This note from NHL.com’s John Kreiser, offering a, “This Date in NHL History” article, takes note of a significant birthday:
1933: Scotty Bowman, the most successful coach in NHL history, is born in Montreal.
After an injury ends his hopes of becoming an NHL player, Bowman turns to coaching and gets his first NHL job at age 34 in 1967 as an assistant with the expansion St. Louis Blues. He replaces Lynn Patrick as coach later that season and guides the Blues to the Stanley Cup Final in each of their first three seasons. Bowman moves to the Montreal Canadiens in 1971-72 and wins the Stanley Cup five times in eight seasons, including four in a row from 1976-79, before leaving to become coach and general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.
Bowman becomes director of player personnel for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990 and is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1991, but goes back behind the bench when coach Bob Johnson is diagnosed with brain cancer after leading the Penguins to the Cup in 1991. Johnson dies Nov. 26, 1991; the Penguins dedicate the season to him and Bowman guides them to a second straight Stanley Cup championship.
He takes over as coach of the Detroit Red Wings in 1993. They make the Final in 1995, win a regular season-record 62 games in 1995-96 and end a 42-year championship drought by sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1997 Cup Final. Under Bowman, the Red Wings win the Cup again in 1998 and 2002; after that, he retires with NHL records for games coached (2,141), wins in the regular season (1,244) and playoffs (223), and Stanley Cups (nine).
Bowman is part of another Cup-winning team with Detroit in 2008, as a special consultant. In July 2008 he is named a senior adviser with the Chicago Blackhawks, working with his son, GM Stan Bowman. He is part of Chicago’s championship teams in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Happy Birthday, ?????? ‼️? pic.twitter.com/2EzeNdIjac— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 18, 2020
The man. The myth. The legend. Happy birthday Scotty Bowman! Join us as we roast and toast the man of the hour on October 14th at The Celebrity Roast of Scotty Bowman presented by @DeltaDentalMI For more info (including silent auction!) visit https://t.co/jj2XvGcmbP pic.twitter.com/zEdbrcjwjs— Jamie Daniels Foundation (@JDanielsFund) September 18, 2020
A happy 87th birthday to the one and only Scotty Bowman @coachwsb. One of my favourite people, Scotty has always been unafraid to make bold statements, like wearing these pants while coaching Montreal. pic.twitter.com/0nyW5rnKmO— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) September 18, 2020
