Pat Burns will be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame someday.
It should have been yesterday.
The man who coached the Devils to their last Stanley Cup, the only three-time Jack Adams Trophy winner as NHL coach of the year, was left off the Hall’s honors list yesterday for Nov. 8 induction. Battling terminal cancer, Burns wouldn’t want a sympathy vote, and he shouldn’t need one.
The Hall of Fame selected North Star and Capitals winger Dino Ciccarelli, U.S. women’s Olympian Cammi Granato and Canadian women’s player Angela James in the players category, and former Islanders assistant general manager and Red Wings general manager Jimmy Devellano and Daryl Seaman, a Flames founder, were chosen as builders.
By not selecting a referee or linesman, the Hall was able to pick two builders, and still omitted Burns, 58, whose 15-year coaching record stands at 501-353-165.
The Hall had the option of naming four male players along with two women, and passed on the likes of former Devils Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Dave Andreychuk, as well as former Flyer and Ranger Eric Lindros.
Meanwhile, defenseman Scott Niedermayer, who won three Stanley Cups with the Devils, retired yesterday. The 36-year-old, drafted third overall by New Jersey in 1991, long will be remembered for a back-breaking goal against the Red Wings during the Devils’ first Cup run in 1995. After the 2004-05 lockout, Niedermayer signed with the Ducks, joining brother Rob, and won his fourth Stanley Cup in 2007. He was captain of the gold-medal-winning Canadian team at this year’s Vancouver Olympics.
Niedermayer is likely to become the third Devil to have his number (27) retired, along with those of Scott Stevens (4) and Ken Daneyko (3). Mike Mottau has been the latest to wear No. 27.
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The Rangers will not extend a qualifying offer to impending Group II free agent Enver Lisin, The Post has learned.
The 24-year-old winger, who would have been due a qualifying offer of $829,500, will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after one season with the Blueshirts in which he recorded 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 57 games of limited use.
Lisin, a healthy scratch in the Rangers’ final eight games (and in 15 of the final 18), was acquired from the Coyotes last July in exchange for 2004 first-round draft pick Lauri Korpikoski.
General manager Glen Sather and head coach John Tortorella were intrigued last summer and through the first half of the season by Lisin’s speed and skill, but the winger had severe issues away from the puck both on offense and defense that seemed to grow worse as the year went on.–Larry Brooks
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The NHL Players’ Association voted yesterday to trigger the 5-percent salary cap escalator for next season while also voting to extend the collective bargaining agreement through the 2011-12 season, The Post has learned.
The votes were cast by the union’s 30 player reps in the second day of the Players’ Association’s meeting in Chicago. The cap, which was $56.8 million last season, is expected to increase by approximately $2 million for 2010-11.
By exercising the union’s unilateral option to extend the labor agreement, the upcoming season’s cap will also allow for a 7.5-percent bonus cushion to be added to the cap to cover bonus payments on Entry Level and over-35 contracts.–Larry Brooks
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Pat Quinn is out as coach of the Oilers after finishing last in the NHL standings in his first season. Assistant coach Tom Renney was promoted to be his replacement.
The Oilers said that Quinn is moving into the front office as a senior adviser, making room for Renney — a former head coach of the Rangers and Canucks.
Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said the team will not offer goalie Evgeni Nabokov a contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next month. . . . The Panthers traded forwards Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell to the Bruins for defenseman Dennis Wideman, the No. 15 pick in this weekend’s NHL draft and a third-round selection next year. . . . The Canadiens signed leading scorer Tomas Plekanec to a six-year contract.