PLAYERS

Andy Bathgate was a hockey stylist--an athletic, graceful skater who handled the puck with skill and flash. Known for his blazing, accurate shot, he was one of the first men to use the slapshot to overpower goaltenders. Bathgate was a creative playmaker on the ice and often did the unexpected, throwing off opposing defenders with imaginative feints and passes. He accomplished all of this wearing heavy knee braces, the result of a serious injury during his first shift as a junior player in Guelph, Ontario. That injury required a steel plate to be inserted in his left knee to repair the damage.

Unfortunately, the New York team that Bathgate spent the best years of his career with had one of its worst runs, and his great play was often forgotten once the playoffs began, usually without his Rangers.

Born in Winnipeg in 1932, Bathgate spent the beginning and end of his career shuttling between the pro leagues and the minors. He played on the Memorial Cup-winning team in Guelph in 1952 and then first cracked the Rangers during the 1952-53 season. He finally made it as a regular in 1954-55 and had an immediate impact, scoring 20 goals and collecting 20 assists. For the next eight years, he led the Rangers in points and established himself as one of the most gifted offensive players in the league. He had arguably his best year in 1958-59, leading the NHL in assists and performing well enough to win the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player even though the Rangers finished a point behind the fourth-place Toronto Maple Leafs and missed the playoffs. Bathgate was also voted to the league's First All-Star Team that year, beating out the great Gordie Howe for right wing honors.

Like Howe, Bathgate could play the physical game and was known as a fierce fighter when the occasion warranted it, perhaps an attribute from his youth in a tough Winnipeg neighborhood known for its boxers. Bathgate made the First All-Star Team again in 1962-63 and was voted to the Second Team the next year. Though truly an individualist on the ice and off, he always placed the team above his own accomplishments and was disappointed with the Rangers' consistently poor performances. In February 1964 he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team preparing itself for a run at the Stanley Cup. Bathgate would realize his greatest thrill in hockey when the Leafs, helped by his timely goals in the playoffs, won the championship that year.

Bathgate, who missed a number of games in the 1964-65 season with his continuing knee problems, was sent to the Detroit Red Wings. He helped the Wings during their surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1965-66. In 1967 he was picked by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Expansion Draft. He spent a year with the Penguins and then two with the Western Hockey League's Vancouver team, earning the MVP award in that league in 1969-70. Bathgate was a rare veteran in that he didn't mind playing in the minors late in his career. He said he'd rather play a regular shift in a lesser league than sit on the bench in the NHL. He did return to the NHL for one last season, again with the Penguins, and then ended his career as a player-coach in division A in Switzerland. He made one last late comeback, playing 11 games with the World Hockey Association's Vancouver Blazers, a team he'd coached the previous season, in 1974-75.

Andy Bathgate is closely associated with one important hockey innovation. The first originated on November 1, 1959. Bathgate sent one of his harder shots toward goalie Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens. The puck struck the All-Star goalie in the face, and opened a gash that required stitches. When Plante returned to the ice, he was wearing a mask, a piece of equipment now universally used.

A smooth player and class act, Andy Bathgate was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1978 along with Marcel Provonost, the player he was traded for when he went to Detroit from Toronto, and, ironically, Jacques Plante.
 

 Leo Boivin began playing hockey at the age of seven on the rivers and outdoor ice surfaces of Prescott, Ontario, near Ottawa. As a youngster he knew that he wanted to be a defenseman "because defensemen got to stay on the ice longer, got to play more."

Boivin's junior career began in 1948-49 as a member of the Inkerman Rockets and lasted two more seasons as a member of the Port Arthur Bruins. Boivin's teams competed in the Memorial Cup playdowns in all three of his years in junior. While Boivin was still a teenager, his playing rights were traded by the Boston Bruins to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He began his professional career as a member of the 1951-52 American Hockey League champion Pittsburgh Hornets but was called up to the Leafs for a two-game tryout late in the 1951-52 season, making his National Hockey League debut on March 8, 1952.

Boivin landed a starting job with the Leafs in 1952-53 and played with Toronto until being traded back to the Bruins early in the 1954-55 season. It was with the Bruins that Boivin's reputation as a hard-hitting, stay-at-home defenseman grew. Tim Horton considered him to be the toughest blueliner to beat in a one-on-one situation and some Bruin historians refer to him as the link between Eddie Shore and Bobby Orr. Boivin was captain of the Bruins during four of his 12 years with the club and he played in the NHL All-Star game during the 1961, 1962 and 1964 seasons. His Bruin teammates called him "Billy Boy Boivin" for no other reason than the alliteration had a nice ring to it.

A trade to Detroit mid-way through the 1965-66 season provided Boivin with his last chance at a Stanley Cup, but it was not to be. Detroit lost the final series to the defending champion Canadiens four games to two.

Boivin was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1967 Expansion Draft, returning to the city where he began his professional hockey career 16 years earlier. The Penguins traded him to the Minnesota North Stars mid-way through the 1968-69 season and Boivin played one more year for the North Stars before retiring at the end of the 1969-70 campaign.

After retiring, Boivin stayed in the game as a scout. He went behind the bench as the interim coach of the St. Louis Blues during the 1975-76 and 1977-78 seasons, and coached the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League for a time but ultimately he preferred scouting to coaching.

Also nicknamed "Fireplug" for his compact stature and devastating body checks, Leo Boivin was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986.
 

Smooth-skating Paul Coffey embodied everything an offensive defenseman could be -- lightning fast, a skilled playmaker, a booming shot and savvy, yet still able to defend his team's zone employing blinding speed.

Born June 1, 1961 in Weston, Ontario, the seventeen-year-old Coffey joined the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1978-79 season, contributing 89 points to the Soo's offense as a rookie defenseman. During his second season of junior, Paul was sent to the Kitchener Rangers. That season, between the Greyhounds and Rangers, Coffey tallied 29 goals and 102 points, and was named to the Ontario Hockey Association's Second All-Star Team. That summer, the Edmonton Oilers used their first pick, the sixth selection overall, to choose Paul Coffey in the 1980 Entry Draft. It was perfect timing for both sides -- the Oilers were developing into a highly skilled, offensively explosive club and Coffey's skill set meshed perfectly as the quarterback of the dynamic young team.

