NHL power rankings: Top 3 greatest coaches of all-time

1. Scotty Bowman

You likely won’t find a person on the planet that disagrees with Scotty Bowman being considered the greatest NHL coach of all time. Unlike the other two on this list, Bowman did not play in the NHL.

Because of that, he had to work very hard to earn an opportunity in the NHL, and coached in many different leagues before finally getting a chance. He went on to coach an incredible 30 seasons in the league, which included stops with the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Detroit Red Wings.

Bowman was extremely successful with all the organizations listed above, and made the playoffs in an astonishing 28 of 30 seasons. His success was often continued in the playoffs as well, as he won a total of nine Stanley Cups. He won five of those with the Canadiens, including four straight from 1976-1979, one with the Penguins in 1992, and three with the Red Wings, his final coming in 2002. His nine championships have him seated in first all time.

On top of his Stanley Cups, Bowman also has two Jack Adams Awards. His first came after the 1976-77 season, in which he led the Canadiens to an incredible 60-8-12 record, and went on to win the Stanley Cup. His second came nearly twenty years during the 1995-96 season, in which he led the Red Wings to a 62-13-7 record. That 1995-96 season was the highest win total in NHL history, and stood on its own until the Tampa Bay Lightning tied that record last season.

Bowman sits first on many coaching records which will likely never be touched. This includes his games coached, which is 2141, and his wins as a coach, 1244. As of now, he has coached 505 more games than Quenneville, who sits second on the games coached list. Bowman was rewarded for his brilliant career in 1991 when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. There is a legitimate argument to be made that he may be the greatest coach ever in all of sports, not just hockey.