This Day in Hockey History – December 29, 1995 – Beam Up, Scotty

Dec 29, 2019

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As a coach, Scotty Bowman was well-known for record-setting. On December 29, 1995, he broke Al Arbour’s record for most NHL games coached by leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 2-1 victory in his 1,607th regular-season game.

Bowman had been the youngest head coach in the NHL when he first took the leadership position with the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1967. After four seasons there, he left the team in the capable hands of Coach Al Arbour. Bowman made a name for himself guiding the Montreal Canadiens through their victorious run of Stanley Cup championships during the 1970s. Meanwhile, from 1973 to 1994, Arbour held the reigns of the New York Islanders, including through their four consecutive championships. Having coached the Buffalo Sabres in the 1980s, Bowman retired in 1987 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. That same year, he returned to coaching by leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a championship and a loss to Arbour’s Islanders in the following postseason.

The 1993-94 season would be Bowman’s first with the Detroit Red Wings and Arbour’s last before retiring. That December, Bowman surpassed Arbour in the total number of NHL games coached. The record-setting game was hosted by the Dallas Stars, coached by Bob Gainey who had played for Bowman in the 1970s. When he retired, Arbour had 1,606 regular-season games under his belt, and Bowman coached his 1,607th.

Of the accomplishment, Bowman seemed more impressed with Arbour than himself. He had coached five teams with the Canadiens having the bulk of the games (634) while Arbour had coach 1,499 of his with the Islanders. “It sort of pales by comparison,” said Bowman. “Al Arbour has been with one team. That will be a record that’s difficult to beat. That’s something, for a coach to be with one team for so many games.”

At the end of the season, Bowman received his second Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. He was first awarded in 1976-77 for setting a record with 60 victories. In 1995-96, he topped that with 62. At the time, he held distinction as the only coach who won the Jack Adams Award in the 1970s, was a finalist in the 1980s, and won again in the 1990s. Bowman told the press, “I think I’ve lasted as long as I did because I took a few years off. It sort of refreshes you.”

He also pointed out the pattern that the coach to win the Jack Adams Award in 1994 won the Stanley Cup the following year, and the coach to win in 1995 won the Cup in 1996. Bowman kept up the pattern as he led the Red Wings to their first championship in 42 years in 1997. He retired from coaching after snagging two more championships with them in 1998 and 2002.

Bowman remains at the top of the list of NHL games coached with 2,141. He is also the winningest NHL coach with 1,244 victories and 9 Stanley Cup championships. For the Red Wings, Bowman has the third-highest number of wins (410) after Jack Adams himself (413) and Mike Babcock (458).