Legendary NHL Head Coach, Scout For Over 30 Years Dies at 89
Photo credit: Edmonton Journal
The NHL has experienced a huge loss today, as former Bruins Head Coach Tom McVie passed away today.
McVie began his NHL career as a bench boss for the Washington Capitals halfway through the 1974-1975 season.
He'd have to use all of his resources, to build a winning team out of the worst rosters in NHL history.
This is the same Capitals team that was 8-67-5 in their expansion season and would only win 11 games the year after.
Despite failing to turn the team into a Stanley Cup contender, he'd break them out of their funk and turn their fortunes around with a 24-win season.
While he understandably didn't make the playoffs in any of his three seasons in Washington, he did get the team out of complete embarrassment territory and was behind the bench for a 24-win season in 1976-77.
He'd follow up his three seasons in the NHL, with a coaching stint in the WHA with the Winnipeg Jets. He'd see the team through their final steps before merging into the NHL which would later happen in 1979.
He guided the Jets to an 11-8-0 record to end the season before upsetting both the Nordiques and Oilers to win the final Avco Cup championship, with a roster that included future NHL All-Stars Morris Lukowich and Kent Nilsson.
McVie would later remain behind the bench during the merger and would lose his later in 1980-1981, with a dismal 1-20-7 record. He'd later expand his career in the AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils and would be given a chance to coach in the NHL in 1983-1984, 1990-1991, and 1991-1992 seasons.
He'd later finish his career in the NHL with the Boston Bruins where he'd hold multiple roles with the organization until the 2019-2020 season.
Boston picked up McVie as an assistant coach the following season, and after transitioning through a few different roles, they made him a pro scout in 1998. He held that role until retiring following the 2019-20 season.
During McVie's NHL coaching career, he was behind the bench for 462 NHL games, split between the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and Winnipeg Jets.
We here at HawksInsider send our deepest condolences to the McVie family, friends, and colleagues.
Previously on HawksInsider
POLL |
JANVIER 20 | 80 ANSWERS Legendary NHL Head Coach, Scout For Over 30 Years Dies at 89 Rest in Peace Tom McVie |
Rest in Peace | 80 | 100 % |
List of polls |
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