As an NHL rookie, Paul scored nine goals and 32 points, but it was in 1981-82 as a sophomore that Coffey really hit his stride. In his second season, Paul led all NHL defensemen with 89 points and was chosen for the NHL's Second All-Star Team. In 1982-83, he collected 96 points (29 goals and 67 assists), but it was his 126 points in 1983-84 that put him second only to teammate Wayne Gretzky in the NHL scoring race that year. That same season, the high-flying Edmonton Oilers won the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

In 1984-85, on his way to helping lead the Oilers to their second straight Stanley Cup, Paul Coffey won the Norris Trophy as the National Hockey League's best defenseman and was selected to the First All-Star Team, a feat he replicated in 1985-86 in a season that can only be considered extraordinary. Coffey finished third in scoring with 138 points, including 48 goals and 90 assists.

Prior to the 1987-88 season, Coffey was traded to Pittsburgh, heading east with Wayne Van Dorp and Dave Hunter while Craig Simpson, Dave Hannan, Moe Mantha and Chris Joseph moved to Alberta. In both 1988-89 and '89-90 while with the Penguins, Paul cracked the 100-point plateau for the fourth and fifth times. The blueliner helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win their first Stanley Cup championship in 1990-91.

On February 19, 1992, Coffey was moved to the Los Angeles Kings in return for Brian Benning, Jeff Chychrun and a first round draft pick. L.A. would be the third of nine teams Paul would list on his NHL resume. In January 1993, Coffey was packaged with Jim Hiller and Sylvain Couturier and sent to Detroit for Jimmy Carson, Marc Potvin and Gary Shuchuk, but an injured knee hampered his play that season. By the following season, he had rebounded and not only led the Red Wings in scoring but was once again awarded the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman. Paul scored 14 goals in three consecutive seasons as a Red Wing, starting in 1993-94.

Paul's stay in Detroit lasted until October 1996 when he was traded with Keith Primeau and a first round draft selection to Hartford for Brendan Shanahan and Brian Glynn. Midway through the season, Coffey landed in Philadelphia, sent to the Flyers with a third round draft pick for Kevin Haller and two draft picks. During the summer of 1998, the Flyers traded Paul to the Chicago Blackhawks for a draft choice, but after ten games, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. Coffey's last stop was with the Boston Bruins, where he signed as a free agent in 2000. After eighteen games, Paul ended his terrific National Hockey League career; one in which he reached pinnacles seldom even dreamed of -- 396 goals and 1,135 assists gave the skilled defenseman 1,531 points in 1,409 regular season games. Paul also contributed 196 points, comprised of 59 goals and 137 assists, in 194 playoff contests.

Through twenty-one NHL seasons, Paul Coffey was named to either the First or Second All-Star Team eight times, and as the Norris Trophy winner on three occasions. He also appeared in fourteen NHL All-Star Games and represented Canada at four Canada/World Cup tournaments. Paul retired as the highest scoring defenseman in NHL playoff history and the second most proficient defenseman in NHL regular season history, sitting behind Raymond Bourque in career goals, assists, and points.

In 2004, the spectacularly gifted Paul Coffey was selected to be an Honored Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
 

Ron Francis played less than a year and a half of junior hockey before joining the Hartford Whalers in the NHL early in the 1981-82 season. He was selected fourth overall at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, although initially the Whalers had no intention of selecting him. They wanted Bobby Carpenter, but the team unwisely made their preference for the American-born Carpenter publicly known. The Washington Capitals, choosing third, beat Hartford to the punch and took Carpenter, as the Whalers selected Francis fourth overall.

Although just a 19-year-old rookie, Francis showed maturity well beyond his years when he first stepped onto NHL ice. He had 25 goals and 68 points his first season and instantly became a fan favorite both for his playing skill and his unfailing work in the community. He was blessed to be able to room with the great Dave Keon on road trips, and the two became fast hockey friends.

While the Whalers were happy to have Francis, the team missed the playoffs the first four years he was with the team while it developed its young talent. Then it became a consistent playoff team but had an awful time winning even one round of the playoffs each spring, playing in the same division as Montreal, Boston and Quebec. Midway through the 1984-85 season, he was made team captain when incumbent Mark Johnson was traded to St. Louis. At 22, Francis became one of the youngest captains in NHL history, but he was able to live up to the expectations of wearing the "C" without it affecting his play. He routinely scored 25 goals and 80 points, but midway through the 1990-91 season coach Rick Ley stripped him of the captaincy without an explanation. Francis took the demotion in stride, but just a few weeks later he was traded to one of the Stanley Cup favorites, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In Pittsburgh he played behind Mario Lemieux and a young Jaromir Jagr, but he took his game to another level. He became not only a goal scorer but one of the best passing centers and two-way players in the league. Pittsburgh won back-to-back Cup titles in 1991 and 1992, and Francis twice reached the 100-point plateau. He was equally consistent in the playoffs as in the regular season, and for 1994-95 he was named Penguins captain while Mario Lemieux recovered from injuries and missed the year. At the start of the next season, though, the captaincy was given back to Mario, and Francis just kept on leading by example. His sportsmanship paid off, for when Lemieux retired in 1997, the captaincy was once again sewn onto his sweater.

Although he has played in four All-Star games and has won the Selke Trophy (1995) and the Lady Byng Trophy (1995, 1998), Francis is perhaps the quietest superstar in the league. He reached 500 career goals in 2002, is one of only a few to record 1,000 career assists, and is climbing into the top 10 of all-time scorers, yet few would put him in the same class as Lafleur, Dionne or Lemieux.

In the summer of 1998 he returned, sort of, whence he came. Pittsburgh felt Francis was getting on in years. He was 35 years old and an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and was in a position to negotiate possibly one final contract. He signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, which was where the Hartford Whalers had relocated the previous season. In 2002 Francis led the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup Final only to fall to mighty Detroit Red Wings and was the recipient of the King Clancy Memorial and his third Lady Byng Memorial.

Francis went on to play parts of six seasons in Carolina before being dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2004 trade deadline. Following a lock out year in 2004-05, Francis called it a career in the summer of 2005. In November 2006, Francis returned to the Carolina Hurricanes as the club's Director of Player Development.
 

