Mike Milbury
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael James Milbury (born June 17, 1952 in Brighton, Massachusetts, USA) is a former defenceman for the Boston Bruins, and former coach for Boston and the New York Islanders. He was also General Manager of the Islanders.
As a defenceman on the Bruins, Milbury is well known for an incident in which he went into the stands and beat a fan with a shoe. On December 23, 1979, in a game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Milbury followed his teammates into the stands for a brawl and ended up with a shoe in hand. He used the shoe to beat a Ranger fan.
He is a well-known figure in the National Hockey League for his controversial (and often quotable) style, as well as for his penchant for blockbuster trades. For these reasons, when he referred to himself as "Mad Mike" after trading away Roberto Luongo, the nickname has stuck ever since.
During several of the years that Milbury served as Islanders GM, the team's ownership mandated that he operate the team on an austere budget. In 1999 he was forced to trade star scorer Zigmund Palffy because team owners no longer wanted to pay his multi-million dollar contract.
However, Milbury has also been criticized for the many decisions he made in which payroll or orders for upper management were not factors. Many young players and prospects that Milbury traded away went on to have distinguised careers, often eclipsing those of the players he received in return. He has traded away defencemen Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Bryan Berard, Eric Brewer, Darius Kasparaitis, and Bryan McCabe; goalies Luongo and Tommy Salo, as well as forwards Olli Jokinen, Todd Bertuzzi, and Raffi Torres. Milbury has also come under fire for his draft day decisions such as choosing Rick DiPietro over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik first overall in 2000.
Throughout Milbury's tenure as Islanders GM, fans chanted "Mike Must Go" when the team performed badly.
In June 2006 Milbury stepped down as Islanders GM to accept a position as Senior Vice President of Charles Wang's sports holdings. In an appearance on Mike and the Mad Dog, Wang did not challenge a suggestion from the hosts that he "fired" Milbury.
Milbury has also served as Boston Bruins coach, where he led the team to consecutive 100+ point seasons. In 1990, Milbury's team won the Presidents' Trophy by finishing first overall in the NHL, and in the 1990 playoffs the Bruins advanced to the Stanley Cup finals before losing in five games to the Edmonton Oilers.
Contents |
[edit] Quotes
[edit] About agent Paul Kraus
Kraus was the agent for Islanders' star forward Zigmund Palffy. He and Milbury frequently butted heads.
- "I think the agent is a moron and way in over his head."
- "It's too bad he lives in the city. He's depriving some small village of a pretty good idiot."
- "We hope that Ziggy will come to his senses. We have no hope Paul Kraus will."
[edit] On Eric Brewer
- "The kid's playing like he's sniffing glue."
[edit] On Roberto Luongo
- "We're rolling the dice here a little bit. Roberto Luongo is going to be an excellent goaltender in this league. He is a class act and a kid I know we would have been happy to ride with. But hell, I've gotta send him off."
[edit] On himself
- "I'm a 1978 Toyota with 86,000 miles on it, rust spots, and a hole in the floorboard. But hey, I start every morning."
- "I'm trying not to be really annoyed. But you know me. That won't last long."
- "If we are not better immediately....and if we are not a playoff team in the near future then it's off with my damn head." (6/25/00)
- "It’s unbelievable that after more than 30 years in the game, pummeling a guy with his loafer will be my legacy. But I guess it's better than having no legacy at all."[1]
| Preceded by Lorne Henning |
Head Coaches of the New York Islanders 1995—1997 |
Succeeded by Rick Bowness |
| Preceded by Rick Bowness |
Head Coaches of the New York Islanders 1998 |
Succeeded by Bill Stewart |
| Preceded by Don Maloney |
General Managers of the New York Islanders 1995—2006 |
Succeeded by Neil Smith |
| Boston Bruins Head Coaches |
|---|
| Ross • Denneny • F. Patrick • Weiland • Clapper • Boucher • L. Patrick • Schmidt • Watson • Sinden • Johnson • Guidolin • Cherry • Creighton • Cheevers • Goring • O'Reilly • Milbury • Bowness • Sutter • Kasper • Burns • Keenan • Ftorek • O'Connell • Sullivan • Lewis |
| New York Islanders Head Coaches |
|---|
| Goyette • Ingarfield • Arbour • Simpson • Henning • Milbury • Bowness • Stewart • Goring • Laviolette • Stirling • Shaw • Nolan |
[edit] References
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Jamie. 2004 Hockey Quotes of the Year. About.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
