Like many great coaches, Pat Burns was not only well schooled in the game but was also a master psychologist in how he dealt with players (both his own and opposing), officials, and others to get the maximum benefit for his team while also maintaining respect of and for all. Also the fact the he was hired to coach the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins -- fully half of the
"original six" and bitter rivals all -- and won the Jack Adams Award behind each of those clubs' benches in his first season as their coach as well as winning a Stanley Cup with New Jersey before his career was cut short by the illness that eventually took his life far too early seems to me to be well worthy of enshrinement in the Hall of Fame in and of itself.
The inimitable Pat Burns at his best. 
