| | Well, Pat Burns can't say he didn't see the axe coming. Last January, Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs publicly knocked then-coach Burns, saying, "the coaching has not been what I think it should be." Right then, the ex-Habs, Leafs and now Bruins coach should have packed his bags and headed back to the TV booth. (He was great in French on CBC Quebec, by the way.) It's one thing when the GM knocks you, but it's a whole different story when the unkind words come from the owner -- even one as inept as Jacobs.
|  | | Mike Keenan is back behind the bench as the Bruins' coach. |
Once the season ended, everybody made nice-nice and Burns was retained to fulfill the final year of his contract. You see, Jacobs hates eating contracts much more than he hates losing. Burns, who many respected hockey observers rank behind only Scotty Bowman for his in-game coaching skills, probably would have quit. But then he would've forfeited his final season's salary.
In the first year of his three-season, eight-game tenure, Burns led Boston back from the dead after a beyond dreadful 1996-97 campaign. Last year, beset by the loss of key free agents, contract squabbles and a host of injuries, the Bruins fell out of the playoff picture and Burns earned Jacobs' wrath.
This season, Burns' Bruins rode a hot power play (9-for-32) to a 3-0-1 start. That despite missing top forward Anson Carter (contract dispute), top goalie Byron Dafoe (hamstring,) promising backup goalie John Grahame (broken ankle, suffered in an off-ice incident) and veteran free agent D Paul Coffey (hip). Burns, it seemed, was a magician.
Eventually, the PP went cold and so did the B's. The club produced only one PPG in losing their next four games -- all on the road -- by a combined score of 19-5. That was behind untested 20-year-old rookie goalie Andrew Raycroft.
Thus, after just eight games, Burns is gone. His replacement? Mike Keenan. Yes, in the very strange world of the NHL, Keenan is back. This is job number six for Iron Mike, who was last seen behind Vancouver's bench. Ironically, Keenan was a runner-up when the Bruins hired Burns in 1997.
Can Keenan get the Bruins turned around? Probably not until Dafoe heals, Carter signs and young players like Joe Thornton and Kyle McLaren mature into full-fledged stars. In the meantime, Keenan will irritate several players and attempt to gain a foothold in club management. Good luck, Mike.
For now, Boston brass can blame Burns for all its woes. The real fault, though, remains at the feet of Jacobs, GM Harry Sinden (comfortably asleep at the wheel) and inexperienced assistant GM Mike O'Connell. But astute Boston hockey fans already knew who was guilty. Those fans are easy to spot at the Fleet Center: they're dressed as empty seats.
E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine.
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