Monday, October 29, 2007

The Cop A Wanted Man?



1) The Cop ofcourse is former NHL head coach Pat Burns. Our sources tell us that the former bench boss and former Hull, Quebec detective is taking/receiving inquiries already from several teams that may want/need his services. Among these are his current employer The NJ Devils.

2) Apparently Lou is not at all happy with the job his new coach Brent Sutter appears to be doing. The Devils are off to a horrid start,(3-6-1) after 10 games. Admitedly they started 9 of those on the road, but in their inaugural game at their new facility in Newark they "looked dead", as one NHL scout told us yesterday. They were embarrassed in front of their home crowd. That kind of thing does not sit well with Lamarello.

3) However we have been told that the Devils are NOT the only team that has sent out some initial 'feelers' to the Burns camp. Here are a list of teams that have contacted Burns' agent since the summer:


  • Toronto- The Leafs tried to lure their former boss out of retirement this summer only to be politely rebuffed

  • Boston- Another of Pat's former teams where he won his last of 3 Jack Adams awards as best coach. Apparently Claude Julian was not Peter Chirelli's first choice to lead the B's. However much like the Leafs, they were quickly turned down.

  • NY Rangers- A reliable source within the MSG hierarchy has informed FAUXRUMORS that Glen Sather met with the former NJ coach last week "to discuss his health". We can only assume Sather would want such a meeting if he was contemplating replacing his current coach Tom Renney with Burns. Our source did NOT want to reveal the nature of the meeting or if the job was offered.

  • LA- Dean Lombardi we're told has Pat Burns on a short list of potential replacements for his beleaguered current bench boss, Crawford who apparently has 'lost his team'. No word if Burns has officially been contacted.

4) From the sounds of things Pat is a wanted man. The great unknown as of this writing is he able to/want to get back into coaching? We are fairly sure he wants to get back in there, but from what he has stated publicly in the past, it would require a clean bill of health from his Dr. and the OK from his family. We believe, if healthy, the Rangers, Devils, Kings, or a few more teams would significantly benefit from the firm hand that "The Cop" brings to his teams. He is a winner, and those teams are in need of one right about now before their seasons are lost.

26 comments:

Crazee Canucklehead said...

In May 2007 you said the Devils had offered the position to Pat Burns and it was "his for the taking".

So now that the team is struggling, didn't resign key free agents and has a poorly stocked farm team Burns is more interested?

Nice work linking Burns to nearly every struggling team in the league! Great work by your 'insiders'!

Dr. George Varga said...

I hold Mr. Burns in the highest esteem. I think if his condition is stabilized and his physician thinks he is capable of enduring the rigors of coaching he would be a splendid addition to any team in need of his service.

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Hawk: You are correct that Burns was approached before Sutter but evidently he wasn't ready to get back into coaching at that time
2) Dr.: We concur with your assessment that if healthy Burns would be on most teams' short lists for coaching replacements. (if healthy)
3) BTW Dr. not sure what your particular specialty is, but any inside info/prognoses about similar patient's with Burns' diagnosis

Antzmarching said...

Faux, I love that you continue to allude to the Cop and his future coaching prospects... However, I have to agree with Hawk in that it doesn't take a rocket scientist or Doctor (Dr. Varga, no offense intended), to assert that the league's UNDERachievers would be interested in a new bench boss...

I would really like to see Pat Burns come to the District... The Caps are slowly becoming the CRAPitals again... The special teams are horrific as ever, only now, they actually have some talent to surround AO... C'mon "Obese Ted," drop the hammer on the bad backup ex-goalie and hire Pat Burns!

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Antz: As far as we know we are the ONLY hockey rumor site that has mentioned these facts.
2) Our sources have also mentioned what we feel are some very interesting tidbits about who has already contacted (and been turned down) and who may still be in the running
3) Contrary to others, we have NOT linked Burns to every struggling team, just the teams that have had interest.
As always keep it here for the latest

Antzmarching said...

Well my sources tell me that Pat Burns is going to the Rag$, as TDR has already made a call to lure Mike Keenan out of Calgary - LOL... As soon as the Flames begin their decline, Mad Mike will be back on Broadway, or Penn Station, at least...

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) BTW, we agree that the Caps might benefit from Burns, but we have heard no substantiated rumors that GMGM or Ted have had any contact with him
2) If Washington should fall out of the playoff race early Hanlon would be vulnerable. If the past is any indicator the team would probably replace him with their AHL coach, Bruce Boudreau.
3) Along those lines, we should also mention that IF the Rangers decide to replace Rennney, another likely candidate(after Burns) to be behind the bench would be THEIR AHL coach, Jim Schoenfeld

Antzmarching said...

Bruce Boudreau? He had a cup of tea with the Islanders a few years back, didn't he? Replace the bad backup ex-goalie with the underachieving ex-top prospect... Granted, the Hershey Bears have been one of the better AHL teams as of late, but is BB really the guy to motivate Viktor Kozlov and make use of Nylander's great speed?

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Antz: "Mad Mike" is Mike Milbury. The time he'll be anywhere near MSG is if he's in the stands hitting fans with his shoe
2) "IRON Mike" Keenan is the man you are referring to. We have been working on a story on how things are NOT going well with Mike and the team. Several players including a star or two have not hit it off well with Keenan. We are still working on that post, but look for it later this week!
As always, keep it here for the latest!

Antzmarching said...

