Pat Burns, who died of lung cancer Friday at 58 after fighting several forms of the disease, will be remembered for much more than the 501 wins he recorded while coaching Montreal, Toronto, Boston and New Jersey.

Burns was an outstanding defensive coach and a difference-maker whose gruff exterior didn’t hide his intelligence and insight. The former police officer wore his authority well, using it to mold kids into men and men into better men. For his success, he became the only person voted the NHL’s coach of the year three times, and with three different teams.

For 34 years in Seattle — the entirety of the Mariners’ life span — no one was grander, or more beloved, than Niehaus, who died Wednesday of a heart attack at his home in Bellevue. He was 75.

“This is truly devastating news,” Howard Lincoln, the Mariners chairman and CEO, and team President Chuck Armstrong said in a joint statement released by the team. “… Dave has truly been the heart and soul of this franchise since its inception in 1977.”