Last year, our Devils blog, In Lou We Trust, put together an all-decade team for the New Jersey hockey club. They all agreed that only one coach could take the honor of being named to that team. That coach was Pat Burns.
Devils Blog: ‘In A Perfect World, Burns Would Still Be Coaching Devils’
Here’s what John Fischer at ILWT had to say, a sentiment that is ever more poignant now that coach has passed on.
To put it simply, Burns got so much more out the Devils in those two seasons than any coach in the last decade. It led to the team's third Stanley Cup, his first as a head coach, and it cemented him as a legend among New Jersey supporters.
A part of me wants to think that in a perfect world, Burns would still be coaching the Devils to this day. After all, Burns falls completely with the organization's principles and goals; and as with the organization itself, I believe Burns would take the steps to ensure he didn't wear out his welcome among the players. Burns certainly held the organization in high enough regard to be a part of the team as a special assignment coach for a few seasons after the lockout - even if it meant just fighting cancer in Florida. Alas, this is not a perfect world; the cancer spread to the point where Burns is trying to enjoy what he has left; and the Devils are still trying to find a more permanent answer at head coach. Still, as a fan myself, I can't think of anyone who was as close to being a perfect fit as a head coach for the Devils.
After all, there is only one Pat Burns.
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