IRON MIKE is Mike Ditka! LOL... And Mike Ditka is not coming to NY or DC to coach, although I actually believe he would be an improvement over Glen Hanlon...

Antzmarching said...

I look forward to the juicy rumor soon to come out of Calgary... That is a team in deperate need of a shake-up... I thought they were on the brink of a Cup a couple of years ago when Kipper was actually a decent goalie... Once IRON Mike loses that locker room, as he usually does, it could be total chaos/anarchy in Alberta...

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Well, the nickname 'Iron Mike' is common. The nut job boxer Tyson has also been labeled this. While Mad Mike has only been used for Milbury as far as we know
2) Motivating Kozlov? That's an impossibility. He plays when he wants. Perhaps the reincarnation of Stalin might work, but no current/former NHL coach can motivate him. The Chief on LI, Nolan came the closest, but even Nolan was frustrated with Victor most of the time.

Antzmarching said...

Wouldn't it be funny to see Mike Milbury bite off a piece of Wang's ear?

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) As long as he lasted on the Island without winning Milbury must have been familiar with Wang's anatomy. ; )

blaine said...

I'd of preferred to have Pat back with us. He'd have the leafs playing better in their own end. We can score, but so far we can't keep the puck out of our own nets. That will cost us if that keeps up.

Dr. George Varga said...

My training is in Neurology, but I'll try to give some background as to the possible prognosis of Mr. Burns' pathology.
Of course I do not have first hand knowledge of all the details of his individual case, but from what I've gathered from reading various publications Mr. Burns initially was being treated for a fairly common form of colon cancer called colon carcinoma. This, if found early enough is quite treatable with considerable success.
However if Cancer cells break away and spread to other parts of the body (such as liver and lung) new tumors can form. The spread of colon cancer to distant organs is called metastasis. Once metastasis has occurred in colorectal cancer, a complete cure of the cancer is unlikely.
Apparently Mr. Burns may have had such an issue, or it could simply have been another outbreak of the original disease, but again, without his records this is only speculation.
If it were the former he probably wouldn't ever be healthy enough to return to the rigors of coaching. If it were the ladder another round of chemo and or surgical intervention might be successful enough for him to return once he has regained enough strength, and is given the all clear from his oncologist.
I wish Pat God-speed!

Jibblescribbits said...

It's interesting to think that the Devils had a coach that is currently leading an over-achieving team (the Bruins) as recently as last season.

Oh Crazy Lou. Ye reap what ye sow

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Dead-on Jibble. Julian was given a raw deal last season. If he weren't fired we could see no reason why he wouldn't have been one of the Adams finalists. Certainly he did as good a job as the other 3 who did get the nomination, perhaps better.
2) Is it a coincidence that the Bruins are now performing decently, while the Devils languish. We agree it is fitting. Of course its early!
3) Dr. Thanks for an excellent explanation! Much appreciated

Dr. George Varga said...

I was reminded by a colleague that I should include a disclaimer about my earlier remarks.
What I wrote pertaining Mr. Burns is in no way an attempt to give personal or professional medical advice to any of the readers out there. We would strongly urge each person who may think they have this disease to consult with their family physician or Internist

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Not to worry Dr. You have nothing to worry about. The FAUXRUMORS legal experts say your remarks were "vague enough to not be misconstrued as making a specific diagnosis for a particular person". Legalese to us, but that's what they said. LOL
2) BTW Dr. as it seems to always occur these days, the blog 'village idiot' hawk, now attacks anyone who contributes to the blog. Not to worry, unlike last winter when he stole a whole group of Google blogger ID's, (including this one) that loophole has been eliminated. Now his only means of disruption is to denigrate (lie) about you and try to intimidate. We're sure you've been through worse. LOL
Thanks again Doc!

Lyle said...

The one aspect of this story you neglected Faux is the fact that since the Devils still employ Burns, they would have to release him to be able to coach elsewhere. I can't see Lou Lamarello giving his blessing to Burns to cross the river and coach their rivals in Manhattan!
The LA angle is more likely, but I haven't read anywhere that said Burns is healthy enough to return. It would be nice to see, but a bit premature to say right now

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) We almost forgot Lyle's question/observation. We do agree that IF Burns is still under a restrictive contract that the Devils would need to release him, but there are sometimes options written into deals that would allow him to take another head coaching position from another team without permission, IF the Devils don't offer a comparable position first.
2) It is plausible that they may decide to bring him back BOTH to better their own team AND prevent the Rangers from hiring him away.
3) As none of us know exactly what's in his contract (as well as know how healthy he is) its only speculation

The Co-Pilot said...

I'm not ready to throw Crawford over the cliff. We're playing better lately. When we get decent goaltending we can win. LaBarbara has been looking good. I don't know much about Pat Burns. I don't follow the East teams as much as the teams out here, but I doubt he would do any better that Marc Crawford has.

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Pilot: Amazing how a goalie can make a coach look good/bad, huh? Ya think Alain Vigneault wins the Adams without Luongo?
2) We wrote in our preseason analysis that the Kings were lacking in that area. If they can finally get some decent tending, they could be a dangerous team out West

Jintzie said...

No rumor that he may be coming over here Faux? We have not been playing too well so far. I'm not happy with our record. If we're gonna win a cup we have better start looking like it.
It doesn't seem so bad because the other teams in the division have been playing like crap too. Thats not gonna stay that way for long.

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Jintzie, No we haven't heard any credible rumor that Burns might be coming your way. You'll be first to hear if that changes!

 
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