This Day in Hockey History – July 25, 1977 – Roger That

Jul 25, 2019

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Everyone has to start somewhere. Roger Neilson started on July 25, 1977, when he received his first head coaching job in the NHL. In total, he coached eight NHL teams throughout his career before heading his 1,000th and final game in April 2002.

Neilson did not have to go far to find his first gig in Toronto, his birthplace. In his youth, he used to attend junior games at Maple Leaf Gardens and then hide there so he did not have to pay to watch NHL games. He coached various hockey (and baseball) teams while attending North Toronto Collegiate Institute and then McMaster University (for a degree in physical education). The legendary Scotty Bowman hired him in 1962 to scout the Toronto area part-time.

For about ten years after he was hired in 1966, Neilson coached the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey Association. They were the Montreal Canadiens’ junior farm team. He made sure the team helped the players with tuition if they wanted to further their education. He himself also taught physical education at a local high school. For the 1976-77 season, Neilson moved on to coach the Dallas Black Hawks in the Central Hockey League. They were affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs (and Chicago Blackhawks), who noticed Neilson’s innovations and exploitations of the rulebook.

In 1977, Toronto was looking to replace Red Kelly, their coach for the past four seasons and had played for them throughout the 1960s. Neilson was hired by owner Harold Ballard who would controversially fire, rehire, and fire him after two seasons. In the first season, he led the team to 41 wins and the second round of playoffs. One of his star players, Darryl Sittler, proclaimed, “He was the best coach I had in my professional career.” Their record in the second season, leading to his dismissal, was 34-33-13.

After Toronto, Neilson went on to coach the Buffalo Sabres (1980-81), Vancouver Canucks (1982-1984), Los Angeles Kings (1984), New York Rangers (1989-1993), Florida Panthers (1993-1995 as their first ever coach), Philadelphia Flyers (1990-2000), and two games with the Ottawa Senators (2002). He joked, “I’ve been fired pretty well every way there is.” Though he came close in 1982 with the Canucks and just missed with the Rangers (who won in 1994), Neilson never coached Stanley Cup champions. He was working as a videotape analyst for the Edmonton Oilers when they won in 1984. Overall, Neilson coached 1,000 regular-season games (460-378-159-3). He also served as assistant coach in Buffalo, Chicago, St. Louis, and Ottawa. He summed up his entire career saying, “From the time I was 17 until now, I was just trying to win games.”

Mainly, Neilson was known for his pushing of boundaries. As one of the first to use video to scout and analyze opponents, he was called “Captain Video.” He was also one of the first to emphasize stretching before playing and conditioning during the off-season. Further, his willingness to take advantage of loopholes in the rulebook caused many rules to be changed. For being a pioneer and coach, Neilson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002 and was invested into the Order of Canada the following May (a month before dying of cancer).