Who are your top 11 coaches in NHL History?

[jghockey]

My top 11 coaches are:

1) Scotty Bowman
2) Fred Shero
3) John Muckler
4) Mike Keenan
5) Al Arbour
6) Peter Laviolette
7) Mike Sullivan
8) Mike Babcock
9) Ken Hitchcock
10) Joel Quenneville
11) Darryl Sutter

Click to read more...

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

11 is such an odd number, but I'll bite.

1. Scotty Bowman
2. Toe Blake
3. Al Arbour
4. Hap Day
5. Joel Quenneville
6. Tommy Ivan
7. Dick Irvin
8. Glen Sather
9. Fred Shero
10. Ken Hitchcock
11. Punch Imlach

HM: Mike Keenan, Darryl Sutter

John Muckler, seriously??

 

[Canadiens1958]

In order.NHL only.
Toe Blake
Scotty Bowman
Happy Day
Al Arbour
Jacques Lemaire
Mike Babcock
Joel Quenneville
Cecil Hart
Fred Shero
Milt Schmidt
Punch Imlach

 

[Johnny Engine]

In order.NHL only.
Toe Blake
Scotty Bowman
Happy Day
Al Arbour
Jacques Lemaire
Mike Babcock
Joel Quenneville
Cecil Hart
Fred Shero
Milt Schmidt
Punch Imlach

Would like to hear an expanded case for Schmidt - he's not one who gets a lot of play in these discussions with only 3 winning seasons in 13 years.

 

[Nick Hansen]

I like Lavy as a coach, his teams play good hockey, but kind of surprised seeing him here...

 

[VanIslander]

Gorman, Imlach, Tikhonov... criminally absent from many 'best of' coaches lists online.

Thankfully they at least get kuddos in hockey history books.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Would like to hear an expanded case for Schmidt - he's not one who gets a lot of play in these discussions with only 3 winning seasons in 13 years.

Far and away the best coaching job against the 1956-60 dynasty Canadiens, regular season and going to the finals(two upsets getting there) twice with so-so goaltending and a weak team. Best contemporary finals performance defensively.

Second to Blake deploying multi-position players, Mohns, McKenney, Mackell. Turned Bronco Horvath into an offensive force briefly.

Second stint with Boston, post Phil Watson, prior 1966-67 when Sinden tookover with Orr as a rookie. Actually did better - 18 to 21 wins per season and more points than Sinden did with Orr, 17 wins, 44 points.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Tarasov? Nielsen? Would be interested on thoughts there...

Also, would be curious as to what coaching tree has borne (right word?) the most fruit and if it still meaningfully alive...

 

[Canadiens1958]

Tarasov? Nielsen? Would be interested on thoughts there...

Also, would be curious as to what coaching tree has borne (right word?) the most fruit and if it still meaningfully alive...

Toe Blake(won 8 SCs in 13 seasons)

Mentored
Scotty Bowman(9SCs)
Claude Ruel(1SC)

Coached-NHL players who coached.

Jacques Plante
Doug Harvey
Bernie Geoffrion
Floyd Curry
Ralph Backstrom
Jackie Leclair
Maurice Richard
Tom Johnson(1SC)
Bob Turner
Claude Provost
Bert Olmstead
John Ferguson
Jean-Guy Talbot
Phil Goyette
André Pronovost
Red Berenson
Al MacNeil(1sc)
Jim Roberts
Jacques Laperriere
John Ferguson
Dick Duff
Rogie Vachon
Jacques Lemaire(1SC)

May have missed a few.

The tree produced an orchard since Bowman's players like Al Arbour, Glen Sather and Larry Robinson coached SC winners while others are positioned in management - his son, GM Stan Bowman has won 3 SCs

 

[Killion]

Toe Blake(won 8 SCs in 13 seasons)

Mentored
Scotty Bowman(9SCs)
Claude Ruel(1SC)

Coached-NHL players who coached.

Jacques Plante
Doug Harvey
Bernie Geoffrion
Floyd Curry
Ralph Backstrom
Jackie Leclair
Maurice Richard
Tom Johnson(1SC)
Bob Turner
Claude Provost
Bert Olmstead
John Ferguson
Jean-Guy Talbot
Phil Goyette
André Pronovost
Red Berenson
Al MacNeil(1sc)
Jim Roberts
Jacques Laperriere
John Ferguson
Dick Duff
Rogie Vachon
Jacques Lemaire(1SC)

May have missed a few.

