Contrary to a report out of Ottawa on Friday morning that announced the passing of former Boston Bruins head coach Pat Burns, the old skipper is alive and kickin'. And a little angry, actually.
The 58-year-old Montreal native has been fighting a battle with terminal lung cancer for a number of years, but as TSN's Bob McKenzie proves via Twitter, the old coach is still putting up a fight.
"Here we go again," Burns told McKenzie. "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. I'm not dead, far [expletive] from it. They've had me dead since June. Tell them I'm alive. Set them straight."
The three-time Jack Adams Award winner coached the Montreal Canadiens from 1988-92. He also coached the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, whom he won a Stanley Cup with in 2003.
Burns coached the Bruins for three full seasons from 1997-2000 and for the first eight games of the 2000-01 season before he was fired. He led the B's to the postseason in each of his first two years.
CTV, which originally reported his passing, retracted the news and later explained via Twitter that they "had erroneous information on Pat Burns."
According to thestar.com, the death rumors began swirling when Maple Leafs adviser Cliff Fletcher had told reporters at Leafs’ training camp Friday that the seriously ill Burns had died and that "he fought a valiant fight."
