MONTREAL - Pat Burns couldn't lose at the Bell Centre Saturday.
As a former coach of both the Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Burns's memory was going to be honoured with a win either way.
The man himself would probably have claimed neutrality for the sake of appearances, but it's not a stretch to speculate that Burns would be pleased with the win by the Canadiens on a night when his passing was marked with an emotional pre-game video tribute and a moment of silence that rivalled Remembrance Day observations for deafening quiet and the respect that kind of hush represents.
Burns had good runs in Toronto, Boston and New Jersey, but with the significant exception of winning the Stanley Cup with the Devils, the defining moments of his coaching career occurred in Montreal.
Burns lived the first several years of his life here, the Canadiens gave him first National Hockey League coaching job, and it was here that he won the first of his three NHL coach of the year awards.
As the St. Henri-born son of an Irish-Canadian father and a French-Canadian mother, his credentials as a Montrealer were second-to-none and better than most.
Burns had a place in Florida but chose to spend the final months of his life at his home in the Eastern Townships, where he continued to make public appearances despite being in the latter stages of terminal cancer.
Health permitting, Pat Burns's last public appearance should have been two weeks ago at the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he didn't get the required number of votes for induction as a builder.
That's not an oversight -- it's a snub that not only calls into question the selection committee's credibility, but, under the circumstances, bespeaks a profound lack of compassion.
