Al Arbour, the coach of the 1980s New York Islanders dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cups, has died at the age of 82.
The Islanders confirmed Arbour’s death Friday in a statement.
The Sudbury, Ont., native coached the Islanders to the Cup in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983 and won an NHL-record 19 straight playoff series through 1984. No team has won even three straight titles since.
Arbour’s 782 regular-season victories are the second most in league history behind only Scotty Bowman.
“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 general manager Garth Snow said in a statement. “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.”
As a defenceman in his playing days, Arbour was part of three Cup champions with the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs and was the first captain of the St. Louis Blues.
Arbour, who also coached the Blues in parts of three seasons before going to the Islanders, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1996. Arbour coached a total of 1,5000 games for New York, hitting the milestone when he came out of retirement for one final game in 2007 at the request of Ted Nolan.
As news of Arbour’s death came out, condolences poured out on Twitter from the hockey world.
“Have so many thoughts on passing of Al Arbour,” former Islanders player Ray Ferraro said. “So sad, he impacted my career, life deeply. Rest peacefully Al, prayers to Claire and family.”
Arbour had been battling Parkinson’s Disease and dementia.
With Arbour in hospice care in past months, Don Cherry offered his thoughts on his former minor-league teammate.
“He has played and coached more playoff games than anybody in the history of the game, more than Scotty, more than Joel (Quenneville),” Cherry said during his “Coach’s Corner” segment. “This guy was an unbelievable coach.”
Arbour took part in 86 playoff games as a player and 209 more as a coach. He led the Islanders to 15 playoff appearances during his tenure.
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