Tom McVie, longtime Boston Bruins assistant, dies at 89 - ESPN

BOSTON — Tom McVie, who coached the Winnipeg Jets to the 1979 World Hockey Association championship over Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers in the final year before the franchises were absorbed into the NHL, has died. He was 89.

McVie was also the Jets' first coach in the NHL and the New Jersey Devils' second after they moved from Colorado in 1982. He also coached the Washington Capitals, compiling an overall NHL record of 126-263 with 73 ties in parts of eight seasons from 1975-92.

The Trail, British Columbia, native joined the Bruins as an assistant coach in 1992 and got his name on the Stanley Cup as a team ambassador when it won the 2011 championship.

«Tom was a huge part of our Bruins family, having served as coach, scout and ambassador for more than 30 years,» said Boston president Cam Neely, whose playing career overlapped with McVie's coaching tenure. «His hockey mind, colorful personality, gruff voice, and unmatched sense of humor livened up every room he entered, and he will be dearly missed.»

McVie made his NHL head coaching debut when he succeeded Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt in Washington on New Year's Eve in 1975, but he never finished higher than fourth before heading to the WHA. He took over the Jets, whose roster included a 40-year-old Bobby Hull, and won the 1979 Avco World Trophy.

True North Sports + Entertainment and the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club is saddened to learn of the passing of former Winnipeg Jets Head Coach Tom McVie.

Coach McVie was an historical figure in Winnipeg's pro hockey history as the coach of the last team to ever win the Avco Cup in… pic.twitter.com/OFGynPHnCI

«Coach McVie was an historical figure in Winnipeg's pro hockey history as the coach of the last team to ever win the Avco Cup