Those Bill Torrey Stories

Over the course of the weekend dedicated to Bill Torrey New York Islanders alumni shared some personal memories of "The Architect."
From Torrey's tactics to contract negotiations, to a wild night in Boston, hear stories from the players who knew him best.

He's not exactly sure what happened next, but he's fairly certain a Bruins fan kicked his feet out from under him, sending him spinning down to the concrete. What he is sure of is the fact that the first two guys off the bus to defend him were General Manager Bill Torrey and Head Coach Al Arbour.
As Resch picked himself up, he saw that Torrey had grabbed the perceived perpetrator and had him pinned up against the wall.
It was so out of character for the man who was almost always outfitted in his trademark bow tie. Perhaps that's what made it so stunning.
"A guy who didn't seemingly have an explosive bone in his body just be the first guy off the bus," Resch said. "I just remember looking at Bill Torrey and he's scrappin'. He's got this guy against the wall - he didn't hit him... I'm sure he talked him down rather than berated him, but it showed the passion he had and what he'd do for his team."

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Resch has a reverence for Torrey, putting the GM on his personal Mt. Rushmore of people who've impacted his hockey career, along with his mom, dad and Arbour. Torrey was the man who acquired Resch from Montreal in June of 1972.
Resch remembers Torrey's personable nature, always asking about the Islanders' families before getting down to the business of hockey. And it is a business. While Torrey acquired Resch, he also traded him to the Colorado Rockies in 1981, but even a trade didn't dampen their relationship.
Resch was in Vancouver to receive the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1982, the site of the Islanders third Stanley Cup win. Unbeknownst to Resch, Torrey was going to present Resch with the award, a gesture the goalie appreciated.
"You never left a conversation with Bill without feeling better about yourself," Resch said. "He was a good listener and out of that he'd say something that inspired you, or make you think, oh yeah, I feel good about myself. He was a bit of a mentor in that way."

Video: Bill Torrey on winning the Stanley Cup

TORREY DANGLES THE STANLEY CUP RINGS:

Bill Torrey had the pulse of his Islanders teams, knowing when and how to motivate the club.
If he ever showed up in the locker room, the players knew the boss was really upset. But Torrey could also motivate his team in more subtle ways, dangling carrots instead of sticks.
One such motivator was when he dished out the team's championship rings. Butch Goring said those usually came in January - and happened to coincide with the annual mid-season doldrums. It was his way to jarring the team loose and putting their eye back on the prize.
After winning their third Stanley Cup, Goring was the first to pick up on what was going on. The team was hovering around .500 and after a late-month loss, Goring marched up to Torrey and inquired.
"I said Bill, how many more games do we have to lose before we get our dog-on rings?" Goring said.
Goring remembered Torrey's snarl after that. But the next game, the rings showed up. Mission accomplished.
"He always had a purpose with everything he did," Goring said. "A few people may have thought well maybe the rings got lost somewhere or whatever, but he knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to make sure he could get his team spurred on a little bit."

Video: PHI@NYI: Islanders salute late GM Bill Torrey

BOW TIE BILL IN THE BOARDROOM:

Contract negotiations are a central tenant of the player-GM relationship, but they can also be a source of conflict and Torrey drove a hard bargain at times.
Dave Lewis remembered Torrey's pie metaphor during one of their negotiations. The GM told Lewis that Bryan Trottier had a piece of the pie. So did Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, Clark Gillies and Bobby Nystrom.
"Dave, there's not such a big piece of the pie for you," Lewis said. "What are you going to say? They're all in the Hall of Fame!"
Pat Flatley had a similar story. Flatley represented himself in the negotiations, sitting one-on-one with Torrey at the Golden Dolphin diner in Huntington.
Torrey had spoken with owner John Pickett after their preliminary talks and approached Flatley the next day. Torrey said Pickett asked how many players could do what Flatley did. He was nothing if not candid.
"Pat, I had to tell him, a lot!" Torrey told Flatley.
The follow up.
"Can you please help me to convince him that you're worth what you're asking for?"
Flatley, who saw Torrey as a father figure, said they negotiated three more contracts together after that.

Video: A Night Celebrating Bill Torrey

STEFAN PERSSON GETS PAID:

Despite the - sometimes tough - negotiations, the dynasty Islanders said Torrey treated them like family and that was also a generous individual.
Stefan Persson recalled his departure from the Islanders in 1986. He informed Torrey he was planning on retiring and moving back to Sweden at the end of the season. An adept asset manager, Torrey traded Persson to Winnipeg to recoup something for his Swedish defenseman.
Persson wasn't so keen on this and did not report to Winnipeg, heading back to Sweden early. Torrey, remorseful about trading Persson, offered a make-good.
"Bill called me and told me, 'Stef, that didn't work out really well,'" Persson said. "So he paid me the rest of the money for that year. It wasn't about the money. It was about a classy guy - and that was Bill."

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GORING GETS TORREY ON THE GOLF COURSE:

Torrey was known for always having the upper hand when it came to contract negotiations with his players. As Butch Goring put it, you didn't often get one up on the man upstairs.
If the boardroom belonged to Bill, the golf course belonged to Butchie, who has since gone on to win his club championship.
One day Butch and Clark Gillies golfed with Torrey and Ed Westfall, a two-vs-two match. Torrey asked for their handicaps. Westfall was a one. Gillies a three and Torrey a 12.
Butchie?
"I'm a very good nine."
The foursome went around the track at the Meadow Brook Club and Butchie and Gillies handedly won. Goring shot a 72, even par at the club, and Torrey got wise to what was happening.
"Bill Torrey looks at me and says you're not a nine, you're a one or a two," Goring recalled.
His answer at the time: "I just told you I was a really good nine."