Al Arbour

Alger Joseph Arbour (November 1, 1932 – August 28, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He is seventh for games coached in National Hockey League history and eighth all-time in wins. Under Arbour, the New York Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983 and won a record 19 consecutive playoff series through 1984. His 740 wins with the Islanders is the most for a coach with one team in NHL history. 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 season in 1972-73 in which the New York Islanders were coached by Phil Goyette and Earl Ingarfield, the club hired Arbour as its new 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 two-time 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 started his playing career in 1954 with the Detroit Red Wings. He later skated for the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St. Louis Blues. Arbour won the Stanley Cup as a player with the 1960–61 Chicago Black Hawks and the 1961–62 and 1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs. Arbour, along with teammate Ed Litzenberger, is one of eleven players to win consecutive Stanley Cups with two different teams. He is one of only 11 players in Stanley Cup history to win the Cup with three or more different teams. Arbour was also the first captain of the expansion St. Louis Blues, 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. He was soon recruited by GM Bill Torrey to take over a young New York Islanders team that had set a then-NHL record for futility by losing 60 games in their inaugural season, 1972–73.

New York Islanders (1973–1986) 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."

The 1974–75 Islanders finished third in their division with 88 points, which qualified them for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. 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.

Retirement On November 3, 2007, Arbour returned, at the request of Islanders coach Ted Nolan, to coach his 1,500th game for the Islanders. 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. 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. The couple had four children together. Arbour died on August 28, 2015, in Sarasota, Florida, aged 82. Al's wife Claire died February 23, 2024 in Florida.

Legacy Arbour is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, New York Islanders Hall of Fame, Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame, and St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame. Jack Adams Award as coach in 1979

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1949–50 Windsor Spitfires OHA 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 31 5 4 9 27 — — — — — 1951–52 Windsor Spitfires OHA 55 7 12 19 86 — — — — — 1952–53 Windsor Spitfires OHA 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 NHL totals 626 12 58 70 617 86 1 8 9 92

Coaching record