Scotty Bowman

Scotty Bowman
Scotty Bowman at the 2006 NHL Awards
Born	September 18, 1933 Verdun, Quebec, Canada
Current position	Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations
Current team	Chicago Blackhawks
Previous team(s)	St. Louis Blues Montreal Canadiens Buffalo Sabres Pittsburgh Penguins Detroit Red Wings
Stanley Cup wins	9
Years as a coach	1950s–2002
Years as an NHL coach	1967–2002

William Scott "Scotty" Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a retired National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,244 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ranks 2nd all time (behind Jean Béliveau (17)) for most Stanley Cup victories by a player, coach or executive with 14. He coached the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings. He is currently the Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the Chicago Blackhawks (his son, Stan, is the team's general manager). Bowman is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in history, in any sport.^[1]

As head coach, Bowman has won a record nine Stanley Cups; five with the Canadiens (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979), one with the Penguins (1992) and three with the Red Wings (1997, 1998, and 2002). He has also won five Stanley Cups as a member of an organization's front office. He was director of player development for the 1991 Penguins, Consultant with the 2008 Detroit Red Wings, and Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the 2010, 2013, and 2015 Chicago Blackhawks. Bowman won the Jack Adams Award in 1977 and 1996. In the 1976–77 season he won a record 60 games, breaking his own record of 58 wins the year before. He broke his own record again in the 1995–1996 season, with 62 wins. His 8 losses in 1976–77 are a modern record. His teams also made it to the Stanley Cup Finals a record 13 times and the semi-finals a record 16 times.

Early years

Bowman was born on September 18, 1933 in Verdun, Quebec. He played minor league hockey until a fractured skull resulting from a slash by Jean-Guy Talbot ended his playing aspirations. ^[2]

Coaching career

He started coaching with the Ottawa Junior Canadiens in the Quebec Junior Hockey League in 1956. Two years later, the team coached by Bowman and managed by Sam Pollock won the Memorial Cup in 1958. Soon thereafter, he moved into a coaching job with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (OHA), the Montreal Canadiens' junior farm team.

St. Louis Blues

Bowman moved into the NHL in 1967 when he joined the expansion St. Louis Blues as assistant coach to Lynn Patrick coach-manager. However, Patrick resigned after a slow start, and Bowman started as coach at age 34. The Blues caught fire, and made it to the Stanley Cup finals in their first three years of existence. Bowman also served as Manager after Lynn Patrick gave up the job in summer of 1968. Bowman remained manager-coach in St. Louis until the end of the 1970–71 season, but left due to a dispute with team ownership.

Montreal Canadiens

Bowman then joined the Montreal Canadiens as head coach. Though the Canadiens were the defending champions, Al MacNeil had been sacked as head coach due to accusations of favoritism toward the team's anglophone players. Bowman was hired in part because he is fluently bilingual in English and French. His team lost in the first round of the playoffs in 1972 but won the Stanley Cup in 1973. The Canadiens would make the playoffs over the next two seasons but lost in the first and third rounds, as the rival Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup.

From 1976 to 1979, Bowman won four consecutive Stanley Cups with a talented Canadiens squad that included Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson and Ken Dryden. Bowman's team won at least 45 games in each of his eight seasons. However, after a falling-out with ownership, Bowman stepped down after the 1978–79 season. The reason for the falling-out was the team's decision to pass him over as the new General Manager of the club in 1978 after Sam Pollock's retirement, as they hired Irving Grundman instead.^[3] The Canadiens' dynasty ended after Bowman and several key players left the team. Bowman remains the second-winningest coach in Canadiens history after Toe Blake.

Bowman and General Manager Sam Pollock not only presided over a Canadiens dynasty, but many of their players went on to have successful coaching and managing roles with their own teams.

Buffalo Sabres

For the 1979–80 season, he moved to the Buffalo Sabres as coach and general manager. He served as the team's general manager until 1987, doubling as coach on three separate occasions. During this time, he missed the playoffs for the only time in his coaching career, in the 1985–86 season. He left the Sabres as the winningest coach in franchise history. He has since been passed by Lindy Ruff.

Bowman joined the Sabres around the same time that their stars were growing old. While the Sabres remained competitive for much of his tenure, he was unable to build them into anything approaching the powerhouses he'd coached in Montreal. Bowman was relieved of his duties during the 1986-87 season and replaced by Gerry Meehan 12 games into the season. Scotty then become an analyst for the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

Pittsburgh Penguins

He became the Director of Player Personnel of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991 as a builder.^[4]

In the summer, Bob Johnson, who had just won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins, was diagnosed with brain cancer and Bowman took over as head coach. Johnson died on November 26, 1991. Under Bowman, the Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions in a season dedicated to Johnson.