The tree produced an orchard since Bowman's players like Al Arbour, Glen Sather and Larry Robinson coached SC winners while others are positioned in management - his son, GM Stan Bowman has won 3 SCs

If you'd included Dick Irvin Sr. in your primary list (as you should have young man) then yes, yes you could add to that list.... antecedents going back to Chicago & Toronto of the 30's, as a Player, the PCHA & the Patricks etc.... And while Toe Blake does top my list of the Greatest Coaches Of All Time... a very strong case can in fact be made for Irvin given what he had to work with coming in, turning things around in so dramatic a fashion, winning Cups. Extraordinary W/L Records. Montreal for example (dissecting the Leafs & Chicago as well, reasons to rank him very highly indeed), franchise was absolutely on the ropes when he joined in 1940, the ranks then being depleted by the War.

What he managed to pull off in the face of all these challenges nothing short of miraculous, laying the foundations which with the arrival of Frank Selke Sr following the War laid the tracks, foundations for what Toe Blake was comfortably & seamlessly able to step into.... all that followed right through the 70's. It is said that a Mans true character is displayed, can be measured in seeing how he deals with & responds to adversity. Dick Irvin Sr faced considerably more adversity than did Blake or Bowman, an interfering owner in Toronto who always thought himself the smartest man in the room & thus hobbling those around him, second guessing them... in Montreal, creatively dealing with constraints, seeing what he did in Maurice Richard & encouraging him, giving him the chance that no one else would, placing him on the Punch Line, Launch Pad... Houston, we have contact.... had the eye & mind to see what he did, confidence to run with the unorthodox in Bill Durnan who certainly didnt disappoint.....

So ya, Dick Irvin Sr. He'd be up there on my list, one of the most important & influential players & coaches of the early & mid 20th Century who's impact on the game & the lives he touched were profound, echoing long past the year of his death, 1957.

 

[Chili]

Many great coaches already mentioned.

One I would add, Badger Bob Johnson. Career coach, student of the game, long list of team accomplishments, respected by all.

It was impressive to me to see him guide the run and gun Pens who missed the playoffs in 1990 to a Cup in 1991. He convinced them to play some defence.

It`s a great day for hockey.

 

[Canadiens1958]

If you'd included Dick Irvin Sr. in your primary list (as you should have young man) then yes, yes you could add to that list.... antecedents going back to Chicago & Toronto of the 30's, as a Player, the PCHA & the Patricks etc.... And while Toe Blake does top my list of the Greatest Coaches Of All Time... a very strong case can in fact be made for Irvin given what he had to work with coming in, turning things around in so dramatic a fashion, winning Cups. Extraordinary W/L Records. Montreal for example (dissecting the Leafs & Chicago as well, reasons to rank him very highly indeed), franchise was absolutely on the ropes when he joined in 1940, the ranks then being depleted by the War.

What he managed to pull off in the face of all these challenges nothing short of miraculous, laying the foundations which with the arrival of Frank Selke Sr following the War laid the tracks, foundations for what Toe Blake was comfortably & seamlessly able to step into.... all that followed right through the 70's. It is said that a Mans true character is displayed, can be measured in seeing how he deals with & responds to adversity. Dick Irvin Sr faced considerably more adversity than did Blake or Bowman, an interfering owner in Toronto who always thought himself the smartest man in the room & thus hobbling those around him, second guessing them... in Montreal, creatively dealing with constraints, seeing what he did in Maurice Richard & encouraging him, giving him the chance that no one else would, placing him on the Punch Line, Launch Pad... Houston, we have contact.... had the eye & mind to see what he did, confidence to run with the unorthodox in Bill Durnan who certainly didnt disappoint.....

So ya, Dick Irvin Sr. He'd be up there on my list, one of the most important & influential players & coaches of the early & mid 20th Century who's impact on the game & the lives he touched were profound, echoing long past the year of his death, 1957.

Dick Irvin Sr. was basically a "trickster" coach who could not close the deal. Only 4SCs in 15 trips to the final including 4 major upsets - 1935,1938,1945,1947. Failed to realize that keeping Maurice Richard on the ice was his key to success.

Happy Day and Toe Blake easily replaced him and were much more successful, Day winning 5 SCs with the meddling of Conn Smythe.

Blake simply dumped Irvin's offensive and defensive systems, replacing them with speed and modern concepts.

Both Day and Blake were former players on Irvin teams, saw the shortcomings and changed them with great success.