Though it would be impossible to prove, the case could be made that Tim Horton was the strongest man ever to lace up skates in the National Hockey League. As a junior player with the St. Michael's College team in the Ontario Hockey League, Horton had NHL scouts and executives claiming he'd be the league's all-time great defenseman. But Horton's career, for all of its early promise, got off to a slow start. Though his attributes were obvious, he took a while to mature as a defensive player and spent several years moving back and forth between Toronto and its minor-league team in Pittsburgh. When he did find a regular job with the Maple Leafs during the 1952-53 season, respect was hard to come by, mostly because the expectations had been so high during his junior days.

In 1954, having just turned 24, Horton was selected to the league's Second All-Star Team and his career took off from there. With a few weeks left in the 1954-55 season, however, Horton broke his leg and jaw in a thunderous collision with the New York Rangers' Bill Gadsby. Gadsby later said it was the hardest hit he ever delivered. Horton, in traction and fed intravenously for days afterwards in the hospital, certainly agreed. When he returned to the ice after missing almost half of the 1955-56 season, he was slow to regain his form.

In 1958-59, Horton was paired on the blue line with Allan Stanley. Stanley's solid play allowed Horton to take a few more chances carrying the puck, knowing he had the speed to recover should he lose possession and that Stanley would be there to back him up. With Bobby Baun and Carl Brewer also starring on defense, the Leafs had a core of skilled, rugged and reliable defensemen. And the defense was the foundation of a Toronto team that won the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963 and 1964, with Horton earning a spot on the Second All-Star Team in 1963 and First Team honors in 1964. The team went through a minor slump in 1965 and for part of the season coach Punch Imlach moved Horton to the right wing on a line with George Armstrong and Red Kelly, another defenseman turned forward. Horton scored 12 goals, many of them with his huge slapshot from close range.

After the Leafs' last Stanley Cup win in 1967 - after which Horton was once again selected to the league's Second All-Star Team - the Maple Leafs went into decline. Many of the stars of the championship teams moved on or retired. Though he remained and was a First Team All-Star the following two seasons, Horton was tempted to retire in 1969 because of the success of his business off the ice, a chain of donut shops bearing his name, and of Punch Imlach's dismissal as coach of the club.

Horton claimed he wanted double his salary to even consider returning. Lacking any veteran leadership on its blue line, Toronto surprised Horton by giving him over $80,000, roughly double his salary of the year before. The team, so young that Horton was the oldest defender by 16 years, was dead last in the league in the spring of 1970. Horton's large salary was impractical for a team with little promise and he was traded to the New York Rangers. He spent a full season in New York in 1970-71, but was then selected in the next two intra-league expansion drafts, moving first to Pittsburgh for an injury-plagued season in 1971-72 and then to Punch Imlach's Buffalo Sabres.

Early in the morning of February 21, 1974, Tim Horton was killed in a single-car crash while driving home to Buffalo after a game in Toronto against his old team. Police who chased the sports car reported that it was traveling over 100 miles per hour before it crashed just outside of St. Catharines, Ontario. Toronto won the game that night, but Horton, even though he missed the third period with a jaw injury, was selected as the game's third star for his standout play. He left behind a wife and four daughters. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977. Today there are Tim Horton donut shops all across Canada.
 

He was big and strong but rarely had to bully his way through defenders, sending them flying instead with deft fakes and dekes. In him, the attributes of the pure scorer and the playmaker were fused and his size, reach and balance made his end-to-end rushes seem effortless. In a few long strides, with a twist of those wide shoulders and quick change of direction, he found space on the ice where previously the way had been closed. Forced to choose between his accurate and heavy shot or his long arms reaching around them with a sweeping move, goalies were often left shaking their heads while they retrieved the puck from the net. Rarely has a sport's dominant player made the game look so easy and natural.

A native of Montreal, Quebec, Lemieux (in French le mieux means "the best") was a sensational junior. He played for three seasons with the Laval Voisin in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In his final year he surpassed his childhood hero, Guy Lafleur, for the honor of being the top goal scorer in one QJMHL season. He set the record in his last game - in which Laval crushed Longueuil 16-4 - by scoring six goals and adding six assists for good measure. He led the Voisin to the Memorial Cup Tournament and was named the Canadian Major Junior player of the year for his 133 goals and 282 points, a total that easily topped Pierre Larouche's points record of 251. He set a Canadian record with a consecutive points streak that lasted 62 games.

Lemieux was the most talked about young player in the game and was picked first overall in the 1984 Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were looking for a natural goal scorer to improve their fortunes. The Penguins had finished dead last in each of the previous two seasons and desperately needed to increase interest in a declining market.

Lemieux responded to the challenge immediately. In his first shift in a regular-season game, he stole the puck from Boston's star defenseman Ray Bourque and moved in on goalie Pete Peeters. With a quick flick of his wrist, with his first shot on his first shift in his first game, he scored to announce himself to the league. In his home debut in Pittsburgh, he got an assist, again on his first shift, and won his first fight as well, using his amazing balance and reach to out-box Vancouver's Gary Lupul. He kept up the scoring pace that first year by becoming just the third rookie in league history to record 100 or more points. His 43 goals and 57 assists placed him behind only Dale Hawerchuk and Peter Statsny for all-time best rookie seasons. He was selected as the most valuable player in the All-Star Game, the perfect venue for his skills to shine, and Magnificent Mario easily won the Calder Trophy for top rookie in 1984-85. He ended his first professional year at the World Championships in Prague, leading Canada to a surprise victory over the Soviet Union en route to a silver medal.

Pittsburgh moved up 15 points in the standings, not enough to make the playoffs, but the excitement and increased attendance saved the franchise, something no other superstar had been looked upon to do so early in his career.

Lemieux had over 100 points in each of his next two seasons, but his first real claim to the status of the game's best player came in 1987. He played for the NHL in the Rendez-vous series at the All-Star break, and then played a crucial role for the home team in the Canada Cup. He collected 18 points in nine games, none of them more timely or important than his series-winning goal against the Soviet Union in the final game. Lemieux tucked in behind Wayne Gretzky in the dying seconds, and when Gretzky slid a perfect pass back to him, he snapped a quick shot under the crossbar, starting off a wild celebration. In the following season, he outdistanced every scorer in the league - though Gretzky was injured - with 168 points to win the Art Ross and the Hart trophies as the league's top scorer and most valuable player.