The next season, the Penguins had their first 100-point season in franchise history and finished with the league's best record. The 1992–93 Penguins under Bowman set the NHL record for consecutive wins in the regular season with 17. Their 119 points is still a franchise record. In the playoffs, the Penguins were upset in seven games in the Patrick Division finals by the New York Islanders coached by Al Arbour, a former Bowman player with the Blues.

After his two seasons as head coach in Pittsburgh, he was offered a long-term deal by the club. However, he indicated that he was not interested in their initial offer, which was not disclosed to the public, so they rescinded it. "We have to get somebody who wants to coach this team," Penguins owner Howard Baldwin said. "Scotty was clearly looking elsewhere."^[5]

Detroit Red Wings

In 1993–94, Bowman became coach of the Red Wings, and led them to a first-place finish in the Western Conference, but his Red Wings were ousted in the first round by the young San Jose Sharks. According to an apocryphal story, Bowman had difficulty in the maze-like tunnels of the San Jose Arena, eventually having to be rescued after getting lost and twice locking himself into rooms.^[6]

In 1995, the Red Wings made it to the Stanley Cup Finals but were swept by the New Jersey Devils in four straight. This was the Red Wings' first appearance in the finals in 29 years. In the 1995–96 regular season, he won a record 62 games. However, they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals.

In the 1997 playoffs, Bowman led the team to its first Stanley Cup in 42 years by sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers 4–0. The Red Wings repeated the feat the following season (1998) by sweeping the Washington Capitals.

In 1999 and 2000, they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Semi-Finals, and in 2001 they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round.

Bowman decided in February 2002 that he would retire at the end of the season and he went out as a winner as his Red Wings won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4 games to 1. During the presentation of the Cup on the ice, Bowman put on an old pair of skates so he could take a lap with the Cup. He then publicly announced his retirement from coaching. He is third on the Red Wings' all-time wins list behind only Jack Adams and Mike Babcock.

Team Canada

Bowman has coached the Canada men's national ice hockey team at the international twice in his career. In the 1976 Canada Cup his team won gold over Czechoslovakia and silver in the 1981 Canada Cup against the Soviet Union.

