Al Arbour

Al Arbour
Al Arbour in 1977
Born	November 1, 1932 Greater Sudbury, Canada
Died	August 28, 2015 (aged 82) Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Nationality	Canadian
Coaching career
Team(s)	New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues
Stanley Cup wins	1980, 1981, 1982, 1983
Years as a coach	1970–2008
Years as an NHL coach	1970–2008
Ice hockey career Hockey Hall of Fame, 1996 (Builder) Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) Position Defence Shot Left Played for Detroit Red Wings Chicago Black Hawks Toronto Maple Leafs St. Louis Blues Playing career 1949–1971

Alger Joseph "Al" Arbour (November 1, 1932 – August 28, 2015) was a Canadian National Hockey League player, coach, and executive. He is second to Scotty Bowman for games coached in league history^[1] and third all-time in wins, behind Scotty Bowman and Joel Quenneville.^[2] Under Arbour, the New York Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983. Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Arbour played amateur hockey as a defenceman with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. He played his first professional games with the Detroit Red Wings in 1953. Claimed by the Chicago Black Hawks in 1958, Arbour would help the team win a championship in 1961. Arbour played with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the next five years, winning another Cup in 1962. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in their 1967 expansion draft and played his final four seasons with the team.

During his last year with the Blues, Arbour was hired mid-season to coach the team. In 107 games, he led them to a 42–40–25 record, but only one playoff series win. After a woeful expansion year, the New York Islanders hired Arbour as coach in 1973. Arbour led the team to a winning record every season from 1974–75 until he stepped down in 1985–86. Arbour won nineteen consecutive playoff series, which remains an NHL and North American sports record. He was awarded the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach in 1979. Upon retiring from the bench, Arbour was named vice president of player development for the Islanders. He returned to coach the Islanders in the 1988–89 season and remained there through 1993-94, notably upsetting the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1993 playoffs. He was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for his contributions to the sport and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996.

Playing career

Arbour during his time with the Detroit Red Wings, 1957

Arbour started his playing career in 1954 with the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup.^[3] He later skated for the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues. Arbour also won the Stanley Cup as a player with the 1960–61 Chicago Black Hawks and the 1961–62 and 1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs.^[4][5] Arbour, along with teammate Ed Litzenberger, is one of eleven players to win consecutive Stanley Cups with two different teams.^[6] He is one of only 11 players in Stanley Cup history to win the Cup with three or more different teams.^[7] Arbour was also the first captain of the expansion St. Louis Blues,^[8] and played for them when they lost in Cup finals in 1968, 1969, 1970 (all in four consecutive games). One of the few professional athletes to wear eyeglasses when competing, Arbour was the last NHL player to wear them on the ice.^[8][9] Arbour was also known for laying down in front of the goaltender to block shots on goal with his body.

Coaching

Arbour began his coaching career with St. Louis in 1970, taking over as coach after playing for the Blues for parts of four seasons.^[1] Following two additional seasons with St. Louis, he was recruited by GM Bill Torrey to take over a young New York Islanders team that had set a then-NHL record for futility by winning only 12 games in their inaugural season, 1972–73.

New York Islanders, 1973–86

In his first season as Isles' coach, Arbour's team finished last in the league for the second year in a row, but gave up 100 fewer goals and earned 56 points, up from 30 the year before. New York Rangers defenceman Brad Park said after the Islanders beat their crosstown rivals for the first time, "They have a system. They look like a hockey team."^[10]

The 1974–75 Islanders finished third in their division with 88 points, which qualified them for the playoffs, where they defeated the Rangers in overtime of the deciding third game of their first-round series. In the next round, the Isles found themselves down three games to none in a best of seven quarter-final series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders rebounded with three straight victories to tie the series, then prevailed in Game 7 by a score of 1–0.^[10] It was only the second time in major sports history, and the first since 1942, that a team won a series after trailing 3–0. The Islanders then faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the next round, again fell behind 3–0, and once again tied the series, although the Flyers prevailed in Game 7 and went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.^[10]

Despite achieving great regular season success, culminating in the 1978–79 campaign in which they finished with the best record in the NHL, the Islanders suffered a series of letdowns in the playoffs. In both 1976 and 1977, they lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion Montreal Canadiens, and then suffered an upset loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1978 quarter-finals, on a game-winning goal by Lanny McDonald in overtime of Game 7. Then, in 1979, the rival Rangers defeated Arbour's Islanders in the semi-finals 4–2.^[10] Arbour won the Jack Adams Award for the team's stellar regular season.^[1]

During the 1979–80 season, the Islanders struggled. However, following the acquisition of Butch Goring in March, the Islanders completed the regular season with a 12-game unbeaten streak. The regular season run carried over to the playoffs and the Islanders captured their first Stanley Cup championship on May 24, 1980, by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime of Game 6.^[10]

