Al Arbour, Hall of Fame Islanders coach, dies at 82
Hockey Hall of Famer Al Arbour is considered one of the greatest coaches in NHL history, and he is one of the most beloved coaches in NHL history.
Those two distinctions don’t always go hand-in-hand.
When Arbour, 82, died Friday, the NHL lost a decorated coach who was viewed as a father figure by many of the NHLers who played for him over his 22-season coaching career.
“He treated his team like a family,” former Islanders general manager Bill Torrey said. “You have good days. You have bad days. But you are going together as a team and a group and you don’t falter. He really set the tone from day one.”
Arbour was in command of the celebrated New York Islanders team that won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83. “He never felt that any (challenge) was insurmountable,” said Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin, who was 19 when he began playing for Arbour on Long Island.
The stories that have been handed down through the years have always depicted Arbour as a highly effective tactician who treated his players like they were his sons, mixing in doses of tough love and sage advice to get the best efforts out of his players. He had an astute knack of knowing when a player needed a stern hand and when a player needed an arm around his shoulder.
"He was a sports psychologist before we ever heard the meaning of the word," said former Islanders broadcaster Jiggs McDonald. "He knew what he could get with a pat on the back or a kick in the hockey pants. He never let his guys get too high after a win or too down during a losing streak. He was a giant of a man."
The book on Arbour is that he drew the top performances out of his players because they respected him so much.
“Al Arbour left us feeling like champions, and he also left us with a lot of great memories that we can carry on through life,” Potvin said. “I remember one thing in particular…Al used to say that the negative energy that you're feeling, turn it into a positive energy. That has never left me and I know many of my teammates feel the very same way.”
Arbour coached the Islanders from 1973-86 and from 1988-94, leading his team into the playoffs 15 times. He won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 1979. He is second on the coaches' all-time wins list behind Scotty Bowman with 782.
"Al will always be remembered as one of, if not, the greatest coaches ever to stand behind a bench in the history of the National Hockey League,” Islanders president and general manager Garth Snow said in a statement released by the team. "From his innovative coaching methods, to his humble way of life away from the game, Al is one of the reasons the New York Islanders are a historic franchise. On behalf of the entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to the entire Arbour family."
When it became public that Arbour was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and dementia, a gang of his former players went to visit him.
“Other than family, nothing was more important to him than his players and team,” Torrey said
Arbour understood players because he played 626 games in the NHL as a glasses-wearing defenseman. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks,Toronto Maple Leafs and finished his NHL career playing for Bowman in St. Louis.
Arbour played in the postseason for 1961 Blackhawks team that won the Stanley Cup, and the 1962 and 1964 Maple Leafs teams that won the Stanley Cup. He also played in the regular season for the 1953-54 Red Wings team that won it all.
Bowman had said Arbour was one of the most courageous and respected players who ever played for him. He said young players always looked up to him because of the fearless way he played the game.
“If you had the use for another dad, Al was the right guy for you,” said Potvin, now a television analyst for the Florida Panthers.
PHOTOS: Legendary coach Al Arbour
