The walk down memory lane will bring The Great Al Arbour behind the Islanders’ bench at the Coliseum tonight when the all-time, four-time Stanley Cup-winner coaches his 1,500th game for the franchise, against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
“I used to take pride being behind the bench as a time for myself to be cool and collected, but I’m sure [tonight] I’m going to be a nervous wreck,” Arbour said at a press conference yesterday at which he signed a one-game contract. “I don’t know half the players; I’m just hoping to have a good time.”
Arbour, who holds the record for most games coached for a single franchise – Billy Reay coached 1,012 regular-season matches for the Blackhawks – was last behind the bench on April 24, 1994 for the Game 4 first-round playoff sweep by the Rangers. Things have changed since then.
“I don’t understand the game today,” said Arbour, who turned 75 Thursday and was surely underestimating himself. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
Arbour will coach beside Ted Nolan, the head coach who this summer magnanimously invited the Hall of Famer to join him in order to reach the 1,500-game milestone.
“He’s a living legend who can inspire us,” said Nolan. “It’s going to be a thrill, but more than will turn 37 next week, played against Arbour’s Islanders as a Devil his first two years in the NHL.
“It’s going to be a great experience just to get a little taste of what he’s all about and what this franchise was all about in those days,” Guerin said.
Arbour may not know half the players he’ll coach in pursuit of Islanders victory 740 and NHL victory 782, but he liked what he saw from Thursday’s 4-0 triumph over Tampa Bay.
“It’s a no-name team, but it has a lot of character,” said the Coach, accompanied on the trip to what he called, “home,” by his wife, Claire. “They play hard every night.”