Arbour and the Islanders went on to capture 3 more Cups in a row, a record for an American hockey club. Along the way, they set records for consecutive regular season victories, consecutive Finals victories, and playoff series victories. By the time the Islanders were dethroned by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals, they had strung together 19 straight playoff series victories, a professional sports record.^[1] No team in any of the four major sports has strung together four consecutive championships since. The closest team in professional sports has come were the 2001 New York Yankees, who were one out away from their fourth consecutive World Series championship in 2001 before losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arbour retired from coaching following the 1985–86 season and accepted a position in the Islanders front office as vice president of player development.^[1]

Return to coaching, 1988–94

Following a disappointing start to the 1988–89 season, Torrey fired Terry Simpson, and Arbour returned to the bench. Most of the veterans of the dynasty had since left the team, and the Islanders missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Arbour had one more run deep into the playoffs in 1992–93, where he led the Islanders past the two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins and to the Prince of Wales Conference Finals.^[1] Islanders star Pierre Turgeon, who was seriously injured after Dale Hunter hit him from behind in the previous round, missed all but a few shifts of the second-round series against Pittsburgh. The Mario Lemieux-led Penguins had finished first in the regular season. Arbour's Islanders defeated Pittsburgh in overtime of the seventh game of the series. In the semifinals, the Islanders lost to the eventual champion Montreal Canadiens.^[10]

Arbour retired after the 1993–94 season, having led the Islanders to a second playoff berth where they were swept in the first round by the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers, who went on to capture the Stanley Cup. At that time Arbour had won 739 games as an Islander coach, and a banner with that number was raised to the rafters at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on January 25, 1997.^[11]

Retirement

On November 3, 2007, Arbour returned, at the request of Islanders coach Ted Nolan, to coach his 1,500th game for the Islanders.^[12] At age 75, he became the oldest man ever to coach a National Hockey League game.^[9] The Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2, giving Arbour his 740th win. The 739 win banner was brought down, and replaced with one with the number 1500, representing the total number of games coached.^[13] He is the only coach in NHL history to coach 1,500 games for the same team.

Arbour and his wife, Claire, lived in Longboat Key, Florida, and maintained a summer cottage in Sudbury.^[12] In 2015, he underwent treatment for Parkinson's disease and dementia in Sarasota, Florida, eventually entering hospice care.^[14] Arbour died on August 28, 2015, in Sarasota, Florida, aged 82.^[15][16]

Legacy

Arbour is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, New York Islanders Hall of Fame, and Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame.

• Jack Adams Award as Coach 1979^[1]
• Stanley Cup Champion as a player 1954 (Detroit), 1961 (Chicago), 1962, 1964 (Toronto)^[5]
• Stanley Cup Champion as Coach 1980–83 (Head Coach NY Islanders)^[1]
• Calder Cup Champion 1965, 1966 (with Rochester Americans)^[17]

Statistics

Playing career

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1949–50	Windsor Spitfires	OHA-Jr.		3	0	0	0	0		1	0	0	0	0
1949–50	Detroit Hettche	IHL		33	14	8	22	10		3	0	0	0	4
1950–51	Windsor Spitfires	OHA-Jr.		31	5	4	9	27		—	—	—	—	—
1951–52	Windsor Spitfires	OHA-Jr.		55	7	12	19	86		—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	Windsor Spitfires	OHA-Jr.		56	5	7	12	92		—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	Washington Lions	EAHL		4	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	Edmonton Flyers	WHL		8	0	1	1	2		15	0	5	5	10
1953–54	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		36	0	1	1	18		—	—	—	—	—
1953–54	Sherbrooke Saints	QHL		19	1	3	4	24		2	0	0	0	2
1954–55	Edmonton Flyers	WHL		41	3	9	12	39		—	—	—	—	—
1954–55	Quebec Aces	QHL		20	4	5	9	55		4	0	0	0	2
1955–56	Edmonton Flyers	WHL		70	5	14	19	109		3	0	0	0	4
1955–56	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		—	—	—	—	—		4	0	1	1	0
1956–57	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		44	1	6	7	38		5	0	0	0	6
1956–57	Edmonton Flyers	WHL		24	2	3	5	24		—	—	—	—	—
1957–58	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		69	1	6	7	104		4	0	1	1	4
1958–59	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	2	10	12	86		6	1	2	3	26
1959–60	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		57	1	5	6	66		4	0	0	0	4
1960–61	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		53	3	2	5	40		7	0	0	0	2
1961–62	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		52	1	5	6	68		8	0	0	0	6
1962–63	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		4	1	0	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Rochester Americans	AHL		63	6	21	27	97		2	0	2	2	2
1963–64	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		6	0	1	1	0		1	0	0	0	0
1963–64	Rochester Americans	AHL		60	3	19	22	62		2	1	0	1	0
1964–65	Rochester Americans	AHL		71	1	16	17	88		10	0	1	1	16
1964–65	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		—	—	—	—	—		1	0	0	0	2
1965–66	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		4	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	Rochester Americans	AHL		59	2	11	13	86		12	0	2	2	8
1966–67	Rochester Americans	AHL		71	3	19	22	48		13	0	1	1	16
1967–68	St. Louis Blues	NHL		74	1	10	11	50		14	0	3	3	10
1968–69	St. Louis Blues	NHL		67	1	6	7	50		12	0	0	0	10
1969–70	St. Louis Blues	NHL		68	0	3	3	85		14	0	1	1	16
1970–71	St. Louis Blues	NHL		22	0	2	2	6		6	0	0	0	6
AHL totals				324	15	86	101	381		39	1	6	7	42
NHL totals				626	12	58	70	617		86	1	8	9	92

