Bill Torrey

Bill Torrey, 2015

William Arthur "Bill" Torrey (born June 23, 1934 in Montréal , Québec ; † May 2, 2018 in West Palm Beach , Florida ) was a Canadian ice hockey official . As general manager , he was with the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League for 20 years and led the team to four consecutive Stanley Cup victories from 1980 to 1983 . He also acted briefly as General Manager of the California Golden Seals and was President of the Florida Panthers for many years. In 1995 he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame .

Career

Bill Torrey was born in Montréal and was an active college- level ice hockey player while studying psychology and economics (business) at St. Lawrence University in New York in the early 1950s . He then made the leap into sports management with the Pittsburgh Hornets from the American Hockey League , where he was responsible for marketing, among other things . In 1968 he was hired by the Oakland Seals from the National Hockey League (NHL), which had only been founded the year before, as Executive Vice President . At the Seals, which changed their name to California Golden Seals a little later , he also acted as General Manager before he resigned from his offices in December 1970 after disagreements with owner Charles O. Finley .

In 1972, Torrey was named the first general manager of the newly formed New York Islanders , where he would shape an era over the next 20 years. He managed to put together a competitive squad within a few years, so the Islanders reached the playoffs in their third season and only failed there in the conference final against the eventual champions from Philadelphia . As a result, the team from Long Island won its first Stanley Cup in 1980 and at the same time established itself as the measure of all things in the NHL, so the Islanders celebrated four Stanley Cup victories in a row by 1983, which was previously only the Canadiens de Montréal was successful and has not yet achieved a third team. The Islanders also set an NHL record with 19 consecutive playoff series won. Well-known actors that Torrey united in this NHL dynasty include Bryan Trottier , Mike Bossy , Denis Potvin , Clark Gillies , Billy Smith and trainer Al Arbor , all of whom later became Hall of Fame members, and Ken Morrow , Bob Nystrom , Butch Goring, and John Tonelli . In 1983 Torrey was honored with the Lester Patrick Trophy for his services to ice hockey in the USA . His time in New York ended in 1992 when he was replaced by Don Maloney after a change of ownership . In 1995 he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame himself.

In 1993, Torrey took over the position of president of the Florida Panthers, also newly inducted into the NHL . He held this position until 2001, when he retired from all offices after managing the fate of the Panthers for a year as General Manager. However, he remained with the team in an advisory capacity for many years. In 2010 it honored the Panthers by 93 of its founding year, the jersey number detained .

Bill Torrey, who because of its mostly borne fly the nickname "Bow Tie Bill" was passed away on May 2, 2018 at the age of 83 years in West Palm Beach in his adopted home of Florida. Under the ceiling of the home stadium of the New York Islanders in his honor hangs a banner with the inscription "The Architect" ( The architect ) and the image of a fly.

Achievements and Awards

1980 Stanley Cup win with the New York Islanders 1981 Stanley Cup win with the New York Islanders 1982 Stanley Cup win with the New York Islanders 1983 Stanley Cup win with the New York Islanders

1983 Lester Patrick Trophy 1995 inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame 2001 Thomas Ebright Award 2010 Jersey number 93 was blocked by the Florida Panthers

Web links

• Bill Torrey at eliteprospects.com (English)
• Bill Torrey in the database of the Hockey Hall of Fame (English)
• Obituary in the New York Times