14 seasons between 1988 and 2004, he achieved a record of 501-350-161-14 in 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. Burns retired in 2005 after recurring battles with cancer, which eventually claimed his life. As of October 22, 2010, that number was at 71,307. Nevertheless, the attempts to get Burns into the Hockey Hall of Fame did not reach fruition as he was not selected for the 2010 class of inductees. He was married to his beloved wife Line Burns.

Burns was head coach of the QMJHL Hull Olympiques from 1984 to 1987, and of the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League for the 1987–1988 season. Burns began his NHL coaching career in 1988 with the Montreal Canadiens. Throughout his career, he won three Jack Adams Awards with three different teams – Montreal (1989), Toronto (1993) and Boston (1998). He is the only three-time winner to win in his first year as coach. Burns won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2003. After stepping down from coaching the Devils in 2005, Burns became a special assignment coach for the Devils.

“Those who know me well understand I’ve never backed down from a fight,” … “I’m not going to back down from this one.” from Montreal Gazette by Pat Burns