On December 31, 1988, Lemieux put on what most people think was the greatest individual scoring performance in NHL history. He scored five goals in a game in five different ways: an even-strength goal, a power-play goal, a shorthanded goal, a penalty shot goal and an empty-net goal. No one had ever done that before and no one has yet done it since. He went on to finish the 1988-89 season with 85 goals and 199 points to lead the league for the second consecutive season, this time beating a healthy Gretzky outright. His total points record that season was the only one ever to approach the 200-plus range inhabited by Gretzky earlier in his career on four occasions. Still, one of the criticisms leveled against Lemieux in these early years was that he would need to win a Stanley Cup to be considered one of the all-time greats. Lemieux took that challenge in stride after a few difficult seasons with injuries. He first experienced trouble with his back during the 1989-90 season. The next year he missed most of the season before returning late to help a young Jaromir Jagr and some able veterans, including Larry Murphy and Paul Coffey, and in time for the playoffs. With Lemieux picking up 44 points in 23 games to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' top performer, Pittsburgh won its first Stanley Cup with a six-game victory over Minnesota. The next season, Lemieux repeated as the Smythe winner and Pittsburgh once again cheered a championship season, winning 11 games in a row to end the playoffs and claim the Stanley Cup.

Though now at the top of the game, Lemieux was known as a spectacular but enigmatic player with a reticent personality and a dislike for the spotlight that felt very uncomfortable for him. Serious back problems and his struggle with Hodgkin's disease combined to prevent him from ever playing a full season. His battle with this form of cancer included radiation treatments in 1992-93, when he missed a full month midway through the season before returning to lead the league again in scoring. He sat out 62 games in 1993-94 and the entire 1994-95 season because of health problems.

Other players who had missed games through injury were incredulous that the 6'4" 210-pound Lemieux could be away from the game for so long and then return to be the same dominating player as ever. He won the Hart and the Art Ross in 1995-96 after sitting out a full year. For Pens fans and lovers of offensive hockey, the retirement of the Magnificent One in 1997 marked a sad time in the history of the game. About the only ones not shedding any tears, it seemed, were those fearful goalies.

In the summer of 1999 the Pittsburgh team was mired in financial difficulty, facing bankruptcy and the possible transfer of the team. Lemieux, owed millions in deferred salary, stepped in as the head of an ownership group to buy the team and keep it in Pittsburgh, where he continued to live with his family.

Then, late in 2000 he announced that he would be making a come-back as a player, becoming only the third Honored Member (the other two being Gordie Howe and Guy Lafleur) to play in the NHL. On December 27, 2000, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mario Lemieux returned to the ice, and showed that he was still one of the greatest the game has ever seen, as he scored one goal and added two assists in that first game back. Lemieux continued his scoring exploits. In spite of his injury woes, Lemieux was named captain of Canada's Winter Olympic entry for the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. His poise and production led Canada to Olympic Gold. Unfortunately the rigors of the Olympic schedule ended Lemieux's 2001-02 NHL season.

He returned in 2002-03 and held a clear lead in points by the mid-way mark of the season. Once again injuries curtailed his games played and mobility. To make matters worse, Lemieux was forced to trade away his high-priced teammates, and any chance of winning the Art Ross Trophy, to preserve the financial stability of Pittsburgh Penguin hockey.

With injuries plaguing his once-brilliant career, and with the burden of the Penguins' financial woes preying on his mind, Lemieux was mid-way through the 2005-06 season when he decided to retire on January 24, 2006. Mario had played 26 games, scoring 7 times and assisting on 15 more at the time of his retirement.

His final career totals include 915 regular season games played, scoring 690 goals and assisting on 1,033 more for 1,723 points, and set him apart from all but a handful able to lay claim to being one of the greatest players ever to play the game.
 

JOE MULLEN
 
        
 
CLASS OF 2000

One of the deans of American-born NHL players, Joe Mullen was respected wherever he laced up his skates. Standing 5'9", he wasn't big by league standards, but his will to compete and battle through injuries was formidable. He was a reliable scorer who combined patience, anticipation and a quick release to top the 40-goal mark six times in his career. Mullen earned a permanent place in hockey history by becoming the first American player to score 500 goals and 1,000 points in the NHL.

A native of New York City's notorious "Hell's Kitchen," Joe and younger brother Brian learned the game playing on roller skates and using a roll of electrical tape for a puck. He starred in the local amateur league with the 14th precinct and the Westsiders. In 1974-75, he dominated the New York metro junior league with 182 points in a mere 40 games. He was immediately offered a partial scholarship to Boston College, which became a full scholarship in his second year. That first year Mullen had to pay $700 out of his own pocket to attend, but since he was on his way to four outstanding years as an amateur and a stellar pro career, it proved to be a worthwhile investment. During his last two years with the Eagles, Mullen was placed on the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference First All-Star Team and the NCAA East First All-American Team.

Following his senior year of college, Mullen represented the United States at the 1979 World Championship, where he averaged a point per game. Just prior to the 1979-80 season, the St. Louis Blues signed him as a free agent. Mullen adjusted to the pro game with ease and was named the Central Hockey League's top rookie in 1979-80 and led the circuit in scoring with 117 points in 1980-81.

Mullen was called up to the Blues in 1981-82 and, with 59 points in only 45 games, quickly became a fan favorite. Blues general manager Emile Francis observed, "Along the boards, he's not the biggest guy in the world, but he's strong and he's got great balance." Mullen was slowed by injuries the next year but still averaged nearly a point per game. In 1983-84, Mullen broke through with 41 goals and started gaining league-wide recognition as a bona fide scorer.

Later that year he registered four points in six games while helping the U.S. reach the 1984 Canada Cup semifinals. He scored a personal high of 92 points in 1984-85, but during this period the Blues failed to make any significant headway in the playoffs.

St. Louis traded Mullen to the Calgary Flames during the 1985-86 season, much to the chagrin of many Blues fans. He adjusted quickly to his new surroundings in Alberta, helping the team reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in franchise history, where they lost in five games to the Montreal Canadiens in the spring of 1986.

