A Season in Time - Super Mario, Killer, St. Patrick, the Great One, and the Unforgettable 1992-93 NHL Season

Pat Burns was one of the great NHL coaches. He worked with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, and seemed always to enjoy instant success. He capped his extraordinary career by coaching the New Jersey Devils to a Stanley Cup victory in 2003. Cancer--his third bout--finally claimed him in 2010, aged 58. 

Rosie DiManno, who knew Burns well, has written a revealing, exhilarating and heartfelt account of his life: his childhood as a fatherless, solitary male surrounded by many women, his years as a police officer, his glorious coaching career and his long and characteristically valiant ending.

Coach is both the first major biography of Burns and one that, with its revelations, personal insights and riveting prose, is--like the man himself--sure to be both controversial and hard to beat. Rosie DiManno knew, liked and admired Burns, and in the writing of this book has interviewed many, many people from every stage of his life. She is not blind to his less endearing qualities, but seeks to explain them.

DiManno reveals a man of contradictions--gruff and crude, bullying and sentimental, and easily wounded. She shows, moreover, a man of hockey. The Burns who rode motorcycles, dressed like a cowboy, and sweet-talked the ladies was, says DiManno, a self-creation. His one indisputable, true talent was for coaching hockey. He was a pure coach. 

DiManno tells a compelling story and helps us to understand a complex man, one who gave little of himself to the public and yet whose funeral was a spectacle. How did that happen? Who was Pat Burns? Rosie DiManno, who witnessed much of the story, has the answers.

After 15 long years the passion of Winnipeg's hockey fan's was reignited with the return of the NHL. A passion that would sell out an arena's worth of season tickets in mere minutes. A passion that would electrify the home team and send shivers down their opponents's spines. A passion that sports fans live for each and every season.

Part chronicle, part memoir, part essay, and rant, On the Fly follows the return of professional hockey to the river city, capturing the thrill of every faceoff from the fan's view in the stands. From the last minute goals to the missed calls, On the Fly brings a true "gut" reaction to hockey. What's more, Tefs reflects on what it is to be a fan and lose yourself in the ecstasy and agony of the game.