Harry Sinden
Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932 in Collins Bay, Ontario, Canada) was the long time general manager coach, and president for the Boston Bruins NHL hockey team -- nearly thirty years -- and was the coach of the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 1972 Summit Series. Sinden was the captain of the Whitby Dunlops when they won the Allan Cup in 1957. He was part of that team when it won the World Hockey Championships for Canada in Oslo, Norway, in 1958. He also won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. [1] [2]
Before 1972, Sinden served as head coach of the Bruins. In 1969-70 he coached a team loaded with stars such as Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito to the team's first Stanley Cup in over thirty years. After the Cup win and before he was called out of retirement to coach the Canadian team in the '72 Series, Sinden worked in the home construction business in Rochester, New York. After the Summit Series, he became Boston's general manager.
Sinden's selection was based on his experience as a competitor in international hockey. After game five, Sinden took criticism for his team's performance after they were down 3-1-1 to the Soviets. He then led the Canadians to a memorable come-from-behind winning streak which was capped by Paul Henderson's game-winning goal with 34 seconds remaining in the final game.
As a general manager, Sinden managed to put top-notch teams on the ice in Boston, but he was also the subject of controversies ranging from video replays to salary arbitration, and was under frequent fire from Bruins' fans for his perceived penurious ways. In the 1996-97 season, the NHL fined him 5,000 USD for verbal abuse towards video replay official Ian Sandercock after a goal was disallowed in the second period during a game between the Bruins and the Ottawa Senators. Two years later, he became the first general manager in league history to refuse arbitration for one of his players. That player was Dmitri Khristich, a 29-goal scorer who was awarded 2.8 million USD.
Harry Sinden was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category.
[edit] Trivia
- Sinden is the godfather of Canadian rock musician Gordon Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip.