Following the 1986-87 season, the respected Mullen was presented the Lady Byng Trophy. The popular forward helped the Flames finish with the most points in the NHL in 1987-88, and the following season he registered his first 50-goal year. Mullen led all NHLers in the 1989 playoffs with 16 goals and helped Calgary to its first Stanley Cup victory at the expense of the Canadiens.

He spent one more year in Alberta before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins to contribute experience to a young and improving squad led by Mario Lemieux.

During Mullen's first year with the Penguins, he helped the team win the Stanley Cup for the first time in its history. He contributed 17 post-season points and his veteran savvy as the Pens outlasted the 1967 expansion Minnesota team in a six-game final series.

Mullen started the next year by helping the United States reach the 1991 Canada Cup final. He then scored 42 goals and helped Pittsburgh repeat as Stanley Cup winners. Mullen remained a reliable scorer with 33- and 38-goal totals in 1992-93 and 1993-94. On February 7, 1995, he delighted the home crowd at the Civic Arena by becoming the first American to register 1,000 NHL points.

The popular veteran spent the 1995-96 season with the Boston Bruins before returning to play his final NHL season in Pittsburgh. Just a few weeks before retiring, Mullen scored on Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche to become the first American to score 500 goals. When he stepped away from the game after the 1996-97 season, Mullen stood as the top scoring American of all time. But he still had one more hockey challenge left. After a disastrous showing at the 1998 World Championship, the U.S. had to qualify for the 1999 Worlds during a tournament held in the middle of the NHL season. At 42, Mullen came out of retirement to help his country regain admittance to the most important annual international hockey tournament. With more than 500 career goals and 1,000 career points, Mullen was named the Hockey Hall of Fame's newest inductee in 2000.
 

The story of Larry Murphy is one of perseverance and longevity. Quietly yet efficiently, Murphy has delivered one of the most productive careers of any blueliner in NHL history. The story begins March 8, 1961 in Scarborough, Ontario. Murphy was regularly shuffled back and forth between playing forward and defense on his minor league teams. One season, when the only spot available on the team with which Murphy wanted to play was defense, he shrugged, accepted the role and played on the blueline from that day forward. It turned out to be an outstanding decision.

Murphy joined the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League in 1978-79, and contributed six goals and 21 assists to an offense that not only took the Petes to the Memorial Cup, but collected the junior championship crown. The next season, with Larry finding his niche as a junior, he scored 21 goals and added 68 assists for 89 points. Peterborough advanced to the Memorial Cup finals for a second straight season, and Larry earned a berth on the OMJHL's First All-Star Team. Later, he was named to Team Canada's Under-Twenty World Championship squad.

Following his outstanding junior career, Larry Murphy was the fourth overall selection in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Los Angeles Kings with that franchise's first pick. Jumping straight from junior to the National Hockey League as a nineteen year old, Murphy proved that his skills were legitimate. In 1980-81, his freshman season, Murphy recorded 16 goals and 60 assists for 76 points. The assists and point totals set records for a rookie defenseman. Larry finished as the runner-up for the league's Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year in 1979-80, which was collected by 25 year old Peter Stastny of the Quebec Nordiques. Murphy's point total was fourth on the Kings that season, behind only the Kings' vaunted Triple Crown Line of Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer.

In his second NHL season, Larry cracked the twenty-goal mark for the first of five times through his NHL career, finishing with 22. That total was fifth on the Kings in 19810-82, while his 66 points placed him fourth on the franchise's list that season. Early in his fourth season with L.A., Larry was traded to the Washington Capitals. On October 18, 1983, the Kings sent Murphy to the Nation's Capital in exchange for Ken Houston and Brian Engblom. It turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades of all-time. While Houston and Engblom scored a combined 93 points over the remainder of their careers, Larry Murphy added another 1,009 points before retiring in 2001.

Larry Murphy continued his offensive exploits with Washington, earning his first selection to the NHL's All-Star Team in 1987. Murphy was selected to the league's Second Team after compiling 23 goals (a career best) and 81 points, the second highest total of his career.

On March 7, 1989, just before the playoff run, Larry was part of a blockbuster trade that saw him and Mike Gartner go to the Minnesota North Stars, while Dino Ciccarelli and Bob Rouse packed for Washington. Then, on December 11, 1990, Murphy again changed teams, going to Pittsburgh with Peter Taglianetti while Chris Dahlquist and Jim Johnson became North Stars. As a Penguin, Murphy's offense bloomed once again, and in his first season in black and gold, Larry and his Pittsburgh teammates collected the Stanley Cup; the first in franchise history. In 1991-92, Larry scored 21 goals and 77 points and helped the Penguins win a second straight Stanley Cup championship. During his stint with Pittsburgh, Larry was named to the NHL's Second Team All-Star in 1993, enjoying a career year with 85 points, compiled from his 22 goals and 63 assists. Murphy was named to the Second All-Star Team again in 1995 while playing with the Penguins.

During the summer of 1995, Larry Murphy was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return for Dmitri Mironov and a second round draft selection. He spent nearly two tumultuous years in Toronto before the Detroit Red Wings secured the talented defenseman for their run for the Stanley Cup late into the 1996-97 season. The deal reinvigorated Murphy, and he played a significant role in the Red Wings' Stanley Cup victory that spring. Paralleling the feat accomplished by the Murphy-led Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in the decade, Larry was again part of back-to-back championships when the Red Wings claimed their second consecutive Cup in 1998. The forty-year-old Murphy retired in 2001 after a stellar 21-season career which included five 20-goal seasons, eleven 60-point seasons plus two Canada Cup championships (1987 and 1991). Murphy left the game ranked second all-time in NHL games played and third all-time in assists and points by a defenseman. His astonishing totals include 287 goals and 929 assists for 1,216 points through 1,615 regular season contests. In 215 playoff games, Larry added 37 goals and 115 assists for 152 points.

In a November 2004 issue of The Hockey News, Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman stated, "Murphy was a smart, studious player. It was his understanding of what he could do that made him special." Bowman continued, "He formed a great partnership in Pittsburgh with Ulf Samuelsson and Detroit with (Niklas) Lidstrom."

Steady, reliable and tremendously gifted offensively, Larry Murphy was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.
 

