Former Coach Pat Burns Hospitalized

Facing what may be his last days, former NHL coach Pat Burns was taken to a Florida hospital suffering from pneumonia, but was released Thursday, media reports say.

The ex-Canadiens coach was admitted to hospital outside Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, his 58th birthday, according to Montreal sports radio station CKAC.

The award-winning bench boss has been in a fight with cancer over the last several years, beating the disease in his colon and liver only to have it spread to his lung last year. Burns decided to skip chemotherapy for this latest bout and his illness is now terminal.

Employees at CKAC said Burns, who is a commentator on the station's morning show, has returned home after a four-day stay in the hospital.

Burns, a Montreal native, coached in the NHL for 14 seasons, from 1988 to 2004, and quickly became a fan favourite for his no-nonsense, common-man approach to the game.

The former police officer won three Jack Adams awards for coach of the year while guiding three different "Original Six" clubs to winning seasons - the Montreal Canadiens in 1989, the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1993, and the Boston Bruins in 1998.

He won the big one - the Stanley Cup - in 2003-04 with the New Jersey Devils just before illness forced him out of the game.

Burns last appeared publicly two weeks ago for the announcement of an arena being built in his honour in Quebec.

He looked frail and thin - a stark contrast to his heavyset coaching days. But Burns' voice remained strong as he openly acknowledged that he didn't have much time left.

"As your life gets closer to the end, you realize your body gets weaker, your mind gets stronger but your heart gets softer," he told guests at the gathering.

Meanwhile, there continues to be a clamour to get Burns into the Hockey Hall of Fame before he passes on. A Facebook campaign to fast-track Burns' induction into the builders' wing of the Hall has reached more than 50,000 supporters.