Former Bruins coach Pat Burns voiced his displeasure about a widely distributed report late Friday morning that indicated he had died. The 58-year-old Burns has waged a long battle with lung cancer but remains feisty.

Burns called Bob McKenzie of TSN after hearing the premature news of his demise. Said Burns: “Here we go again. They’re trying to kill me before I’m dead. I come to Quebec to spend some time with my family and they say I’m dead. I’m not dead, far [expletive] from it. They’ve had me dead since June. Tell them I’m alive. Set them straight.”

CTV in Ottawa had the original report and later retracted it, indicating: “We had erroneous information on Pat Burns. We have nothing to report about his medical condition at this time.”

Burns coached the Bruins for three seasons from 1997-2000 and for eight games of the 2001 season, making the playoffs twice in that span. He returned to the bench with the Devils and won the 2003 Stanley Cup.