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No-nonsense bench boss Old school Burns brought a hatred of losing to the DevilsPosted: Tuesday June 10, 2003 4:23 AMUpdated: Tuesday June 10, 2003 10:27 AM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Too dour. Too set in his ways. Too demanding. Too old school. The New Jersey Devils had a lot of reasons not to hire Pat Burns last year as their third coach in less than a year, and fifth since winning their first Stanley Cup in 1995. Burns had coached three Original Six teams -- Montreal, Toronto and Boston -- and had only been to one Stanley Cup finals in 13 seasons, during his first season with Montreal. Hiring a recycled coach such as Burns, especially one with a sullen personality and a self-proclaimed inability to smile, wasn't an especially popular move with Devils fans. A few Devils players weren't all that excited, either. "Pat, as everybody knows, doesn't smile a whole lot," defenseman Ken Daneyko said. Burns hadn't coached since being let go by the Bruins only eight games into the 2000-01 season. There was talk it would be tough for him to find a job as teams sought younger coaches with new ideas, new systems and no reluctance to try new things.
Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello wanted the former policeman from Hull, Quebec, and it paid off with New Jersey's third Stanley Cup in nine years, one secured by their 3-0 victory over Anaheim in Game 7 on Monday night. "I owe a lot to Lou," Burns said. "He believed in me. We sat down and talked and when he left, he said, 'You know what? We are going to do well.' " The team's key components, defenseman Scott Stevens and goalie Martin Brodeur, said Burns was all business from the start and never wavered. "He's a character," Stevens said. "He's an old-style coach. He hates to lose and I'm much the same way, so I like his style. We just did the same. We never changed our style, just tried to get people to buy into the system and get better at it." Burns stressed the importance of establishing a home-ice advantage, even though the Devils were one of the NHL's worst-drawing teams and often played in a nearly half-empty arena. The Devils responded by going 25-11-3-2 at home while finishing second overall in the Eastern Conference, then set a record by winning 12 of their 13 home games in the playoffs. "Pat made sure we were ready for every game," Stevens said. "We never got too high or too low or had any bad losing streaks. He kept us going. He pushed us." Despite losing all three finals games in Anaheim, they swept the four in New Jersey -- three by 3-0 and the other by 5-2. It's the first time since 1965 the home team won every game in the finals. "Previously, our record at home was terrible," John Madden said. "But he [Burns] said we're going to compete hard and play hard ... in our building." Despite his it's-my-way-or-the-highway reputation, Burns wasn't averse to trying things. When center Joe Nieuwendyk couldn't play in the finals because of a torn oblique muscle, Burns called on inexperienced forward Mike Rupp to play the final four games. Rupp hadn't played in more than a month, yet responded with four points, including the go-ahead goal and two assists in Game 7. Burns also tried another motivational trick Monday, playing Daneyko for the first time in the series in what likely was the defenseman's last NHL game. He even made sure Daneyko was on the ice at the end of the game. "Pat just kept the pedal to the metal all season," Daneyko said. "That was probably what was missing from the club in the past few years. He came in and was a no-nonsense guy. ... He's one of the tougher coaches I've ever played for, but it's well worth it." |
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