Quick Indirect Praise of Al Arbour and the 1980-84 Islanders
by Dominik on Aug 25, 2011 4:28 PM EDT
in Islanders of Yesteryear
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...he seems spent. He said the summer has been overwhelming.
"Winning the Stanley Cup takes more emotional, physical and mental energy than I would have ever believed," Thomas said. "I mean, I’ve been tired after seasons before, but after this run, it’s a hard recovery."
>>Nicholas Cotsonika's profile of Tim Thomas at Yahoo Sports
I can't confirm but suppose it's fair to suggest the "Stanley Cup hangover" for today's athlete is worse than it was for those in the 1980s: The competitive teams are closer to one another, you get a lot more media exposure and community demands upon your time during the summer after the win, and of course the Cup is won in mid-June now rather than late May.
That said, every time I think I can't stand in any deeper awe of Al Arbour's Islanders winning an NHL record 19 playoff series in a row from 1980 to 1984, someone else testifies to the fatigue that comes with the mere down time after winning the Cup.
Those Islanders played not just 19 victorious playoff series (finally falling in the 20th, relinquishing the crown to the young Oilers), their best players also played in the 1981 Canada Cup mid-dynasty and the 1984 Canada Cup right after the dynasty ended. It boggles the mind how those players pulled it off, and how Arbour kept them focused through all the things that can go wrong in four-plus years, all the setbacks that can tempt the body in the moment to say, "You know what, I've got a couple of rings already. I'm gonna take a breather here."
From Ken Morrow's knee injuries to Mike Bossy's back to all the aches, pains and surgeries in between, that squad certainly paid the proverbial price (perhaps a reason why so many were on fumes just a few years later?).
It's no wonder Wayne Gretzky famously testified to walking by the Islanders locker room after their 1983 Cup win and seeing not sheer elation, but a bunch of battered men in ice packs:
They expected to hear hollers and shouts of celebration. Instead, the veteran team was in repair mode. "Guys were limping around with black eyes and bloody mouths," remembers Gretzky in his autobiography. "It looked more like a morgue in there than a champion's locker room. And here we were, perfectly fine and healthy.
"And that's when Kevin [Lowe] said something I will never forget. He said: 'That's how you win championships.'"
We try not to dwell on the past too much here -- don't want to be that Isles fan who doesn't stop yammering about the dynasty days.
But holy cow sometimes that achievement just demands revisiting, to marvel all over again. When Tim Thomas talks about the physical and mental drain of winning one Stanley Cup, I can't help looking back in awe: Now imagine winning four.
It's exhausting to even contemplate. It's also really, really cool.
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82 games would be a long, tiring, grueling season
that would take some time to recover from. Can you imagine playing an extra 20-25 games on top that? And playoff games are typically more physical and seem to play at a quicker pace. For guys like Trottier, Bossy and Potvin who were playing 18-25 minutes a night for over 100 games every season its amazing they were able to go as deep as they did for those five or six years including the four consecutive cups. Its also no surpise that given the amount of ice-time, energy exerted and amount of consecutive games played that Bossy’s career ended early and that Trottier’s production declined prematurely (although he remained an important two-way player for the remainder of his career) That also makes Potvin’s long productive career that much more impressive.
Two things I thought about watching the SC playoffs this year
- How unbelievable an accomplishment 19 series wins were
- How far away this Isles team is away from playoff success.
Making the playoffs is way, way, way easier than advancing significantly in the playoffs.
by DP'sknee(andhipandflubugandotherknee) on Aug 25, 2011 5:29 PM EDT reply actions
The last point is why I was ready for the rebuild
It was tooth and nail to make the playoffs the last couple of times, and once there it never felt like they had a chance to do much. You gotta build up the army to be ready.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
by Dominik on Aug 25, 2011 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Agreed
That’s what I said to people who called me a bad fan in 08 when I was in favor of blowing it all up and going with a youth-based rebuild….I don’t want to see them make the playoffs; I want to see them win the Stanley Cup (which, at under 30 years old, I never have). The path they were on wasn’t a path that leads to the Cup….this path has a chance.
Just goes to show you how mentally tough that squad must’ve been….and how many things have to go right to build a champion, let alone a dynasty.
by Nick (LetThereBeLighthouse) on Aug 25, 2011 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Agree, build to be a Cup winner or stay home. No I don't want the record for consecutive playoff apearances. I want the record for consecutive Cups.
Nassau Coliseum lost a veteran and an original Islander fan. ACC 1918-2011
by Hockey1919 on Aug 26, 2011 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Tim Thomas later added:
“Please don’t interpret this as indirect praise of Al Arbour and the 1980-84 Islanders.”
Roberto Luono repsonded:
Hey, I’m tired too. I played the same amount of games as him. No one cares that I’m weary.
Nobody's pumped his fatigued tires
And that’s just the way it is.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
by Dominik on Aug 26, 2011 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Bahaha
Well played, Isles2011.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
another reason to be optimistic
the rest of the league literally beat each other up last year
Bruins won a war of attrition – neither team could barely skate in Gane 7 of the final
we are young, talented & fresh
a huge advantage
Im 37 years old an became an Isles fans just after the Dynasty...
Im so jealous of those Isles fans who were there to witness such an unbelievable run…What Gretsky said speaks volumes…What heart that team had…Arbour was one of the best coaches ever…Its just sad how those days are dismissed and barely remembered except by us, Isles fans..
by KO21 on Aug 25, 2011 7:34 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
What Lowe said was the coda, read Ken Dryden's "the Game" for the preamble.
