The NHL is beginning its 101st season. Five coaches have won at least three consecutive Stanley Cups. Only one still is living.
"Hey, Scotty ... Fine, and you? ... Everything's good in Pittsburgh ... Listen, I'm calling to see if you like the Penguins' chances of three-peating."
Scotty Bowman, 84 years young after his birthday Sept. 18 and still very active in hockey, interrupted his drive to Buffalo's KeyBank Center for a development camp game late last month to eagerly offer his opinion. None is more valuable, not after everything his eyes have seen.
"I do like the Penguins' chances. I think they have a really decent chance of winning again," Bowman said. "It's hard to win without an elite player. They have two."
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
"Sidney is an amazing guy," Bowman said. "He came back from tough injuries. He's so competitive. He plays two ways. He keeps improving all the time. When he leaves the game, he'll be ranked with the all-time guys. There have been so many great ones that I won't put a number on them. But he'll be right there."
Malkin is the perfect sidekick for Crosby, Bowman said.
"It's hard to be overshadowed by another superstar when you're a superstar yourself. But he stands in line. I've known some guys who can't be happy in that role, but he's been able to handle it. And if something happens to Crosby, he's ready to step in and take over."
Bowman won four consecutive Cups as coach of the Montreal Canadiens from 1976-79. Many consider him the greatest coach of all time in any sport. He won nine Cups as a coach, including one with the Penguins in 1992, and five more as a front-office executive, including one with the Penguins in 1991 as their director of player development.
"Frank Selke was the general manager in Montreal and the architect of their teams that won five Cups in a row (from 1956-60)," Bowman said. "He always told me the hardest thing to do is replace guys who won for you. The Penguins have lost some guys. Bonino. Cullen. Kunitz. Daley. Hainsey. But they're getting Letang back. He's more than just a good player. He'll be a big plus for that team."
Bowman knows it takes much more than a dynamic duo on the ice to win a Cup. He said the Penguins are fortunate to have an equally dynamic duo off the ice.
Jim Rutherford and Mike Sullivan.
"I've known Jimmy for a long time. I like Jimmy," Bowman said. "He doesn't get flustered. His secret is he gets people behind him and lets them do their work. He's not a one-armed paper hanger. Those guys never get it done."
Bowman mentioned Jason Botterill, a former Rutherford assistant who left the Penguins during the playoffs last season to become Buffalo Sabres general manager.
"I don't know him, but I know he did a pretty good job there with the Wilkes-Barre team," Bowman said. "Wilkes-Barre has been good for a long time. Look at the coaches and the players they've sent to the NHL. Look at Guentzel last year. He comes in and gets 13 goals in the playoffs. Wow! Whoever thought that would happen ...
"The trick is finding new blood to come in and help you win. You need two or three new players every year. You have to be able to develop players. You have to find guys who everyone else misses on. When you have a good team, you run out of money. When players get established, they get paid. You can't keep everybody. You have to find new players. The Penguins do that. That's a big asset for them."
Sullivan is the final piece, the guy who makes it all work together. Like Rutherford, Bowman said, Sullivan hires good people on his coaching staff and allows them to do their job. "They've lost Rick Tocchet. He's a good man. That's a loss. But they're getting Mark Recchi. He's a personable guy to replace Rick."
Sullivan makes the final decisions, of course. Since joining the Penguins in December 2015, the team has gone 8-0 in playoff series on its way to consecutive Cups. Now, Sullivan has a chance to three-peat and put his name on a list of iconic coaches with Bowman, Hap Day, Toe Blake, Punch Imlach and Al Arbour.
"He was a journeyman player. He knows what it takes to win," Bowman said of Sullivan. "He knows you need depth. He's not afraid to use guys. I like that about him. He knows how to give players confidence so he can win with them."
And win, Sullivan does.
"It's going to be an interesting season," Bowman said. "There are good teams in the East. Washington, although Pittsburgh has seemed to have had their number. Tampa had a lot of injuries last year, but they're a playoff team. Carolina will be better this year. Columbus ...
"It's tough to win a Cup the first time, let alone twice or three times. But the Penguins definitely have a chance. I'll be watching them."
It was about then Bowman pulled into the KeyBank Center parking lot. The attendant knew who he was _ you can't possibly be surprised _ and waved him in. Bowman politely excused himself from the telephone call. There was a game to watch, young players to see.
There's only one thing Bowman enjoys more than talking about hockey. That's watching it. Man, what his eyes have seen.
