July 18 NHL History
1943: Longtime NHL defenseman Don Awrey is born in Kitchener, Ontario. Awrey joins the Boston Bruins in time to play 16 games as a 20-year-old in 1963-64. He is a key part of Boston’s Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1970 and 1972. Boston trades him to the St. Louis Blues prior to the start of the 1973-74 season, and he plays for four more teams before retiring after 1978-79 with 189 points (31 goals, 158 assists) in 979 NHL games.
1997: Two months after winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years, the Detroit Red Wings make two moves that will help them win three more in the next 11: They sign Scotty Bowman to a two-year contract to remain as coach and promote Ken Holland to general manager. He had been assistant GM.
Bowman guides the Red Wings to the Cup again in 1998 and wins his NHL-record ninth championship as a coach in 2002. After the final buzzer, he puts on his skates and takes the Cup for a lap around the ice. It’s his last act before retiring as the holder of NHL records for wins and championships by a coach.
The Red Wings continue to thrive under Holland, winning the Stanley Cup three times (1998, 2002, 2008), the Presidents’ Trophy four times (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008) and extending their streak of consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to 25 years before they fail to qualify in 2016-17.
2006: New York Islanders goaltender Garth Snow retires and is immediately named general manager. He replaces Neil Smith, whose tenure as the replacement for GM Mike Milbury lasts less than six weeks.
2008: The Chicago Blackhawks name center Jonathan Toews as their captain. At 20 years and 79 days, Toews becomes the youngest captain in Blackhawks history and the third-youngest (at the time) in NHL history. He is given the captaincy after finishing his first NHL season with 54 points (24 goals, 30 assists) in 64 games. Toews is captain when the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