Just reading Dryden’s “the Game” and his resignation that the Islanders were coming in the last chapter is a great tribute to the forgotten Dynasty. Nice to see the Islanders mentioned in what may be the best sport book ever written (certainly top in hockey circles).
Nassau Coliseum lost a veteran and an original Islander fan. ACC 1918-2011
Yes!
Of course I loved that section of his book the most.
I’ve always meant to do hockey book posts during the summer, but I usually run out of steam.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
42...I and WILL be one of those fans.
You just really had to be on Long Island to appreciate it. It was fantastic. Rangers fans were pathetic…we were on top of the world. And, ya know, kharma’s a bitch because the two best teams of that era (and arguably of all time in hockey) have basically sucked ever since.
Hope springs eternal, however. Would love a rematch w/ the Earliers lo these many years later.
Denis, Smitty, Trots, Boss, Nystron, Tonelli, Butchie…and my personal favs: Ken Morrow and Dave Langevan.
Hope this young crew we have now can find a bit o’ that magic!!!
by pennst92 on Aug 25, 2011 7:44 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
There's two advantages nowadays
For one, your conditioning, nutrition, and physical training is better. For another, you get many more off days in the playoffs.
Boston had three days off before they opened their postsason April 14. They finished June 15. They played 25 games in those 63 days, with 6 scheduled two-day breaks and only one back-to-back set: April 26 and 27 vs. Montreal. They also got 8 days between games after the second round, which they earned by sweeping the Flyers.
Isles, 1980 – two days off after regular season. Opened Apr 8 and ended May 24, for 21 games in 47 days. They played back-to-back four times; they had a stretch of four games in five nights and then five in seven. They had 2 scheduled two-day breaks; their only long break was 7 days after the second round.
Isles, 1981 – two days off, opened Apr 8, ended May 21, 18 games in 4 days. Three back-to-backs, one three-in-four-nights, one four-in-five. Sweeps of the Leafs and Rangers gave them longer breaks than otherwise; there were 2 scheduled two-day breaks.
Isles, 1982 – two days off, opened Apr 7, and then played 11 games in 17 nights to start the playoffs. Overall, 19 games in 40 nights, sweeping Quebec and Vancouver.
Isles, 1983 – two days off, opened Apr 6, ended May 17, playing 20 games in 42 nights, including four-in-five in each of the first two rounds.
Isles, 1984 – two days off, opened Apr 4, ended May 19, playing 21 games in 46 nights; the first ten of those were over fifteen days.
Those opening rounds were just brutal then.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
by mikb on Aug 25, 2011 7:48 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
+10
I was going to make the same point about the compressed schedule and the back-to-backs before reading your coment, and you did it way better with the actual numbers.
Yes, there are plenty of demands on today’s players, but there sure does seem to be more off dates – even dragging out the playoffs to the point where you begin to lose interest – but those compressed schedules of thirty years ago sure did mean you had to have mental toughness to win.
Are the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals finally over? I stopped watching in June, I think I heard the bears came out of hibernation.
Nassau Coliseum lost a veteran and an original Islander fan. ACC 1918-2011
Crazy
How quickly I forget about the compressed schedule — and I used to love the back-to-backs, and the odd nights when Wales and Campbell would be staggered.
The only thing with the conditioning today is that I think since everyone is on top of that these days, everyone is clawing for thin margins over the same bit of land. But I don’t know how those guys did it with the old “drink all summer and use training camp to get in shape” routine.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
conditioning level
It doesn’t necessarily make it easier to win, for the reason you stated; but it does make it easier for you to personally handle the schedule and perform in the games. Just think back to when we were younger… late game, maybe a double; maybe a weekend tournament (three games guaranteed!); maybe playing two or three nights a week, getting home at 1 am… if we did that now we’d be zombies the next morning. We’d be too sore to breathe, much less sail through the day on three hours’ sleep and then play another game that night.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
HS Dynasty
The dynasty ran basically through my HS years and into my first year at SJU. I wonder if I might have done a little better if they had sucked… In retrospect I went from a being fall down drunk to a contributing (not much) member of society in the nineties.
Lighthouse Hockey: Home of the "STROME-BOLI"!
Thanks for voting "YES" on Aug 1st... just not enough of you!!!
drat it
That 1981 list should be 18 games in 44 days not just four days. Sometimes doubled letters and numbers don’t register on the laptop keyboard. I mean, the schedules were tough, but not THAT tough.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
BILLY SMITH
Thats all I am saying. BILLY SMITH
_____________________________________________________
Twitter: @mikeryaninc
"Past performance Is Not A Guarantee For Future Results"
"Listening is a Skill" -Jack Capuano
TIm Thomas
Thats called too much Jagermeister….
Why not yammer?
Islanders fans of that era were privileged to be able to watch one of the best teams ever in any sport. They were three wins short of taking the Cup five years in a row. Consider that fans of a certain team go on and on about the Edmonton Oilers victory lap – now 18 years ago – and the fact that those fans have one store bought Cup to show for the last 71 years. I am old enough to have watched the Isles win 19 series in a row. Is there anyone out there who would trade that for an endless string of second round exits? Didn’t think so.
by kennyboy13 on Aug 26, 2011 4:01 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Too true
It’s to be celebrated and then some — especially those of you who were fully conscious for all of it! (I only really watched the final two Cup wins, and even then I had zero perspective on how special it was until it stopped happening.)
I just try to take care not to be the white guy in the barbershop who, every time you talk boxing, he’s gotta bring up Rocky Marciano.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
by Dominik on Aug 26, 2011 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
