John Brian Patrick Quinn, OC (January 29, 1943 – November 23, 2014) was a Canadian ice hockey player, head coach, and executive.

Prior to coaching, Quinn was an NHL defenceman, having played nine seasons in the league with the Maple Leafs, Canucks and Atlanta Flames.

After graduating high school, Quinn accepted a scholarship from Michigan Tech, but was declared ineligible to play by the NCAA because he had already signed his rights to the Detroit Red Wings.

He played two seasons in Vancouver, before being again left unprotected in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft, where he was claimed by the Atlanta Flames and served as team captain.

[9][failed verification] In his first season back coaching, Quinn returned the Kings to the playoffs after a two-year absence with a 23-point improvement in the standings, but were swept in the opening round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers.

NHL President John Ziegler suspended Quinn for the rest of the season and barred him from taking over Vancouver's hockey operations until June.

He made his first significant transaction, bringing in future franchise goaltender Kirk McLean from the New Jersey Devils along with forward Greg Adams, for centre Patrik Sundström and the Canucks' 1988 fourth-round draft pick (Matt Ruchty), on September 15, 1987.

Quinn continued to make an impact in his first two NHL Entry Drafts, selecting future team captain Trevor Linden second overall in 1988 and Pavel Bure 113th overall in 1989.

The Canucks' head scout at the time, Mike Penny, discovered that Bure had played in additional exhibition and international games to make him an eligible late-round draft choice a year early, however.

[12][13] Quinn originally intended to draft Bure in the eighth round, but after receiving word that the Edmonton Oilers had similar intentions, he selected him in the sixth.

Team executives reportedly stormed the Met Center stage in Minnesota, where the draft was being held, protesting the choice immediately following its announcement.

Despite a lackluster regular season in which the Canucks finished with the seventh seed in their conference, the team that had been entirely built by Quinn got past the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs in the first three rounds.

Following his second Stanley Cup Finals appearance, Quinn gave up his coaching duties to focus on his roles as President and General Manager.

Quinn took on the General Manager position, reportedly to preempt Leafs President Ken Dryden from hiring his preferred GM which was former Habs teammate Bob Gainey.

[21] The Maple Leafs had suffered season-ending injuries from key players Eric Lindros, Jason Allison, Alex Khavanov and Ed Belfour, all of whom had been signed as free agents by Ferguson the preceding off-season.

Despite losing all four players to injury, the Maple Leafs finished the season going 9–1–2 with a younger lineup of prospects, many of whom were drafted by Quinn during his tenure as general manager.

[21] Aside from Toronto's lack of success, however, it was speculated that the decision to fire Quinn was a result of friction between him and general manager Ferguson (who denied it), as well as a split in the ownership of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment with Ferguson being backed by MLSE Chairman Larry Tannebaum and with Quinn being supported by Ken Thomson (whose Woodbridge holding company had planned to but never did increase its stake in MLSE).

[21] Amid speculation of his firing leading up to the official announcement, team captain Mats Sundin and veteran Darcy Tucker had both pledged support for Quinn through the media.

Despite high expectations, Canada went 3–2 through the preliminary round, losing to Switzerland and Finland, both by 2–0 shutouts, then lost to Russia, again by a 2–0 score, in the quarter-finals.

[25] Two years later, Quinn turned to junior hockey, serving as head coach for Team Canada in the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Pat Quinn was replaced by Tom Renney as head coach on June 22, 2010,[27] being given the title of Senior Adviser of Hockey Operations for the Oilers, a position he left after the 2010-11 season.