Pat Burns Quotes

“As for my career, I always said to my kids, 'you don't cry because it's over, you're happy because it happened.'”

— Pat Burns

“Coaching the Bruins is like going bear hunting with a butter knife.”

— Pat Burns

“Coming to another hockey Mecca like Toronto makes you a better coach. I want to have fun again. I want to make it fun for everybody, and it's fun when you win.”

— Pat Burns

If one of my players ever wants to hit me, he better do it really hard because otherwise, I'll find a rock, a stick, or a piece of wood - and believe me, it's gonna be a brawl.

— Pat Burns

“I know my life is nearing its end and I accept that.”

— Pat Burns

“I got hit with an octopus in Detroit one time. It was the most gross thing I've ever had happen. I got it right in the back of the neck; all the juice was coming down. It was awful.”

— Pat Burns

“Toronto was a great place to work, a fun place to work. People were so hockey-oriented, hockey-minded, without being too critical. In Montreal, they got downright nasty sometimes.”

— Pat Burns

“Excuse my voice - I don't have the thundering voice I used to have to get players going on the ice anymore.”

— Pat Burns

“I believe in Wendel Clark. We want Wendel to be a prime-time player.”

— Pat Burns

“I'm not an overly happy person. There are times when I'm happy, and that's usually in my private life.”

— Pat Burns

“The kids get cheated out of a lot of times with their dad. They were good about it.”

— Pat Burns

“They're trying to kill me before I'm dead. I come to Quebec to spend some time with my family and they say I'm dead.”

— Pat Burns

“An avowed homosexual, that would never be accepted in hockey - never! Because it's a milieu where everyone is often naked.”

— Pat Burns

“He's as old as some trees.”

— Pat Burns

“Don't feel sorry because my life is over. Be happy that it happened.”

— Pat Burns

“After referees negated a line change that led to Tampa Bay"s winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: After all these years in the league, am I that stupid that I would put four forwards and one defenseman in a 3-3 tie, in the third period? I think everybody that knows me here knows I"m not that stupid. I might be halfway stupid, but not that stupid.”

— Pat Burns