Al Arbour

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Alger Joseph Arbour (born November 1, 1932 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada) was a player and coach in the National Hockey League.

Contents 1 Playing Career 2 Coaching 2.1 New York Islanders, 1973-1986 2.2 New York Islanders, 1988-1994 2.3 Legacy 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Playing Career

• Position: Defenceman
• Shoots: Left
• Height: 6 ft
• Weight: 180 lb

Arbour started his playing career in 1957 with the Detroit Red Wings. He later skated for the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues and won four Stanley Cups during his playing career.

[edit] Coaching

Arbour began his coaching career with St. Louis in 1970, taking over as coach after playing for the Blues for 22 games. Following two seasons with St. Louis, he was recruited by GM Bill Torrey to take over a young New York Islanders team that set a then-NHL record for futility by winning only 12 games in their inaugural season, 1972-73.

[edit] New York Islanders, 1973-1986

In his first season as Isles coach, Arbour taught his young squad how to play defense, and the team responded by allowing 100 goals fewer than they had the previous year. New York Rangers defenseman Brad Park said after the Islanders beat their crosstown rivals for the first time, "They have a system. They look like a hockey team." Although the Islanders again missed the playoffs, Arbour's coaching laid the groundwork for future success.

The 1974-75 Islanders, on the back of talent additions and Arbour's coaching, broke through and qualified for the playoffs. The Isles, now in only their third season, defeated the heavily-favored Rangers in overtime of the deciding third game of their first round series.

In the next round the team found themselves down three games to none in a best of seven quarterfinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Prior to game four, Arbour challenged his team, telling them bluntly that anyone who didn't believe that the Islanders could come back and win the series should pack their gear and never return. The Islanders rebounded with three straight victories to tie the series, then prevailed in Game 7 by a score of 1-0. 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. Since that remarkable comeback, only the 2004 Boston Red Sox of Major League baseball has matched the feat. Even more remarkable to some, the Isles then faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the next round, again fell behind 3-0, and once again tied the series at 3. Although the Flyers prevailed in Game 7 and went on to win the second of 2 straight Stanley Cups, Al Arbour's "Never Say Die" Islanders were born.

The Islanders quickly rose to the rank of contenders, then favorites, over the next four years, but weren't able to break through and become champions. The Islanders achieved great success in the regular season, culminating in the 1978-79 campaign, which they finished with the best record in the NHL. Still, the team suffered a series of playoff disappointments, losing in 1976 and 1977 to the eventual champion Montreal Canadiens, and then an upset to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1978. Most notably, in 1979 the rival Rangers, considered by journalists and commentators to be an inferior team, defeated Arbour's Islanders in a six game semifinal series. Arbour won the Jack Adams Award for the team's stellar regular season, but he determined that he had the wrong set of priorities in place. After the loss, he no longer placed much emphasis on the regular season finish and instead devoted his team's energy and focus to how they will perform in the playoffs.

The next year, the Islanders captured their first Stanley Cup championship on May 24, 1980, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 on home ice. The game was won in overtime, as many of the Islanders big wins have been. Having dispelled the talk that the Islanders couldn't win in high-stakes situations, Arbour and the Islanders captured three more consecutive Cups, a record for an American based hockey club. Along the way, his team set records for consecutive regular season victories, consecutive Finals victories, and playoff series victories, cementing the team as one of the greatest dynasties not only in hockey, but professional sports. No team in any of the four major sports has strung together four straight championships since.

Arbour retired from coaching following the 1985-86 season, accepting a position in the Islander front office.

[edit] New York Islanders, 1988-1994

Following a disappointing start to the 1988-89 season which led to the firing of Terry Simpson, Arbour returned to the bench. It was a difficult task as 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 an overmatched Islanders team past the two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins and to the Prince of Wales Conference Finals. Islanders star Pierre Turgeon was seriously injured in the decisive sixth game of the team's first round series against the Washington Capitals, putting him out of commission for the second-round matchup with the Penguins. Journalists gave the Islanders no chance to beat the Scotty Bowman-coached Penguins. The Penguings, led by rejuvinated superstar and scoring champion Mario Lemieux, finished first in the regular season and seemed primed for a third straight Stanley Cup victory. Perhaps most tellingly, Jim Smith of Newsday, Long Island's hometown newspaper, predicted that without Turgeon, the defending champions would sweep the Islanders out of the playoffs in four games. Instead, Arbour's Islanders defeated Pittsburgh in hard-fought seven game series.

Arbour retired for good after the 1993-94 season, having led the Islanders to a second playoff berth where they lost to the eventual champion New York Rangers.

[edit] Legacy

Along with Roger Neilson, Arbour was also an early user of videotape to analyze teams.

The Islanders raised a banner commemorating Arbour's 739 regular season victories to the Coliseum rafters in January 1997.

Arbour is currently second in wins and games coached behind Scotty Bowman in NHL history. Many hockey publications rank Bowman as the best coach in hockey history and Arbour as number two. This ranking is not without controversy, however, and those who believe Arbour to be the best ever point to his work turning struggling teams into champions, while Bowman usually took over teams that were already championship contenders. Arbour's team won the final playoff matchup between the two coaches in 1993.

[edit] See also

• Captain (hockey)
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons

[edit] References

• Entry at the Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by: new creation

St. Louis Blues captains 1967-70

Succeeded by: Red Berenson

Preceded by: Earl Ingarfield

Head Coaches of the New York Islanders 1973-1986

Succeeded by: Terry Simpson

Preceded by: Terry Simpson

Head Coaches of the New York Islanders 1988-1994

Succeeded by: Lorne Henning

New York Islanders Head Coaches
Goyette • Ingarfeld • Arbour • Simpson • Henning • Milbury • Bowness • Stewart • Goring • Laviolette • Stirling • Shaw • Nolan