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	W	L	Win %	Result
STL	67–68	58	23	21	14	–	70	3rd in West	8	10	.444	Lost in Final
STL	68–69	76	37	25	14	–	88	1st in West	8	4	.667	Lost in Final
STL	69–70	76	37	27	12	–	86	1st in West	8	8	.500	Lost in Final
STL	70–71	28	13	10	5	–	31	2nd in West	2	4	.333	Lost in first round
STL total		238	110 41.5%	83 34.9%	45 18.9%	–	265		26	26	.500	4 playoff appearances
MTL	71–72	78	46	16	16	–	108	3rd in East	2	4	.333	Lost in first round
MTL	72–73	78	52	10	16	–	120	1st in East	12	5	.706	Won Stanley Cup
MTL	73–74	78	45	24	9	–	99	2nd in East	2	4	.333	Lost in first round
MTL	74–75	80	47	14	19	–	113	1st in Norris Division	6	5	.545	Lost in Semi-Finals
MTL	75–76	80	58	11	11	–	127	1st in Norris Division	12	1	.923	Won Stanley Cup
MTL	76–77	80	60	8	12	–	132	1st in Norris Division	12	2	.857	Won Stanley Cup
MTL	77–78	80	59	10	11	–	129	1st in Norris Division	12	3	.800	Won Stanley Cup
MTL	78–79	80	52	17	11	–	115	1st in Norris Division	12	4	.750	Won Stanley Cup
MTL total		634	419 66.1%	110 17.4%	105 16.6%	–	943		70	28	.714	8 playoff appearances 5 Stanley Cup Championships
BUF	79–80	80	47	17	16	–	110	1st in Adams Division	9	5	.643	Lost in Semi-Finals
BUF	81–82	35	18	10	7	–	43	3rd in Adams Division	1	3	.250	Lost in Division Semi-Finals
BUF	82–83	80	38	29	13	–	89	3rd in Adams Division	6	4	.600	Lost in Division Finals
BUF	83–84	80	48	25	7	–	103	2nd in Adams Division	0	3	.000	Lost in Division Semi-Finals
BUF	84–85	80	38	28	14	–	90	3rd in Adams Division	2	3	.400	Lost in Division Semi-Finals
BUF	85–86	37	18	18	1	–	37	5th in Adams Division	–	–	–	Missed playoffs
BUF	86–87	12	3	7	2	–	8	–	–	–	–	(Fired)
BUF total		404	210 52.0%	134 33.2%	60 14.9%	–	480	–	18	18	.500	5 playoff appearances
PIT	91–92	80	39	32	9	–	87	3rd in Patrick Division	16	5	.762	Won Stanley Cup
PIT	92–93	84	56	21	7	–	119	1st in Patrick Division	7	5	.583	Lost in Division Finals
PIT total		164	95 57.9%	53 32.3%	16 9.8%	–	206		23	10	.697	2 playoff appearances 1 Stanley Cup championship
DET	93–94	84	46	30	8	–	100	1st in Central	3	4	.429	Lost in Conference Quarter-Finals
DET	94–95	48	33	11	4	–	70	1st in Central	12	6	.667	Lost in Stanley Cup Final
DET	95–96	82	62	13	7	–	131	1st in Central	10	9	.526	Lost in Conference Final
DET	96–97	82	38	26	18	–	94	2nd in Central	16	4	.800	Won Stanley Cup
DET	97–98	82	44	23	15	–	103	2nd in Central	16	6	.727	Won Stanley Cup
DET	98–99	82	43	32	7	–	(93)	1st in Central	6	4	.600	Lost in Conference Semi-Finals
DET	99–00	82	48	22	10	2	102	2nd in Central	5	4	.556	Lost in Conference Semi-Finals
DET	00–01	82	49	20	9	4	111	1st in Central	2	4	.333	Lost in Conference Quarter-Finals
DET	01–02	82	51	17	10	4	116	1st in Central	16	7	.696	Won Stanley Cup
DET total		706	410 58.6%	193 27.5%	88 12.5%	10 1.4%	920		86	48	.642	9 playoff appearances 3 Stanley Cup championships
Total		2,146	1,248 58.2%	574 26.7%	314 14.6%	10 0.5%	2,814		223	130	.632	28 playoff appearances 9 Stanley Cup championships

Retirement

In 2003 Bowman was inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame.^[7]

Since his retirement as coach in 2002, Bowman worked as a special consultant to the Red Wings.^[8] On August 3, 2007, it was reported that Bowman was offered the position of President of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bowman later appeared in an interview on Hockey Night in Canada on January 12, 2008 confirming that he was very close to taking the job only to be turned away by Richard Peddie, CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE).^[9][10] In July 2008, he took a position as Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the Chicago Blackhawks to work alongside his son Stan Bowman, who is the General Manager.^[11] The Blackhawks' Stanley Cup victory in 2010 gave Bowman his 12th Stanley Cup including coaching and team management, and the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup victory in 2013 gave Bowman his 13th. Chicago's 2015 Stanley Cup victory marks Scotty's 14th.

In 2012, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to hockey as a coach and mentor".^[12]

Family

Bowman currently lives in East Amherst, NY with his wife Suella. They have five children (Alicia, David, Stanley, Robert and Nancy). Bowman's brother, Jack, was a longtime scout for the Buffalo Sabres. His nephew, Steve Bowman, is the Head Amateur Scout for the Washington Capitals, and his son, Stan, is the General Manager of the Chicago Blackhawks.

References

1. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/401648-the-best-coaches-in-the-history-of-sport
2. The Game, Ken Dryden, p.36, Published by Macmillan Canada, 1993, ISBN 0-7715-9001-6
3. The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D’Arcy Jenish, p.236, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, ISBN 978-0-385-66325-0
4. HickokSports.com – Biography – Scotty Bowman
5. http://articles.philly.com/1993-05-29/sports/25963250_1_penguins-coach-bob-johnson-coach-on-opening-day-scotty-bowman
7. Canada's Walk of Fame
8. Kelley, Jim (May 29, 2008). "Bowman keeps close ties to Cup". SI.com (Cable News Network). Retrieved June 5, 2008.
9. "Scotty Bowman says Leafs turned him down". CBC News. January 13, 2008.
10. Bowman: Maple Leafs turned me down
11. Chicago Blackhawks – News: Blackhawks To Host Major Press Conference Today – July 31, 2008
12. "Appointments to the Order of Canada".

External links

• Scotty Bowman's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Scotty Bowman's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

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