Pat Quinn, a former NHL coach and player, died Sunday in Vancouver after a lengthy illness. He was 71.

Quinn coached for five NHL teams from 1979 to 2010, reaching the Stanley Cup Final twice and becoming one of four men to win the Jack Adams Trophy as the League's best coach with at least two different franchises.
Internationally, Quinn had an even bigger impact, coaching Canada to several gold medals. None, however, was as important or celebrated as the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics gold medal, which ended a 50-year drought for the hockey-mad country. Quinn also won a gold medal at the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

Quinn, born in Hamilton, Ontario, played 606 NHL games as a defenseman, starting his playing career during the 1968-69 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Two years later, he joined theVancouver Canucks and spent two seasons there before finishing his career with a five-year stint with the Atlanta Flames. He scored 18 goals and 113 assists, and had 950 penalty minutes in his career.

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