One of the greatest coaches in the National Hockey League was born on this day many years ago. Also, two players who had great runs and won titles at Motown have moved on to new homes. The THW time machine is warmed up and ready to take us on a journey to remember all the good things from July 19th.
The Birth of a Training Legend
Dick Irvin was born on July 19, 1892, in Hamilton, Ontario. After successful runs in both the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), he made his NHL debut, as a player, for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1926. He scored 18 goals and 36 points in 44 games. in the 1926-27 season and served as their first captain in club history.
Injuries, including a fractured skull, limited Irvin to 51 games over the next two seasons and forced his retirement in 1929. During his retirement from the 1928-29 season, he became the head coach of the Blackhawks. He took the Blackhawks to the 1931 Stanley Cup Finals but was not brought back the following season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Irvin before the 1931-32 season, and he won his first of four Stanley Cups that season. He remained as their head coach until 1940, taking them to the finals six more times but falling short in each trip. After losing in the 1940 Finals, the general manager of the Maple Leafs, Conn Smythe, decided to head in a different direction and let Irvin go.
There were no hard feelings, as it was Smythe who recommended the Montreal Canadiens hire Irvin. They were coming off a 10 win season and needed some help. He coached the Canadiens for 15 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 1944, 1946, and 1954. Irvin was the first NHL coach of famous players such as Jean Beliveau and Maurice Richard.
The Canadiens parted ways with Irvin, in 1955, following a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Finals. He returned to the team with which his NHL career began, the Blackhawks, for the 1955-56 season. Health issues forced Irvin to retire after one season back in Chicago.
At the time of his retirement, Irvin had accumulated 691 wins, the most in NHL history. He still ranks seventh all-time in coaching wins 60 years later. Irvin died of bone cancer on May 16, 1957, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame the following year.
Two seasons ended in Detroit
On July 19, 2003, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim signed free agent forward Sergei Fedorov. The move ended a 13-season winning streak with the Red Wings. Detroit drafted Fedorov in the fourth round (74th overall) in the 1989 NHL entry draft. He scored 400 goals and 954 points in 908 games wearing a Red Wings jersey. He was part of three teams that won the Stanley Cup and won the Hart Trophy, for being the most valuable player of the league, in 1994, when he scored 56 goals and 120 points.
Fedorov scored 31 goals and 65 points for the Ducks in the 2003-04 season, but the team missed the playoffs. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the start of the 2005-06 season for Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin.
Eight years later, on July 19, 2011, former goalkeeper Chris Osgood retired. He spent 14 of his 17 seasons in the NHL with the Red Wings. They first drafted him in the third round (54th overall) in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
Osgood appeared in just two playoff games during the Red Wings' run to the 1997 Stanley Cup. He became the tournament starter the following season, posting a .918 save percentage (SV%) and 2.12 goals against average (GAA) in 16 wins.
His first run with the Red Wings ended when he was fired by the New York Islanders in September of 2001. They ended up selling him to St. Louis Blues in 2003 for a draft pick that was used to draft Jeremy Colliton.
He returned to Detroit as a free agent prior to the 2005–06 season. He posted a .930 SV% and 1.55 GAA in his 19 playoff games during the Red Wings' run to the 2008 Stanley Cup. He started all 23 playoff games in Detroit's return to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009. The team fumbled in its attempts to repeat, but that wasn't Osgood's fault, as he had a .926 SV% and a 2.01 GAA.
Osgood retired with a 401-216-95 record, .905 SV%, 2.49 GAA, and 50 shutouts in 744 career NHL appearances.
Odds & Ends
The Ducks filled their coaching staff for their first season on July 19, 2003. They named Tim Army and Al Sims as assistants to new head coach Ron Wilson.
Festival is currently the head coach of the Iowa Wild, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. He also spent time as an assistant for the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche. In addition, he was the head coach at Providence College and also had stints with the Portland Pirates and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL.
Sims was the first draft pick of the New York Raiders in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He had a long coaching career following his playing days, including two seasons as Bobby Orr's defensive partner with the Boston Bruins. He won the Turner Cup in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Fort Wayne Komets in 1993, shortly before getting his first NHL job with the Ducks.
After spending three seasons with Wilson and the Ducks, Sims became the head coach of the San Jose Sharks, but only had the job through the 1996-97 season, going 27-47-8. He returned to the IHL and became the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals. He won his second Turner Cup with the Komets in 2008.
In an example of how small the hockey world is, Sims' son, Tyler, was a goaltender who played three seasons at Providence under Army.
The New York Rangers signed veteran free agent defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre on July 19, 1999. He played his last 14 seasons in the NHL with the Rangers. In total, Lefebvre played 945 games for the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, Avalanche, and Rangers. He was a member of the Avalanche team that won the Stanley Cup in 1996.
His teammate on that 1996 team, Uwe Krupp, signed with the Atlanta Thrashers on July 19, 2002. The veteran defenseman played just four games with the Thrashers during the 2003-04 season before retiring. Krupp was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabers at 11th round (214th overall) of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He played 729 NHL games, in 15 seasons, with the Sabres, Islanders, Nordiques, Avalanche, Red Wings, and Thrashers.
Luke Prokop, a second-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2020, made NHL history on this day in 2021 when he announced on Twitter that he is gay. Prior to that, no other NHL team had drafted a player who came out as part of the LGBTQ community.
“Today I am proud to tell everyone publicly that I am gay,” Prokop said in the post. “Since I was young I dreamed of becoming an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my true self to the rink and improve my chances of achieving my dreams…”
happy Birthday to you
Besides Irvin, there are 18 other current and former NHL players who were born on July 19. Fedor Tyutin, who is 41 years old today, has played many games for the team. He has appeared in 872 NHL games with the Rangers, Blue Jackets, and Avalanche. Jamie Linden, on the other hand, played in just four games with the Florida Panthers in 1995.
Scott Walker, born July 19, 1973, is the tallest player of all boys born on July 19. He scored 151 goals and 397 points in 829 games for the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, and Capitals.
Defenseman Craig Muni was born on July 19, 1962. He won three Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers in 1987, 1988, and 1990. He holds the record for most Stanley Cup playoff games played without scoring a goal. He had 17 assists in 113 postseason games but never lit the lamp.
Other famous players born on July 19 include Steve Shields (52), David Tanabe (44), Devin Shore (30), Zach Werenski (27), and the late Craig Cameron.
*Originally created by Greg Boysen
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