By Mark Herrmann/Newsday
Al Arbour, the Hall of Fame Islanders coach, who combined old-school discipline with forward-thinking creativity to produce a modern sports dynasty with four straight Stanley Cup titles, died Friday after a long illness. He was 82.
The Islanders confirmed Arbour’s passing in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“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. “The New York Islanders franchise has four Stanley Cups to its name, thanks in large part to Al’s incredible efforts.
“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.”
The cause of death is not known, but Arbour had been suffering from dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
While his players were in the locker room on May 17, 1983, drinking champagne out of the Stanley Cup for the fourth time, Arbour said in a television interview: “There is no team with greater character, in any sport.”
That came, in large part, from the man who was persuaded to take the coaching job in 1973 when general manager Bill Torrey showed him that the North Shore of Long Island was nothing like New York City.
At first, Arbour wanted no part of Long Island because he did not think it was a good place to raise a family. By the time he was done, though, Arbour himself had become a part of Long Island, a member of its family. He remains one of its most towering and beloved figures who put it forever on the hockey map with four consecutive Stanley Cups.
The character and the coach leave this legacy: No team in any major sport has won four straight titles since Arbour’s Islanders did it from 1980-83. No other NHL team, before or since, has won 19 consecutive playoff series.
“You’ll never find a better man, or a better coach, for that matter,” said Jiggs McDonald, the longtime Islanders broadcaster and one of Arbour’s closest friends in recent years.
Arbour’s 740 Islanders wins are the most for any coach with one NHL team.
His 782 victories overall are second only to Scotty Bowman, who gave Arbour his coaching start in St. Louis. When the Islanders honored Arbour in 1997 for having been enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, emcee Clark Gillies, one of his great players, introduced him this way: “Please welcome the greatest coach in the history of hockey.”
