Harry Sinden

Lore & Background

Sinden played defence for the Toronto Marlboros bantams before moving up to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey Association for junior hockey. He played in Oshawa from 1949 to 1953, and then for six seasons in the OHA senior division with the Whitby Dunlops. He was team captain when the Dunlops won the Allan Cup in 1957, and then the 1958 Ice Hockey World Championships for Canada in Oslo, Norway. He led Dunlops to another Allan Cup in 1959 also winning a silver medal as a member of the Canadian national men's hockey team at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California.

The core of the team was the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, with Sinden one of four players from the Dunlops added to the lineup to strengthen the team for the Olympics. Near the end of the season, the Montreal Canadiens placed Sinden on their negotiation list but didn't reach an agreement with him. After playing some games with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens in the Eastern Professional Hockey League he met Lynn Patrick, general manager of the Boston Bruins, who signed him as a player – assistant coach for the Kingston Frontenacs, the Bruins' EPHL affiliate, starting in 1960–61.

He was named a first-team all-star and in 1962 he was named the league’s top defenseman (an honor shared with Jean Gauthier) for the 1961–62 season. The next season he kept up his great play repeating as the leagues top defensive player along with being named league MVP for 1962–63. Sinden also helped lead the team to the league title that year. After the league folded, the team became the Minneapolis Bruins of the Central Hockey League for the 1963–64 season with Sinden as player-coach.

After two seasons the team moved again, becoming the Oklahoma City Blazers, where Sinden finished his playing career in 1965–66 after six seasons with the franchise. In that final season, he coached the team to the league championship. In May 1966, Sinden moved up to the NHL as head coach of the Boston Bruins. At 33 he was the youngest coach in the league at the time, coaching the youngest team.

In his first season — with a team that included rookie Bobby Orr—the Bruins finished out of the playoffs with the worst record in the league. But in his second year, aided by the acquisitions of Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield in a blockbuster deal with the Chicago Black Hawks, the team posted a winning record.

Reader's Guide

Harry Sinden is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He played defence for the Toronto Marlboros bantams, Oshawa Generals, and Whitby Dunlops, winning Allan Cups in 1957 and 1959, a World Championship gold in 1958, and an Olympic silver in 1960. He began his NHL coaching career with the Boston Bruins in 1966, leading them to the Stanley Cup in 1970. After a brief retirement, he coached Team Canada to victory in the 1972 Summit Series. He returned to the Bruins as general manager in 1972, serving for over 28 years and also as club president from 1988. He set a record for most consecutive playoff appearances (29) and became the first NHL GM to reach 1,000 wins. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997. He remains a Senior Advisor to the Bruins' owner.

Did You Know?

• He coached the Boston Bruins to their first Stanley Cup in 29 years in 1970.
• Sinden's name was inscribed on the Stanley Cup a second time in 2011 as an executive.