July 19 NHL History
1892: Hockey Hall of Fame coach Dick Irvin is born in Hamilton, Ontario.
Irvin plays 94 games during three NHL seasons, but he spends 27 seasons as one of the most successful coaches in League history. His teams win the Stanley Cup four times (1932 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, after taking over early in the season when Art Duncan is fired; 1944, 1946 and 1953 with the Montreal Canadiens). He coaches the Chicago Blackhawks for two seasons and the Maple Leafs for nine before taking over the Canadiens in 1940-41. Irvin’s 15 seasons with the Canadiens are the most by any coach in their history, and he goes 431-313-152 in 896 games with Montreal while helping groom numerous players who go on to the Hockey Hall of Fame, including Maurice Richard and Jean Beliveau.
Irvin is let go by the Canadiens after the 1954-55 season, which ends with an overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He coaches the Blackhawks in 1955-56 before retiring for health reasons. Irvin finishes with 692 wins, the most by any NHL coach at the time of his retirement. He’s still seventh on the all-time list.
He dies May 16, 1957, one year before his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
1962: Defenseman Craig Muni, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Edmonton Oilers, is born in Toronto. The Oilers sign Muni as a free agent on Aug. 18, 1986 after he plays 19 games during four seasons with the Maple Leafs, and he’s a member of Edmonton’s Cup-winning teams in 1987, 1988 and 1990. Muni finishes his NHL career with three more championship rings than playoff goals; he has 17 assists but no goals in 113 Stanley Cup Playoff games, the most games by any player who doesn’t score a goal.
2011: Goaltender Chris Osgood announces his retirement. Osgood, who plays 14 of his 17 NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, finishes his career with 401 wins in 744 games, a 2.49 goals-against average and 50 shutouts, 39 with the Red Wings. He is a member of three Stanley Cup-winning teams with Detroit and was the No. 1 goaltender in Cup championships in 1998 and 2008, when he has a 1.55 GAA in 19 games.
