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Islanders Celebrate Al Arbour’s Legacy
- Updated: August 29, 2016
One year after Al Arbour passed away, former General Manager Bill Torrey found himself retracing the steps he and the Hall of Fame coach took every morning on their trip to the rink.
It started with a trip to the Cold Spring Harbor Deli to pick up coffee, Halls lozenges and two packs of cigarettes, but on this day, Torrey found himself alone, buying only the coffee and Halls and — his dear friend in his memory and in his heart.
Torrey was the second-to-last speaker at the memorial marking the one-year anniversary of Arbour’s passing, praising him as a man and a hockey coach, letting out private details of their personal relationship and celebrating their accomplishments. It was the third memorial Torrey had been to for Arbour and he said no one deserved three memorials more than the Hall of Fame coach. But even one year later, it was clear just by the sound of his voice that it wasn’t necessarily getting easier as he choked up near the end of his speech.
“He will live on,” Torrey said. “His imprint, his philosophies and the legacy of Al Arbour lives on. And I miss him.”
PHOTO GALLERY: AL ARBOUR MEMORIAL
Legacy was the word of the day on Monday. One by one, the speakers, who included Islanders legends Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin and Hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman, shared stories about the way Arbour’s life had influenced their own. Everyone touched on his success as a coach, which included four Cups behind the Islanders bench (eight overall) but they shared stories, intimate details from their time together, whether it was with the Islanders, the St. Louis Blues, junior hockey, or away from the rink.
“What is success?” Bobby Nystrom asked during a moving tribute. “I think one measure is all the people you’ve come in contact with, how many did you help or positively affect? On this alone …
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