 

[Killion]

Dick Irvin Sr. was basically a "trickster" coach who could not close the deal. Only 4SCs in 15 trips to the final including 4 major upsets - 1935,1938,1945,1947. Failed to realize that keeping Maurice Richard on the ice was his key to success.

Happy Day and Toe Blake easily replaced him and were much more successful, Day winning 5 SCs with the meddling of Conn Smythe.

Blake simply dumped Irvin's offensive and defensive systems, replacing them with speed and modern concepts.

Both Day and Blake were former players on Irvin teams, saw the shortcomings and changed them with great success.

Oh Maaaaaan..... Im likin Tricky Dickie Irvin... Senior...... Why ya hefta.....

He was good to Maurice.... after his first season people thought he was nuts, Richard a "Lemon".... injury prone.... Instead he has his back.... then when Richards wife has a baby, Huguette, weighs 9 pounds, Maurice decides he'd like to wear #9 (was wearing bad luck #15) to commemorate the moment & of course Dick Irvin gives him his Blessings..... Maurice promptly going about scoring 44 Goals, so never mind Birth of Hugutte, Birth of the Rocket, Legend of #9. Seems to me he looked after & used or rather gave Maurice plenty of rope.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Lots of ways to enter the Club of Great Coaches. We can count Cups, focus on innovation, acknowledge the guys who got the most out of the least, trace coaching trees to identify genealogical continuity within the fraternity, focus on lasting influence, deal with the outstanding teachers of the game. Greatness comes in many packages.

Tarasov probably wins for ongoing influence, at least from a teaching standpoint. Contemporary North American youth hockey coaches frequently (mis)quote him without even realizing where the hand-me-down insights originate. True story: 5 or so years ago now I watched a now semi-famous North American “skills coach” running an on-ice session for one of his NHL clients, a current star. Lots of loud talk, chatter, quick looks at a video monitor to clarify points, etc. I swear, it was like the second coming of Tarasov out there — “Think Faster, Speed of Mind, Speed of Mind!” Made me want a shot of vodka and a crisp pickle. By the way, there’s a whole generation of well-paid skills trainers from various former Soviet Union nations who go to extraordinary lengths in their marketing literature to highlight ANY kind of connection to “Tarasov the Master Teacher,” no matter how fleeting.

Roger Neilson probably comes closest to Tarasov in the “revered teacher” category, given the one time popularity of his youth camps and reputation for innovative teaching methods. But he still falls far short and a few years ago there was much talk of the entire “Roger Neilson Hockey School” brand closing up forever, bankruptcy calling. The Neilson name and legacy no longer carrying weight with the youth or their 30-something parents, into the dustbin alongside Cooper helmets and Northland sticks.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Arkady Chernyshev.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Arkady Chernyshev.

Interesting — makes me curious about the extent of his involvement with Dynamo feeder teams within the Soviet club system, though we are dealing with the bandy-hockey days.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Interesting — makes me curious about the extent of his involvement with Dynamo feeder teams within the Soviet club system, though we are dealing with the bandy-hockey days.

Surrounding the program with quality people. Today NHL coaches hire assistants who are not threats to replace them.

 

[Killion]

Lots of ways to enter the Club of Great Coaches. We can count Cups, focus on innovation, acknowledge the guys who got the most out of the least, trace coaching trees to identify genealogical continuity within the fraternity, focus on lasting influence, deal with the outstanding teachers of the game. Greatness comes in many packages.

Tarasov probably wins for ongoing influence, at least from a teaching standpoint. Contemporary North American youth hockey coaches frequently (mis)quote him without even realizing where the hand-me-down insights originate. True story: 5 or so years ago now I watched a now semi-famous North American “skills coach” running an on-ice session for one of his NHL clients, a current star. Lots of loud talk, chatter, quick looks at a video monitor to clarify points, etc. I swear, it was like the second coming of Tarasov out there — “Think Faster, Speed of Mind, Speed of Mind!” Made me want a shot of vodka and a crisp pickle. By the way, there’s a whole generation of well-paid skills trainers from various former Soviet Union nations who go to extraordinary lengths in their marketing literature to highlight ANY kind of connection to “Tarasov the Master Teacher,” no matter how fleeting.

