Bowman Poised To Break All-Time Coaching Record
In an era when coaches are discarded as casually as a wad of gum, no one may ever break the record Scotty Bowman will set this week.
Bowman, the Detroit Red Wings’ coach and director of player personnel, will coach his 1,606th game Tuesday, tying the National Hockey League record set by Al Arbour. Bowman will pass Arbour Friday, when the Red Wings play at Dallas. The Stars’ coach is Bob Gainey, whose six-season tenure is the longest among current coaches.
Gainey is also a member of the flock of NHL coaches who played for Bowman. Others are Montreal’s Mario Tremblay, the Kings’ Larry Robinson, New Jersey’s Jacques Lemaire and Washington’s Jim Schoenfeld. Arbour also played for Bowman, in St. Louis.
“I never thought I’d be doing this for so long,” Bowman said. “I thought I had enough five years ago, going back to Pittsburgh.”
Bowman has coached in St. Louis, Montreal, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Detroit.Only two other NHL coaches put in 1,000 games behind the bench: Dick Irvin, who coached Chicago, Toronto and Montreal for 1,437 games and won the Cup four times, and Billy Reay, who coached Chicago for 1,102 games but never won the Cup.
“You have to have good teams to do something like this,” Bowman said. “It would be awfully difficult to last this many games if you don’t have a good team.”
Bowman is already the winningest coach in NHL history, with a record of 937-428-240 in regular-season games and 137-82 in the playoffs.
Oilers on their way out
Line up the moving vans and send ‘em to Edmonton. Because when Oiler Owner Peter Pocklington says he doesn’t want to leave town and thinks he can sell 13,000 season tickets by May 31 to qualify for a $7-million aid package from the NHL, it really means he’s taking calls from prospective buyers in Atlanta and Nashville, Tenn.
It’s extortion. Buy tickets or we’re outta here, he told fans in a small city with an unsteady economic base. The Oilers have about 6,700 season ticket holders and are drawing the worst crowds in their 17-year NHL history.
Besides nearly doubling their season-ticket base, to get the NHL’s money the Oilers must sell all of their dasher-board advertising spaces and 18 unsold luxury seat boxes. It won’t happen.
“If (fans) don’t want to buy tickets, maybe this is an International League town,” he said. Maybe he’s just a minor-league owner.
Flames lose out in fire sale
Even Calgary players couldn’t believe the Flames didn’t get more for center Joe Nieuwendyk than center Corey Millen and 1995 first-round pick Jarome Iginla. Theo Fleury said he expected the Flames to get “more of an impact player,” and it’s surprising they couldn’t make a deal with the New York Rangers, who offered Ray Ferraro and goaltending prospect Dan Cloutier. A stumbling block may have been the Flames’ request for defenseman Mattias Norstrom, whom the Rangers project as a future star.
Flame interim General Manager Al Coates wanted to make a deal before the trade freeze began last Wednesday, but other general managers apparently thought he was bluffing and didn’t make their best offers. They may also have thought Nieuwendyk’s signing price too high, and they can’t be blamed. Nieuwendyk, 29, got a five-year, $11.1-million deal from the Stars, whose financial picture has improved since they were sold to Tom Hicks last week.
Slap shots
If the Oilers leave Edmonton, they would be the third of the four former WHA teams to be uprooted. Quebec moved to Denver this season and the Winnipeg Jets will be in Phoenix next season. The Hartford Whalers may make it four for four. They’re close to losing enough money to trigger an escape clause in their agreement with the state of Connecticut… . The Washington Capitals held “Furlough Friday,” offering government employees a 50 percent discount on tickets. But only 11,200 fans attended a 6-3 rout of the Oilers… . Chicago goalie Ed Belfour is 0-4-3 since Nov. 24… . The world junior championships open today in five Massachusetts cities.