Robitaille was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1966. He played his junior hockey with the Hull Olympiques in the QMJHL and had 85 points in 70 games in his rookie season. In the 1984 NHL Entry Draft the big story was not Robitaille but another Quebec kid, Mario Lemieux, who was the top pick overall. Los Angeles selected Robitaille after 170 other players, the ninth player the Kings chose that year.

Robitaille began to prove the experts wrong with his play in Hull. He worked on his skating and made the QJHML Second All-Star Team after posting 149 points in 64 games. The next season he was the best junior in Canadian hockey. He had 191 points, was bumped up to the Quebec league's First All-Star Team and was a standout for the Canadian team at the World Junior Championship. He was named the Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year.

Even after his incredible year, few people believed Robitaille could continue his prolific output in the bigger, stronger and faster NHL. But, he went on to score 45 goals and record 84 points that first season. He won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, outpacing Philadelphia goalie Ron Hextall, and not only earned a spot on the league's all-rookie team but also on the NHL's Second All-Star Team as well.

The next season he scored 63 goals and collected 111 points. He secured a berth on the NHL First All-Star Team, where he would stay for four years. Wayne Gretzky joined the team in Robitaille's third year, 1989-90. Robitaille continued to score, finishing the season two shy of 100 points and 46 goals. Gretzky missed the first half of the 1992-93 season with an injury and Robitaille ably filled in the offensive gap, as well as serving as the team's captain. His 62 goals and 125 points established league records for a left winger.

The Kings sagged a bit the next year, although Robitaille once again scored over 40 goals. It was the eighth consecutive season he had topped 40, the third longest streak in NHL history behind his teammate Gretzky, who had 12 in a row, and Mike Bossy's nine. When Los Angeles missed the playoffs that year, Robitaille joined Canada's national team at the 1994 World Championship in Italy. He scored the championship-winning goal in a shootout to give Canada its first gold medal in 33 years.

Robitaille was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the lockout shortened 1994-95 season. He had a solid year, collecting 23 goals in 46 games, but was sent to the New York Rangers in the summer of 1995. Aside from 1994-95, the fewest number of games he played in a season was 76, but for the first time in his career, Robitaille began to miss games because of injuries, and he struggled with his scoring. He scored 47 goals over two seasons with the Rangers, enjoying a brief turnaround when he was reunited with Gretzky in 1996. He returned to Los Angeles in 1997 but had an injury-riddled year, playing only 57 games and scoring just 16 goals.

He reached the 500-goal milestone in a game against the Buffalo Sabres on January 9, 1999. Only the sixth left winger in league history to reach the plateau. Robitaille scored the goal in his 928th NHL game, making him the 12th fastest ever to accomplish the feat. After two more seasons in Los Angeles, Robitaille became a un-restricted free agent and opted to sign with Detroit Red Wings in hopes increasing his chances of capturing his first Stanley Cup. In his first season with the Wings, Robitaille registered 30 goals surpassing the 600-goal mark and captured his first Stanley Cup and the Wings third cup in six years.

During the 2002-03 season Robitaille's offensive numbers were not what he was accustomed to, however, the Montreal native managed to surpass the 1,300 point plateau. After two seasons and one Stanley Cup in Detroit, Robitaille was re-acquired by the Los Angeles Kings for his third stint with the club in the summer of 2003. Luc Robitaille played his last game on April 17, 2006 with the Los Angeles Kings after 19 seasons of NHL competition.

Robitaille officially had his number 20 sweater retired appropriately on the 20th of January in 2007 by the Los Angeles Kings. He became the fifth player to have his number retired by the organization after Rogie Vachon, Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Wayne Gretzky.
 

Bryan Trottier was a modern-day player with old-fashioned attributes. At a time when specialists were beginning to take over from the all-round player, Trottier was a throwback. He was a defensively sound centerman with the vision and instincts of a pure scorer. Over an 18-year National Hockey League career, he led his teams to the Stanley Cup six times, including four consecutive titles with the New York Islanders in the early 1980s. And his achievements went beyond team success. He was the winner of the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, the Art Ross Trophy as top scorer and the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player. Trottier, at his retirement, was the league's sixth-highest all-time scorer.

In 1974, however, the NHL was reacting to the threat of the World Hockey Association. The elder league held a semi-secret draft with an emphasis on underaged players - teenagers who were 17 and 18 years old. Trottier was chosen 22nd overall in the second round, and he was the ninth underaged player taken that year. He was a promising forward, but hardly anyone pegged him as a dominating player. The New York Islanders, the team that selected him, even suggested he spend another year in junior, making him the only secret underaged player to wait to turn pro following that draft.

The Islanders offered to pay Trottier all the salary and bonuses he would have earned in the pro league - a strange arrangement for a young team in a rebuilding stage, but surely a vote of confidence that he appreciated and remembered. Still, that strategy would pay dividends for Trottier and the Islanders, not to mention Lethbridge, the WCIHL team he starred for in 1974-75. Trottier led that league with 98 assists and 144 points, earning most valuable player honors and confirming the wisdom of the decision to keep him in junior that extra year.

When the 1975-76 season began, Trottier was in the NHL, centering a line between Clark Gillies and Billy Harris. In his second game, he had a hat trick and five points. After 11 games, he had 20 points and word began to spread, especially after his rugged defensive work shut down opposing stars. Trottier finished the year with league records for a rookie in assists and points, breaking Marcel Dionne's totals, and was an easy choice for the Calder Trophy as the top newcomer.

The rebuilding years for the Islanders were over in 1977-78, when Trottier and the team began to dominate the league. Trottier played most of the time with Mike Bossy on the right wing, a pure shooter who converted many of Trottier's pinpoint passes, and Gillies on the left wing, a grinder who provided the brawn and much of the corner work necessary for success. The line was the most dominant in the league since Phil Esposito had teamed with Ken Hodge and Wayne Cashman for the Bruins earlier in the decade - a troika that was successful for many of the same reasons as the Islanders' top guns.

Trottier was second to Guy Lafleur in the scoring race in 1978 and led the NHL with 77 assists. The next year he was unstoppable, using his playmaking skills to collect 87 assists and his tenaciousness around the net to record 47 goals. He was the league's top scorer and took home the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player. In 1980 the Islanders won the Stanley Cup and Trottier was the star of the show, leading all playoff scorers with 29 points and earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most outstanding post-season performer. With Wayne Gretzky's era still on the horizon, Trottier, the quiet guy from the Prairies, was considered the best center in pro hockey.

