NHL Short Takes

Calgary Flames President Brian Burke had a number of poignant things to say last week about the late Pat Quinn, both as a coach and GM.

"He was the best listener I'd ever seen in my life," Burke said. "Pat's theory of coaching, he was going to make you, as a player, trust him and make you, as a player, feel like you didn't want to let him down. He didn't believe in punishing, especially young players. He never embarrassed them. He made them feel important. They trusted that he would do the right thing by them. That was his gift and his knack as a coach."

As a GM, Burke said, "We called him the python. Pat didn't make a lot of calls — he didn't hunt. He sat by the path and waited for some helpless GM to come by, then he'd grab him and strangle him."

Major changes could be coming in Edmonton, which is winless in nine games. The Oilers fired goalie coach Freddie Chabot, head coach Dallas Eakins is on the hot seat and they're apparently willing to trade anybody not named Taylor Hall or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

"Changes have to be made," said David Perron, who could be on the move soon.

Similarly, Todd McLellan, a tremendous coach, could be in trouble in San Jose.

"I feel confident with myself and the coaching staff, but I'm also a realist," McLellan told the San Jose Mercury News. "I understand the business."

St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Butler got some help in the penalty box Tuesday from a fan after one of his contact lenses got poked during a fight.

"A lady like two seats over from the penalty box reaches in with a little bottle of contact solution and it helped me out because the thing was kind of shriveling up," Butler said. "She saved me there. I owe her something for sure."