Charlie Burns

American-born Canadian ice hockey player (1936–2021)

For the English footballer, see Charlie Burns (footballer).

Ice hockey player

Charlie Burns

Born|  (1936-02-14)February 14, 1936
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died|  November 5, 2021(2021-11-05) (aged 85)
Wallingford, Connecticut, U.S.
Height|  5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight|  170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position|  Center
Shot|  Left
Played for|  Detroit Red Wings
Boston Bruins
Oakland Seals
Pittsburgh Penguins
Minnesota North Stars
National team|  Canada
Playing career|  1952-1974

Medal record

Men's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Championships
| 1958 Oslo |

Charles Frederick Burns (February 14, 1936 – November 5, 2021) was an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 749 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars between 1958 and 1973. He later worked as the head coach of Minnesota in both 1970 and 1974–75. Burns was mainly known for being an excellent skater, playmaker and defensive player who performed checking and penalty-killing. His trademark was the heavily padded helmet that he was forced to wear after suffering a serious head injury while playing junior hockey in 1954–55.

## Playing career

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In 1959, he was the only US-born player in the NHL. Burns was born in Detroit, Michigan, his family moved to Toronto, Ontario, when he was a child.[1] Burns chose Canadian citizenship when he turned 21[2] and later played for the 1958 world champion Whitby Dunlops.

## Post-playing career

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Burns had three spells as a player-coach, twice with the San Francisco Seals (1965–66 and 1966–67) and one with the Minnesota North Stars (1969–70). He coached the North Stars again in 1974–75 upon his active career retirement. Curiously, all of these were midseason assignments. He coached youth hockey for the Wallingford Hawks of Wallingford, Connecticut, in his spare time.[3] Burns died in Wallingford, Connecticut, on November 5, 2021, at the age of 85.[4]

## Career statistics

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### Regular season and playoffs

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|  | Regular season |  | Playoffs

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Season | Team  | League  | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM
1952–53 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 33 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 17  | — | — | — | — | —
1953–54 | Toronto Marlboros  | OHA  | 59 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 45  | — | — | — | — | —
1954–55 | Toronto Marlboros  | OHA  | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0  | — | — | — | — | —
1955–56 | Toronto Marlboros  | OHA  | 20 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 0  | — | — | — | — | —
1956–57  | Whitby Dunlops | OHA Sr | 40 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 29  | — | — | — | — | —
1957–58  | Whitby Dunlops  | OHA Sr  | 31 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 32  | — | — | — | — | —
1958–59 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 32  | — | — | — | — | —
1959–60 | Boston Bruins | NHL  | 62 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 46  | — | — | — | — | —
1960–61 | Boston Bruins  | NHL  | 62 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 16  | — | — | — | — | —
1960–61 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4  | — | — | — | — | —
1961–62 | Boston Bruins  | NHL  | 70 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 43  | — | — | — | — | —
1962–63 | Boston Bruins  | NHL  | 68 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 13  | — | — | — | — | —
1963–64 | San Francisco Seals | WHL | 68 | 33 | 36 | 69 | 27  | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2
1964–65 | San Francisco Seals  | WHL  | 51 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 19  | — | — | — | — | —
1965–66 | San Francisco Seals  | WHL  | 40 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 26  | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0
1966–67 | California Seals  | WHL  | 71 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 29  | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9
1967–68 | Oakland Seals | NHL  | 73 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 20  | — | — | — | — | —
1968–69 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL  | 76 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 22  | — | — | — | — | —
1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL  | 50 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 10  | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2
1970–71 | Minnesota North Stars  | NHL  | 76 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 13  | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2
1971–72 | Minnesota North Stars  | NHL  | 77 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 24  | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2
1972–73 | Minnesota North Stars  | NHL  | 65 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 13  | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
1973–74 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 64 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 73  | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16
NHL Totals  | 749 | 106 | 198 | 304 | 252  | 31 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6

## Coaching record

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Team  | Year  | Regular season | Post season

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G | W | L | T | Pct | Finish  | G | W | L | Result
Minnesota North Stars | 1969–70 | 44 | 10 | 22 | 12 | 0.364 | 3rd in West  | 6 | 2 | 4 | Lost in quarter-finals
Minnesota North Stars  | 1974–75 | 42 | 12 | 28 | 2 | 0.310 | 4th in Smythe  | Did not qualify
NHL totals  | 86 | 22 | 50 | 14 | .204 | —  | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 playoff appearance

## References

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1. ^ Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team (p. 47), by Brad Kurzberg, AuthorHouse (2006), ISBN 1425910289
2. ^ "Sport: The Pappy Line". Time. March 2, 1959.
3. ^ Kurzberg, p.48
4. ^ Charles F. Burns

## Further reading

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* Wulf, Steve (June 20, 2013). "The evolution of player-coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 10, 2024.

## External links

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* Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by

Wren Blair
Jack Gordon

|  Head coach of the Minnesota North Stars
1969–70
1975 | Succeeded by

Jack Gordon
Ted Harris

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