It’s a travesty it took this long for Pat Burns to get into the Hockey Hall; selection committee should be ashamed

TORONTO, Ont. —

By Kevin Canessa Jr.
Publisher of NewJersey-Devils.com

Pat Burns was first eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame seven years ago -- in 2007. And yet somehow, he is just now getting in.

Burns died in 2010 -- and there were opportunities for the man, who won the Jack Adams Trophy three times as coach of the year -- to get in while he was alive.

In 2007.

In 2008.

In 2009.

In 2010.

And somehow, the buffoons who choose those who are granted “admission” into the Hall felt it was proper FOUR TIMES while he was still alive to say, sorry, Pat, winning a Stanley Cup and coach of the year with the Canadiens, Maple Leafs and Bruins, all while only missing the playoffs once as a coach is NOT enough to get you in.

Folks, think about this for a second.

Pat Burns is the only coach in NHL history to have won the Jack Adams three times with three teams. He won a Stanley Cup Championship his first season in New Jersey. He took the 1988-89 Canadiens to the Finals in his first year as a head coach.

And none of this mattered until seven years after his original eligibility? None of this mattered until almost four years after his death?

I know this will perhaps come across as being a homer, but the truth of the matter is, it’s an utter disgrace that it took until yesterday for Pat Burns to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. And I feel as if there wasn’t enough outrage when he kept getting passed over in previous years.

I’ve often been asked who my favourite Devils head coach of all time is. Jacques Lemaire is in a class by himself. And because I have a personal connection to Peter DeBoer, I will always have great admiration from him. But Pat Burns, a surprise hire as it was, came in here -- took over for a team that had struggled the year before in the post-season -- and marched right to the Finals and a seven-game victory over Anaheim.

If I am starting a hypothetical team with anyone as its coach, it’s very hard for me NOT to pick Pat Burns to coach this faux team.

And it’s very hard for me, looking back over these last years, to fathom that there were a considerable number of people -- 18 idiots on a committee each year to be precise -- who for years felt Burns’ resumé wasn’t enough to get him into the Hall.

With that being said and the case, and with that kind of history, how the hell does anyone get into the Hall?

The 18-member selection committee should be ashamed it took this long (with apologies to any newcomers to the committee). Pat Burns should have been able to appreciate and enjoy this special day while he was alive. And instead, he lost his ferocious battle with cancer without ever knowing he was a hockey hall of famer.

Thanks, committee of 18. Thanks so bloody much for nothing.

Here’s hoping nothing like this ever happens again, especially to anyone who was or is a class act and just an all-around wonderful man as Pat Burns was.

And here’s hoping that somehow, he’s smiling down from the heavens when the day comes soon where he enters the Hall he should have been elected to long, long ago.

Former referee Bill McCreary rightfully heading to the Hall

Bill McCreary, No. 7.

TORONTO, Ont. —
In addition to being very pleased to hear Pat Burns got into the Hockey Hall of Fame, I was about as equally delighted to learn former NHL referee BILL McCREARY was also heading into the Hall.

You can say what you will about NHL officiating these days, but gone are the days of the Kerry Frasers and the Bill McCrearys. Bill was one of the finest referees I ever watched in the NHL -- and I hated it when he retired. He was fair. He was tough. And he very rarely got it wrong, even when the league used just one referee.

His presence in the Hockey Hall of Fame is well deserved.

A little about McCreary

He officiated 1,700 regular season games, 282 playoff games, and one All-Star game.

He worked at least one game in each of the Stanley Cup Finals the Devils were in prior to 2012 -- and worked every Final from 1994 to 2007. He didn’t work the 2008 Finals, but was back in 2009. He also worked the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

McCreary retired April 2, 2011, after officiating a game between the Caps and Sabres at the Verizon Center. (He did not work the post-season that year).

Devils’ 2003 Cup Coach Pat Burns FINALLY in Hockey Hall

Pat Burns

Pat Burns, who led the Devils to their third of three Stanley Cups in 2003, has finally been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame, it was announced earlier today.

In two seasons as Devils head coach, Burns was 89-45-22. He only missed the playoffs once as a head coach.

Burns left the Devils after his cancer diagnosis, and died five years later.

He has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since 2007 -- and it somehow took seven years for him to finally get in. But it’s better late than never.

“It's a great day for me and my family,” Lynn Burns, Pat's widow, told the Hockey Hall website). “I’m speechless and tremendously happy. Pat would be proud and this is well-deserved.”

Also elected to the Hall were players Dominik Hasek, Peter Forsberg, Mike Modano, Rob Blake and referee Bill McCreary.