Fansided

Every current NHL franchise’s most beloved head coach

By Griffin Youngs

(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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New York Islanders head coach Al Arbour (center, in suit) stands on the bench to watch a home game at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, New York, May 1982. Arbour is flanked by Islanders players (from left) Bob Bourne, Bob Nystrom, Stefan Persson, Denis Potvin, and Roland Melanson. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
New York Islanders head coach Al Arbour (center, in suit) stands on the bench to watch a home game at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, New York, May 1982. Arbour is flanked by Islanders players (from left) Bob Bourne, Bob Nystrom, Stefan Persson, Denis Potvin, and Roland Melanson. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images) /

New York Islanders: Al Arbour

There is only one choice for the most beloved head coach in Islanders history, and that is Al Arbour.

Arbour began his coaching career with the St. Louis Blues and was tapped to lead the expansion New York Islanders after their abysmal first season. The Islanders still finished last in the league in Arbour’s first season, but improved by 26 points and let up 100 fewer goals to take steps in the right direction.

The next season, the Islanders qualified for the postseason for the first time with a 32-point improvement. In the playoffs, they beat the New York Rangers in a series deciding game in overtime for their first playoff series win, then became the first team in NHL history to ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, and just the second in major sports, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. Even though they were beaten in the next round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers, it was clear the future was bright.

The Islanders made the playoffs for the next 12 years under Arbour, but it wasn’t until 1980 when they finally broke through, and the rest is history. In 1980, the Arbour led Islanders captured their first Stanley Cup in 6 games over the Philadelphia Flyers with a Bob Nystrom overtime winner. Arbour would lead the Islanders to becoming one of the greatest dynasties the sports world has ever seen, capturing three more consecutive Stanley Cups for four straight Cups, an American record that will not be broken anytime soon. The Islanders made it to a fifth straight Final, but were beaten by Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers.

After being swept by the Washington Capitals in the first round in 1986, Arbour retired from coaching and took a position in the Islanders front office as vice-president of player development. But the retirement didn’t last as the Islanders struggled during the 1989 and fired fired Torrey Simpson to re-hire Arbour. Arbour remained with the club through the 1993-94 season, taking them on one last playoff run to the Conference Finals in 1993 with an upset over the back to back Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and retired a year later after a first round sweep against the Rangers.

Since the departure of Arbour, the Islanders have a grand total of one playoff series in 2016. Nobody throughout the league has come close to what Arbour achieved with the Islanders, and the Islanders are hoping for even 25 percent of the coach Arbour was to lead them back into relevance.

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