Trottier played for Team Canada in the 1981 Canada Cup and led his Islanders to three more Stanley Cup wins to begin the new decade. He scored 50 goals in 1981-82 and was again the top playoff scorer that season. In 1984, with another Canada Cup on the schedule, Trottier stunned the hockey world by declaring that he would play for the United States instead of Canada. Trottier was booed relentlessly yet Canadian fans cheered another recent citizen, Peter Stastny, the Czechoslovakian-born star who had quickly been made a Canadian prior to the tournament.

Trottier spent six more seasons in New York following the Canada Cup and saw his numbers steadily fall. He was still a dedicated and effective defensive player, however, and in 1990 the Pittsburgh Penguins signed the veteran to bolster their playoff chances. Trottier was an important part of the Penguin team that won two straight titles after he joined the squad. Stars such as Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr attributed much of the team's success to the aging star's leadership, his drive and desire. Trottier retired following the Penguins' second Cup victory and spent one year in the Islanders' front office.

But he was soon bored with his desk job and returned to the league as a player in 1993-94 at the age of 37. He played 41 games with the Penguins while acting as an assistant coach, a job he continued after finally hanging up his skates at the end of that season. Trottier remained with the Pens until 1997, at which time he took the coaching reigns of the Portland Pirates of the AHL. He returned to the NHL within a year, this time as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche. Bryan helped the Avs claim their second Stanley Cup championship in 2001, adding yet another ring to his already impressive haul. Bryan Trottier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997.
 

BUILDERS

The high standards to which William Scott Bowman held himself and his players contributed to a landmark coaching career. A master of motivation and mind games, he knew how to get the most out of every player he handled. During his 27 years as a coach, he never experienced a losing record in any full season in which he was behind the bench. His eight Stanley Cup coaching wins leave him tied with the legendary Toe Blake for the most ever.

A head injury ended Bowman's playing career while he was still a junior. He moved into coaching in the Canadiens' minor-league system and broke into the NHL with the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1967-68, leading that team to the Stanley Cup finals in each of its first three terms.

In 1971 the Montreal Canadiens hired Bowman to replace Al MacNeil, who had coached the team to a Stanley Cup just the year before but had lost the respect of players such as Henri Richard. The Canadiens won at least 45 games in each of Bowman's eight seasons at the helm, and they won the Stanley Cup five times. Those achievements speak volumes about Bowman's ability to prevent such an overpowering squad from growing complacent.

After the Habs' 1979 Cup championship - their fourth in a row - Bowman announced that he was stepping down from one of the most prestigious yet demanding jobs in hockey. A new challenge awaited him in Buffalo, where he was hired as the Sabres' coach and general manager prior to the 1979-80 season. The Sabres were a good team that failed to duplicate their playoff success of 1975, when they reached the finals only to lose to Philadelphia. Although he engineered a number of shrewd draft-day deals, Bowman was never able to fill the Buffalo roster with the same numbers of extraordinary role players he had had at his disposal in Montreal.

Bowman temporarily quit coaching in 1987 to work as an analyst on the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada telecasts. His next stop was Pittsburgh, where he was hired as the Penguins' director of player development. During the summer of 1991, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder. He returned to bench duty with the Penguins that autumn after Bob Johnson, a popular figure who had led the team to its first-ever Stanley Cup victory in 1991, succumbed to cancer during the off-season. Bowman molded the multi-talented club into a well-rounded squad that could control play at both ends of the ice. Their repeat championship in 1992 was attributable in no small measure to Bowman's leadership.

In 1992-93, Bowman's Penguins led the league with 56 wins and 119 points - both franchise highs - but were upset by the New York Islanders in the Patrick Division finals. Bowman moved on to Detroit, where he coached the Red Wings to 46 wins and 100 points. A stunning first-round defeat at the hands of the San Jose Sharks proved to be a short-term setback, as the Wings reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1995 - their first appearance in 29 years. Although they were swept by the New Jersey Devils, Detroit appeared to be headed for long-term success.

In 1995-96, the Red Wings won an NHL-record 62 games - eclipsing the previous standard of 60, which Bowman had set with Montreal in 1976-77 - but they fell short against the eventual Cup winners, the Colorado Avalanche, in the Western Conference finals. On December 5, 1995, Bowman made history when he coached in his 1,607th game - another NHL record.

Bowman earned a permanent place in the hearts of Red Wings supporters in 1997 by leading the team to its first Stanley Cup win in 42 years. The following year his experience at keeping a dominant team hungry came in handy as he guided Detroit to a repeat championship. Along the way he reached another individual milestone on February 8, 1997, when the Wings beat Pittsburgh to give Bowman his 1,000th career regular-season victory. In 1999 the Wings fell short of a "threepeat" when they were upset by Colorado in the Western Conference semifinals, but Bowman remained behind the bench to lead Detroit into the new millennium.

In February 2002, Bowman privately decided that he would retire at season's end. His hockey fairytale would indeed finish with a storybook ending. Scotty's Red Wings won the Cup in dominating fashion, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. One of the poignant scenes that played itself out on the ice following the presentation of the Stanley Cup was seeing Scotty out on the ice surface wearing skates and letting his players know that he had retired.

With nothing left to prove, Bowman retired from active NHL management with an unprecedented hockey resume. He is the winningest coach in NHL history with 1,244 victories and an astounding .654 winning percentage. His nine Stanley Cup bench wins ranks first all-time.

Scotty Bowman was selected as an Honored Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, but leaves a legacy that will remain as long as the game of hockey is played.
 

Although much is made of the significant contributions made by Herb Brooks to the 1980 US Olympic gold medal 'Miracle on Ice,' it overshadows the remainder of a remarkable career for this life-long hockey coach.

Born August 5, 1937 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Herb dreamt of a professional hockey career like most young players. His St. Paul Johnson High School collected Minnesota's high school hockey championship in 1955, fuelled in part by two goals from Brooks in the championship contest. Herb later played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers between 1955 and 1959.

