Maven's Memories: Bob Nystrom Talks Islanders

Bob Nystrom has been called "Mister Islander" for good reason. He not only was a kingpin performer on the four-Cup dynasty but also has called Long Island home since he played his first NHL game in Uniondale 47 years ago.

Looking backward comes easy for Ny and the following are Bob's answers -- by topic -- to several questions I posed about the team that won an unprecedented 19 consecutive playoff series from 1980 through 1984. Here goes:

REFLECTIONS ON HIS 1980 CUP-WINNING GOAL: "I still watch replays of my beating Pete Peeters in the Flyers net and one of the things that gives me a thrill was seeing Johnny Tonelli jumping and throwing his stick and gloves in the air. And then Lorne Henning -- who started the play at center ice -- coming in and giving me the greatest bear hug to congratulate me, and the team."

OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CUP-WINNER: "I'm reminded of an article in Sports Illustrated about 'heroes' and 'goats'; and how I almost was the 'goat' on that play. Just before I scored, I hit (Flyers defenseman) Bob Dailey very high with my elbow and probably should have been given a penalty. I often think that if I had gotten penalized for the elbow, I was in trouble. I'd be thinking, what if the Flyers did score and then we had to go back to Philly and might have lost. Then it would have been all over for us. So, what's the moral: It tells me that there's a very small margin between being a 'hero,' as I was, and a 'goat.'"

PRE-OVERTIME 1980 DRESSING ROOM THOUGHTS: "Sitting in the room, a thought came into my head that made me feel as if I was going to score the Cup-winner. I was so fixated on the goal actually happening that I got up and walked to the bathroom with my stick in hand and actually carved a notch in my stick, signifying that I was going to score THE goal and be the game's hero. The good news is that I did score the goal. The bad news is that I lost the stick!"

BOB'S FEELINGS ABOUT AL ARBOUR: "Radar was one of the greatest people on the face of the earth. Aside from my parents, who had the most influence on my life, there was Al right up there with them. He not only taught us how to play hockey, he taught us how to be men -- and good people. Beside that, he had the most incredible ability to motivate players to do more than what normally was expected of them. As a result we players would go through the boards for him."

Video: 1980 Isles Zoom Reunion

ARBOUR'S TECHNIQUES: "One of Radar's amazing traits was his ability to make what would seem to be nothing into a motivating tool. While driving to the rink with a player he might see something -- just about anything -- and then make it the most motivating story ever. As a disciplinarian, he knew when to scold a guy and when to give him a pat on the back. Our stars were treated as equals. Al would single out one of the talented guys -- say, our captain, Denis Potvin -- and scream at him. That made the rest of us feel as if we were equal. Or, he'd walk into the room and say, 'SOME of you guys aren't 'going.' With that, 90 percent of the guys would think to themselves, 'He must mean me, so I'd better go out and do better.'"

BEST THING THE COACH TAUGHT HIM: "What I most remember is Al teaching me that you can't fear losing. You have to love to win. He'd say, 'Who would you rather be, the guy who's on his toes; attacking, attacking attacking and thinking he's going to score the winning goal? Or would you rather be the guy who's on his heels, afraid to make a mistake?' Over the years, I learned that such advice holds true for everyone in life. Yes, Al taught us well."

FEELINGS ABOUT BILL TORREY:"Most of the time, Bill was on the outer boundaries of the team, but we knew he was an incredibly smart hockey guy. That's why he was given the nickname 'The Architect.' One of the things that made our team tick was the camaraderie and that also was true of the front office. Bill and Al worked so well together and there never was a feeling of 'one-ups-manship.' If Al wanted Bill to try and get a player to help the team, Bill would do his best to do it. Conversely, if Radar wanted someone traded, you could be sure that Torrey would be following through as best he could."

THE PLUS AND MINUS OF TORREY:"I really owe Bill a lot for taking a chance on a blue-collar player like me who wanted nothing more than to play in the NHL. The only thing I hold against him took place after I scored the winning goal against Philly. I sat down with Bill to negotiate a new contract feeling very good about what I had accomplished. Bill came back and offered me a contract with a $5,000 pay cut. If Bill is looking down on us from above I'm sure he's laughing about that one!"

NYSTROM'S TWO FAVORITE TEAMMATES -- FIRST GARY HOWATT: "Howie was one of the toughest little buggers and afraid of absolutely nobody. He brought a work ethic, desire and toughness that couldn't be duplicated. He was an incredible over-achiever. We were teammates at New Haven (in the AHL) and when we got promoted to the big club we drove to Long Island in a Dodge Duster. I remember reading the comics to him to keep Howie awake! The first thing we did when we got our apartment was to buy boxing gloves and headgear. We used to box in the backyard of the apartment. The other residents thought we were all crazy."

Video: 1980 Isles Zoom Reunion

CLARK GILLIES: "He was incredibly tough but the other thing he brought to the team that was so important was the ability to make us laugh. Clark kept us loose. I roomed with him for a long time and he would try all his jokes on me; and most were pretty good. But when the time came for him to play tough he would and he would get ugly. To this day, I'd say that Clark was the most emotional guy that I know. You know what they say, 'No emotion, no motivation.'"

NYSTROM'S TWO UNSUNG HEROES:Lorne Henning and Billy Carroll go together because they killed penalties so well. They did an incredible job of holding our opponents in check and not allowing them to score. Yet, for some reason neither Lorne nor Billy got the kind of positive recognition they deserved. There were so many games when they'd be sitting on the bench for a period or so and then we'd get a penalty and Al would call on them to do the job. Yet there never was a negative word out of them. They always were encouraging while on the bench, saying a good word or two and patting teammates on the back. I was especially happy that it was a player such as Lorne who helped me score the winning goal against Philadelphia!