Roger Neilson probably comes closest to Tarasov in the “revered teacher” category, given the one time popularity of his youth camps and reputation for innovative teaching methods. But he still falls far short and a few years ago there was much talk of the entire “Roger Neilson Hockey School” brand closing up forever, bankruptcy calling. The Neilson name and legacy no longer carrying weight with the youth or their 30-something parents, into the dustbin alongside Cooper helmets and Northland sticks.

"Shot of vodka and a crisp pickle" uh?.... not even noon Badger but ok, I'm in. .... and ya, context & criteria obviously key, critical. Fred Shero during his prime with the Flyers one of if not the Best Coach on the Planet at that time, fleeting as it may have been. All kinds of brilliance in elite amateur, Junior & or NCAA, International play, Tournament Coaches. But who couldnt translate that success into much of anything at the pro levels, Ned Harkness, Herb Brooks etc.... One on one Coaching as a Goalie back in the day I actually learned more from guys who had maybe been up for a cup of coffee in the NHL in a couple of cases, but who'd spent the majority of their careers in the minors than I did from their much more famous peers in the NHL with whom I also was lucky enough to receive some Coaching.

 

[BadgerBruce]

"Shot of vodka and a crisp pickle" uh?.... not even noon Badger but ok, I'm in. .... and ya, context & criteria obviously key, critical. Fred Shero during his prime with the Flyers one of if not the Best Coach on the Planet at that time, fleeting as it may have been. All kinds of brilliance in elite amateur, Junior & or NCAA, International play, Tournament Coaches. But who couldnt translate that success into much of anything at the pro levels, Ned Harkness, Herb Brooks etc.... One on one Coaching as a Goalie back in the day I actually learned more from guys who had maybe been up for a cup of coffee in the NHL in a couple of cases, but who'd spent the majority of their careers in the minors than I did from their much more famous peers in the NHL with whom I also was lucky enough to receive some Coaching.

Shero would likely join me for the shot of vodka at any hour. Don’t know how true this is but I recall hearing that 90% of the stuff he wrote on the Flyers’ chalkboard came straight from fortune cookies.

Anyway, I’ve never heard directly about Al Albour being a great teacher, but when I look at the Islanders roster in 79-80 when they began their run, what strikes me is how many of the players joined the team straight from junior. Trottier, Bossy, Gillies — the whole first line. Bobby Nystrom, Billy Harris, Duane Sutter. Not a game of seasoning in the minors for any of them. Same with Denis Potvin. Guys like John Tonelli, Dave Langevin apprenticed, so to speak, in the WHA but no time whatsoever in the minors. Even Ken Morrow joined the team straight from the 1980 US Olympic team via Bowling Green in the NCAA, skating not a shift in the minors.

That’s one pile of guys Arbour had to school in the NHL, one helluva task and achievement. Contrast this with the preceding Habs dynasty, where Robinson, Savard, Lapointe, Lemaire, etc., all honed their games in the minors with Houston in the old Central League or one of the Vouageurs iterations in the American League.

 

[tony d]

1. Scotty Bowman
2. Al Arbour
3. Toe Blake
4. Tommy Ivan
5. Hap Day
6. Cecil Hart
7. Fred Shero
8. Dick Irvin
9. Joel Quenneville
10. Mike Babcock
11. Jacques Lemaire

 

[Voight]

Are you John Mucklers nephew or something?

 

[Terry Yake]

i don't get why babcock should be top 10. top 20 sure but not top 10

his best coaching performance was when he took the 03 ducks to the finals. aside from that, he has two other finals appearances with 1 cup and then a whole bunch of first and second round exits

 

[Bennie]

In order.NHL only.
Toe Blake
Scotty Bowman
Happy Day
Al Arbour
Jacques Lemaire
Mike Babcock
Joel Quenneville
Cecil Hart
Fred Shero
Milt Schmidt
Punch Imlach

I always wondered what if roles were reversed for bowman and blake. Could bowman lead the 50s canadiens squad to five straight. Could blake lead the 70s squad to 4 straight. Odd thought but if they switched time periods who would fare better?

 

[streitz]

Mad Mike Milbury

 

[Canadiens1958]

I always wondered what if roles were reversed for bowman and blake. Could bowman lead the 50s canadiens squad to five straight. Could blake lead the 70s squad to 4 straight. Odd thought but if they switched time periods who would fare better?

Blake would lead both dynasties to five and four cups respectively. Bowman would not lead the 1956 to 1960 dynasty to the same success. Blake had unified teams, key to O6 success. Bowman was a divide and conquer believer, see Detroit and the Russian 5.