Pat Burns snubbed again by Hall of Fame; Niedermayer, Chelios want him in

Former Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers Coach Fred Shero was finally elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category on Tuesday, ending a decades-long wait for his family. Shero coached his last game in 1981 and died in 1990.

Still waiting: The family of the late Pat Burns, the three-time NHL coach of the year and Stanley Cup winner, who once again wasn’t elected by the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

Burns died in Nov. 2010 after a lengthy battle with cancer, beating colon cancer in 2004 and liver cancer in 2005 but finally succumbing to lung cancer. There was an outcry from the hockey world to get Burns elected prior to his death, but the Hall of Fame didn’t elect him, and still hasn’t.

Two 2013 Hall of Fame inductees played for Burns: Chris Chelios with the Montreal Canadiens and Scott Niedermayer with the New Jersey Devils.

Both believe it’s just a matter of time before Burns gets in.

“I definitely think [he] will,” said Niedermayer, who won with Burns in 2003 with the Devils. “I think he’ll be in the Hall of Fame.”

Chelios played two seasons with Burns, and won a conference title with him in Montreal.

“He was demanding, or strict. He was hard when he needed to be,” recalled Chelios. “[But] he was fair.”

As for the Hockey Hall of Fame, “I hope someday he’ll be recognized as a Hall of Famer. He had a big impact on my career as well.”

NHL video from Yahoo! Sports:

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
Report: Hurricanes, Sabres and Habs among Jaromir Jagr suitors
Alex Burmistrov leaves Jets to play in KHL
Ryan McDonagh, Rangers agree to six-year extension
Puck Daddy's free-agent frenzy report card