Remembering Pat Quinn

Pat Quinn with the Maple Leafs, the way I will remember him.

When I was growing up, I hated the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a simplistic childlike hate. For me, the Ottawa Senators were the good guys and the Leafs were the villains. The fact that the bad guys kept eliminating the heroes from the playoffs only reinforced this simple narrative.

It goes without saying that I disliked the Leafs' coach Pat Quinn. He never seemed to smile, but he did lead some mediocre teams to playoff success. Again, this was often at the expense of the Senators.

I think I always recognized Quinn was a great coach. When the Leafs fired Quinn while I was in high school, my happiness expressed how I thought the Leafs were making a big mistake.

Still, when I think of Quinn, I think of him behind the bench yelling at officials and shouting orders to Mats Sundin, Tie Domi and Darcy Tucker. 

Pat Quinn will be missed by the hockey community, and remembered for his contributions to the game. Even if my 12-year-old self still holds it against him that he coached the leafs.