Campaign to get Pat Burns into Hockey Hall of Fame surges past 50,000 members

I started this group a few weeks ago with some friends because it felt like the right thing to do. If you're a hockey fan, a Pat Burns fan, someone who has been touched by cancer, or just a decent human being, please take five seconds to visit www.patburns.ca and join this facebook group. Thanks, WW

Campaign to get Pat Burns into Hockey Hall of Fame surges past
50,000 members

OAKVILLE, ON, April 8 /CNW/ - Less than
two weeks after its launch, an online movement to fast-track former NHL
coach Pat Burns into the Hockey Hall of
Fame has attracted over 50,000 members.

Burns, one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in NHL
history, has terminal cancer. In late March, three Oakville, Ontario
residents launched a Facebook group called 'Let's Get Pat Burns into the Hockey Hall of Fame - NOW!'
The group has attracted more than 50,000 members and has been profiled
by media outlets across North America.

"We're sending a message to the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee
that we'd like to see Pat Burns on the
ballot on April 15 and that the voting and
induction processes should be accelerated in light of his illness,"
said the group's organizers. "This isn't a debate about whether Pat Burns belongs in the Hall of Fame - his
accomplishments speak for themselves, and 50,000 hockey fans agree. This
is about expediting the process so he and his family can enjoy this
great honour while he's still with us. It's about the hockey community
seizing a rare and fleeting opportunity to do the right thing for one of
their own."

The Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee must submit its nominations
for this year's class by April 15.

"The larger our numbers, the louder our voice," said the organizers.
"We're asking Canadians to take a few seconds to visit www.patburns.ca and join the group to
show their support for getting Pat Burns
into the Hockey Hall of Fame now."

Burns won the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2003. He is also
the only NHL head coach in history to win the Jack
Adams Award (for Coach of the Year) three times. His exceptional
coaching career, which included 501 regular season wins, was cut short
by a cancer diagnosis in 2004.

To show your support, please visit www.patburns.ca.

For further information: Warren Weeks, (416) 238-6361, warren.weeks@elevenpr.com;
John Perenack, (416) 238-2576, perenack@room-40.com