Al Arbour

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Lore & Background

Arbour's arrival in Long Island in 1972 was, by the standards of the time, an oddity. The Islanders had just entered the league, and most expansion teams hired flashy, high-energy coaches. Arbour was none of that. He was a quiet, soft-spoken man in his fifties who had already won two Cups in Montreal and who spoke in measured, almost whispered sentences. The players who joined him in those early, painful seasons — the 1972-73 team that finished last in the league — would later say they respected him most for the fact that he never raised his voice, never made a scene, and never let a bad loss turn into a locker-room explosion. He simply pointed to the board, drew up the next assignment, and said, "Let's go again."

The dynasty that emerged was not the product of a single star. It was the product of a system. Arbour's defensive structure, his insistence that every player — from the centre to the fourth-line defenceman — understood his role in the forecheck and the neutral zone, created a team that could shut down opponents for entire games. The 1980-1983 run featured Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, and Clark Gillies, but the backbone was the system: a relentless, positional, two-way identity that made the Islanders the team opponents dreaded most in a seven-game series.

After the 1985-86 season, Arbour stepped down. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame the following year. In the decades since, his name has become almost synonymous with the word "Islanders" in the way that no other coach's name is synonymous with any other franchise. When Islanders fans gather to talk about what the team should be, the reference point is always the same: the old man in the suit, pointing at the board, asking for one more shift of discipline.

In Their Own Story

The arena is half-empty. The ice has been resurfaced, the Zamboni's white sheen still catching the overhead lights in long, pale streaks. A single figure stands at the bench, a navy suit immaculate, a silver tie knotted tight. He holds a small clipboard, a pencil tucked behind his ear. The rink is silent except for the faint hum of the refrigeration units beneath the boards. He taps the board once with the pencil, draws a small X where the defenceman should be, then a line for the forecheck. He does not look up. He does not need to. The players will come. They always come. He has been doing this for a hundred and forty-three games now, and the X in the corner of the board is the same X it was on the first day in Montreal, the first day in New York, the first day in Long Island. The puck sits in the centre circle, black and still. He sets the clipboard down, folds his hands, and waits for the next shift.

Reader's Guide

Al Arbour arrived in Long Island in 1972 as a fifty-year-old defenceman-turned-coach, tasked with building a franchise from scratch. Over fourteen seasons he forged the Islanders into the most dominant team in modern NHL history, winning four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983.

His signature was not fireworks but structure. Arbour installed a disciplined, two-way system that turned players like Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, and Mike Bossy into a cohesive unit. He emphasized positional play, forechecking, and defensive integrity — a philosophy that made the Islanders nearly impossible to score against in the playoffs.

One story that captures his character: during the 1980 playoffs, a young reporter asked him how he handled the pressure of a potential first Cup. Arbour reportedly answered, simply, "We play hockey." No theatrics, no speeches. Just the next shift.

His legacy is etched into the building at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. When Islanders fans talk about "the dynasty," they mean Arbour's dynasty. His name is spoken with the same reverence as any player on that roster, because he was the mind behind every line, every special team, every fourth-line grinder who played through a broken jaw. In Islanders conversation, "the old man's system" is shorthand for doing things the right way — the hard way, the disciplined way, the way that wins four Cups in a row.

Did You Know?

• Al Arbour won two Stanley Cups as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens (1965, 1966) before ever stepping foot in Long Island, making him a two-time Cup-winning coach before the Islanders existed as a franchise.
• His four consecutive Stanley Cups (1980–1983) remain one of only a handful of multi-Cup dynasties in NHL history, and the longest consecutive run by an expansion-era franchise.
• Arbour was a defenceman as a player, which is widely credited as the reason his coaching philosophy centered on structure, positioning, and defensive responsibility rather than raw offensive talent.
• He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, just one year after his final season with the Islanders, a testament to how quickly the sport recognized his impact.