This Day in Hockey History – September 25, 1987 – Potvin Says When

Sep 25, 2019

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Some people just know when it’s time to go. On September 25, 1987, 33-year-old Denis Potvin resigned as captain of the New York Islanders and announced that his 15th season would be his last skating in the NHL.

Potvin spent his entire career with the Islanders. Having been selected first overall at the 1973 NHL Entry Draft, Potvin immediately made his talent known by winning the Calder Trophy in 1974. He considered it a personal “hat trick” that he received that recognition for setting rookie records in goals and points. As the best defenseman, Potvin earned the Norris Trophy in 1976, 1978, and 1979.

Going into the 1979-80 season, the Islanders named Potvin as captain. He commented, “I wanted to be the captain, (and) I wanted the dressing room to respect that fact. My leadership qualities had nothing to do with what I said. It was important to me to go out night after night and show that intensity.” That season marked the first in the Islanders’ string of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships. After the fourth, the euphoric captain exclaimed, “I am not going to be humble about it. I think it’s the best team in the history of the game.” Indeed, the Islanders made the playoffs in all but the first season with Potvin playing defense.

Much of the success of the Islanders during that era has been credited to Potvin. As his fellow-defenseman, Ken Morrow, praised, “He wasn’t just all offense. He wasn’t just all defense. He could change the course of a game in many different ways, whether it was a thundering body check or a pass behind the net to Butch Goring on the penalty kill, or as one of the best power-play point men in history.” By the time he announced his retirement, Potvin had surpassed Bobby Orr to become the highest-scoring defenseman (291G, 710A, 1001P). He still ranks seventh. He’d also tied for most Stanley Cup games played (180) while scoring 55 goals and 104 assists in the postseasons.

With all these accomplishments, Potvin’s announcement of retirement was expected. The press reported the news before the actual press conference was held at Nassau Coliseum about a month shy of his 34th birthday. At the time, Potvin told them, “I had a strange feeling from within that I had done everything I could do here. I didn’t want to play one season too many.” Looking back later, he had no regrets. “I was blessed with the talent to play in the league for fifteen years and had the opportunity to say, ‘I’ve had enough,’ The Islanders had offered me a new deal to continue to play but I just didn’t want to at that point. I felt it was time for me to move on. I had prepared for my after-hockey life and having worked in the summers prior to 1988, was prepared for the new lifestyle and I was ready to leave.”

Potvin played the 1987-88 season until his final game (a 4-2 loss in the Patrick Division Semifinals) on April 12. After 1,060 games with the Islanders, he had scored 310 goals, 742 assists and 1,052 points. On top of that, he had 164 playoff points. He reflected, “1987-88, my last season, had to be one of the most enjoyable seasons I had had since the early years. I knew I was going to hang them up and I had made the announcement that it was going to be my last year and all of that made it great. Memories of that last year are terrific.” Others thought he could have continued playing for a while, but he explained, “Well, maybe so, but in my own mind I didn’t like the way I was progressing and it was time to move on. I never regretted it for a moment.”

It didn’t take long for the honors to heap upon him in retirement. Potvin’s junior team, the Ottawa 67s, retired his number at the Ottawa Civic Center. On March 31, 1988, the Islanders retired his No. 5. He commented, “To have my number retired, and to be the first one ever to be retired in Long Island, was a tearful kind of joy.” In 1991, Potvin (along with his teammate Mike Bossy) was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. According to Potvin, “When I went in 1991, there were fewer than two hundred people who were in the Hall of Fame and I started to realize the magnitude of being chosen.”

After retiring, Potvin began a television broadcasting career. He did color commenting for the Florida Panthers from 1993-2009 and 2014-2019. In between, he served the Ottawa Senators as an analyst. Potvin retired from his second career on July 29, 2019.