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Finish	W	L	Win %	Result
STL	70–71	50	21	15	14	56	-	–	–	–	–
STL	71–72	44	19	19	6	44	3rd in West	4	7	.364	Semi-finalist
STL	72–73	13	2	6	5	9	–	–	–	–	–
STL Total		107	42 39.3%	40 37.4%	25 23.3%	109		4	7	.364	1 playoff appearance
NYI	73–74	78	19	41	18	56	8th in East	–	–	–	–
NYI	74–75	80	33	25	22	88	3rd in Norris	7	8	.333	Semi-finalist
NYI	75–76	80	42	21	17	101	2nd in Patrick	7	6	.538	Semi-finalist
NYI	76–77	80	47	21	12	106	2nd in Patrick	8	4	.667	Semi-finalist
NYI	77–78	80	48	17	15	111	1st in Patrick	3	4	.429	Quarter-finalist
NYI	78–79	80	51	15	14	116	1st in Patrick	9	6	.600	Semi-finalist
NYI	79–80	80	39	28	13	91	2nd in Patrick	15	6	.714	Won Stanley Cup
NYI	80–81	80	48	18	14	110	1st in Patrick	15	3	.833	Won Stanley Cup
NYI	81–82	80	54	16	10	118	1st in Patrick	15	4	.789	Won Stanley Cup
NYI	82–83	80	42	26	12	96	2nd in Patrick	15	5	.750	Won Stanley Cup
NYI	83–84	80	50	26	4	104	1st in Patrick	12	10	.545	Finalist
NYI	84–85	80	40	34	6	86	3rd in Patrick	4	6	.400	2nd round
NYI	85–86	80	39	29	12	90	3rd in Patrick	0	3	.000	Division semi-finalist
NYI	88–89	53	21	29	3	45	6th in Patrick	–	–	–	–
NYI	89–90	80	31	38	11	73	4th in Patrick	1	4	.200	Division semi-finalist
NYI	90–91	80	25	45	10	60	6th in Patrick	–	–	–	–
NYI	91–92	80	34	35	11	79	5th in Patrick	–	–	–	–
NYI	92–93	84	40	37	7	87	3rd in Patrick	9	9	.500	Conference finalist
NYI	93–94	84	36	36	12	84	4th in Atlantic	0	4	.000	Conference quarter-finalist
NYI	07–08	1	1	0	0	2	–	–	–	–	–
NYI total		1,500	740 49.3%	537 35.8%	223 14.9%	1,703		114	76	.600	15 playoff appearances 4 Stanley Cups
Total		1,607	782 48.7%	577 35.9%	248 15.4%	1,812		118	83	.587	16 playoff appearances 4 Stanley Cups

References

1. "Legends of Hockey: Al Arbour". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
2. Farrell, Sean. "Blackhawks win; Quenneville passes Arbour with 783". NHL.com. NHL. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
3. Nelson, Andrea (August 20, 2012). "Dual Citizenship: Al Arbour: Hockey Hall of Famer got his start with Red Wings". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
4. Diamond, D. (1992). The Official National Hockey League Stanley Cup Centennial Book, p. 266. Buffalo: Firefly Books. ISBN 1-895565-15-4
5. Elliott, Josh (January 30, 2015). "Legendary coach Al Arbour welcomes fan notes in battle with dementia". The Hockey News. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
6. "2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
7. "Players on Stanley-Cup Winning Teams". Retrieved April 13, 2010.
8. Lee Enterprises. "Al Arbour dies; was Blues' first captain". stltoday.com. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
9. ISLES GIVE AL SHOT AT 1,500
10. "Islanders History: Key Islanders Dates". New York Islanders. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
11. Weekes, Don (2003). The Best and Worst of Hockey's Firsts: The Unofficial Guide. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 240. ISBN 9781550548600.
12. Vecsey, George (November 3, 2007). "Al Arbour: The Man Behind the Glass". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
13. Podell, Ira (November 3, 2007). "Al Arbour to return to Islanders to coach 1,500th game with team". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
14. O'Neill, Dan (March 28, 2015). "Al Arbour has another kind of fight now". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
15. Halford, Mike (August 28, 2014). "Hall of Famer Al Arbour passes away". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
16. "Al Arbour, Coach of Islanders' 1980s Dynasty, Dies at 82". New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
17. Oliver, Greg (2014). Written in Blue and White: The Toronto Maple Leafs Contracts and Historical Documents from the Collection of Allan Stitt. ECW Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-1770412156. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database