His international successes began early. As a player, Herb was a member of the United States National Team during two Olympic Games, and participated in five World Championships.

Brooks then moved into coaching, guiding the Golden Gophers for seven seasons beginning in 1972, collecting three NCAA Division 1 National Championships (1974, 1976 and 1979) and back-to-back WCHA championships in 1974 and 1975. Named WCHA Coach of the Year for 1973-74, Herb finished his collegiate coaching with a record of 175 wins, 101 losses and 20 ties.

After coaching Team USA at the 1979 World Championship, Brooks was named general manager and head coach of Team USA for the 1980 Winter Olympics. The team astonished the hockey world by collecting the gold medal in a triumph that has been heralded by the press as the 'Miracle On Ice.' The 2005 motion picture 'Miracle' chronicled the extraordinary accomplishment.

Herb coached France at the 1998 Olympics, returning to coach Team USA to a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Games.

After the 1980 Olympics, Herb coached Davos of the Swiss League for one season, then joined the New York Rangers from 1981 to 1985. During his tenure in New York, Brooks earned renown for reaching the 100-win plateau faster than any previous Rangers coach and was named The Sporting News' Coach of the Year in 1981-82.

After a season coaching St. Cloud State University, Herb became the first Minnesota native to coach the Minnesota North Stars when he joined the franchise in 1987-88. He later coached the New Jersey Devils in 1992-93 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1999-2000.

Through his NHL coaching career, Herb Brooks compiled a record of 219 wins, 221 losses and 66 ties during regular season play, and 19 wins and 21 losses in playoff contests.

As a member of the gold medal-winning United States Olympic Team in 1980, Brooks and his team were awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for contributions to American hockey in 1980. He earned the same honor as an individual in 2002. In 1990, Herb was honored by being inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, earning election to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame in 1999. Herb Brooks was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, his life tragically ended in a single car accident in Forest Lake, Minnesota on August 11, 2003.
 

Bob Johnson was one of the most popular and successful hockey teachers and administrators in the amateur and pro ranks. His effervescent personality combined with a technical knowledge of the game to make him a natural leader wherever he worked.

A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Johnson played hockey in the City Park Board League, was an all-star in high school and took on his first coaching assignment at the age of 13 when he guided a local midget team. During his years playing forward at the University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota, he spent much of his time coaching high school teams. Johnson led Minnesota to two conference championships and was the team's top scorer.

In 1956, Johnson became the head coach of the Warroad high school in rural Minnesota. After one season he moved to Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis and won four city championships in six seasons. In 1963, he took the post at Colorado College and after three years he moved on to the University of Wisconsin. Johnson guided the Badgers for 15 years, captured three national titles and was named the NCAA's top coach in 1977. During this period he also coached the U.S. national team from 1973 to 1975 and the Olympic team at the Innsbruck games in 1976. He later coached the Americans at the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cups.

Badger Bob received his first chance to coach in the NHL when the Calgary Flames hired him on June 1, 1982. Under his direction the Flames were very competitive and reached the Stanley Cup final in 1986. Unfortunately for them they were a good team playing in the same division as the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers.

Following the 1986-87 season, Johnson left the NHL to take over as executive director of USA Hockey. Pittsburgh Penguins president Craig Patrick was an ardent fan of Johnson's work. When his talented squad, built around Mario Lemieux, needed to take their game to the next level, he lured Johnson back into the league. The upbeat Johnson earned the respect of the players and put an end to the factions that had divided the team and kept it from achieving its potential.

Johnson led the Penguins to their first ever Stanley Cup in 1991 and was chosen to handle Team USA at the Canada Cup that fall. Ill health forced him to step down as the American coach and, a few weeks later, the hockey world was stunned by his death from cancer. The Penguins repeated as Cup champions that year and dedicated their triumph to the memory of the man who helped so many people during his career.

"I remember the night in Calgary when we were beaten 9-0 by Hartford-it was our tenth consecutive loss. If someone had parachuted me into the coach's office after that game and I didn't know the score, I would've sworn we'd won the game. He found something positive in everything," reflected former Flames executive Cliff Fletcher.

He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.
 

Bob Johnson was one of the most popular and successful hockey teachers and administrators in the amateur and pro ranks. His effervescent personality combined with a technical knowledge of the game to make him a natural leader wherever he worked.

A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Johnson played hockey in the City Park Board League, was an all-star in high school and took on his first coaching assignment at the age of 13 when he guided a local midget team. During his years playing forward at the University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota, he spent much of his time coaching high school teams. Johnson led Minnesota to two conference championships and was the team's top scorer.

In 1956, Johnson became the head coach of the Warroad high school in rural Minnesota. After one season he moved to Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis and won four city championships in six seasons. In 1963, he took the post at Colorado College and after three years he moved on to the University of Wisconsin. Johnson guided the Badgers for 15 years, captured three national titles and was named the NCAA's top coach in 1977. During this period he also coached the U.S. national team from 1973 to 1975 and the Olympic team at the Innsbruck games in 1976. He later coached the Americans at the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cups.

Badger Bob received his first chance to coach in the NHL when the Calgary Flames hired him on June 1, 1982. Under his direction the Flames were very competitive and reached the Stanley Cup final in 1986. Unfortunately for them they were a good team playing in the same division as the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers.

Following the 1986-87 season, Johnson left the NHL to take over as executive director of USA Hockey. Pittsburgh Penguins president Craig Patrick was an ardent fan of Johnson's work. When his talented squad, built around Mario Lemieux, needed to take their game to the next level, he lured Johnson back into the league. The upbeat Johnson earned the respect of the players and put an end to the factions that had divided the team and kept it from achieving its potential.

Johnson led the Penguins to their first ever Stanley Cup in 1991 and was chosen to handle Team USA at the Canada Cup that fall. Ill health forced him to step down as the American coach and, a few weeks later, the hockey world was stunned by his death from cancer. The Penguins repeated as Cup champions that year and dedicated their triumph to the memory of the man who helped so many people during his career.

"I remember the night in Calgary when we were beaten 9-0 by Hartford-it was our tenth consecutive loss. If someone had parachuted me into the coach's office after that game and I didn't know the score, I would've sworn we'd won the game. He found something positive in everything," reflected former Flames executive Cliff Fletcher.

He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.
 

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