Bill Barber
| Bill Barber | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1990 | |||
 Barber in 2013 | |||
| Born |
July 11, 1952 Callander, ON, CAN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| NHL Draft |
7th overall, 1972 Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Playing career | 1972–1984 | ||
William Charles Barber (born July 11, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played twelve seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). As part of the famed LCB (Leach, Clarke, Barber) line, Barber helped lead the Flyers to the franchise's two Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. He is currently a scouting consultant with the Flyers.[1]
Playing career
Barber was drafted by the Flyers 7th in the first round of the 1972 draft. He was called up after only 11 games in the AHL with the Richmond Robins. In his first season with the Flyers Barber scored 30 goals and 34 assists and was a contender for the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.
Barber was converted to left wing by coach Fred Shero. He scored at least 20 goals every season. His best season was 50 goals and 62 assists in the 1975–76 season. In the Flyers' successful 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup playoff campaigns, Barber contributed six goals in each, 15 and 13 points respectively. In addition to his respectable scoring abilities, Barber was also a well rounded player. On a power play he was equally valuable for setting up the play as he was at pulling the trigger. And if forced into a defensive role, he was capable. Barber said of himself, "I want to be remembered as being capable of doing my job day in and day out, not just as a goal scorer, but as a good all-around player for every kind of situation."
In the 1976 Canada Cup, Barber scored one of his most famous goals while playing for Team Canada. Behind in the final against Czechoslovakia, Barber scored to send the game into overtime, and an eventual Team Canada victory.
He was a team leader for the next decade. In 1979–80, the Flyers had their record 35 game unbeaten streak, and Barber was in the centre of it all. He helped the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Finals in the spring of 1980 with a number of key playoff goals against the NY Rangers and Minnesota North Stars.
Barber captained the Flyers in the 1981–82 season and part of 1982–83. As of the end of the 2012–2013 season, he still holds the Flyers regular season career scoring record with 420 goals. He is tied for the lead for Flyers career playoff goal with Rick MacLeish; both have 53 playoff tallies.
Coaching career
After his playing career, Barber started coaching. He coached the Hershey Bears for 16 games in 1985. He was the Flyers assistant coach between 1985–1988. After coaching the Flyers farm team (Phantoms) for 4 years, he was hired by the Flyers to be the head coach of the NHL club. Barber won the Jack Adams Award in 2001 as coach of the year. The awards ceremony was in Toronto, on live national television, and many Toronto Maple Leaf fans were in attendance. When Barber's name was announced as the winner, many Leaf fans booed the selection. Barber handled it with grace and made a joke about the popularity of the Flyers in Toronto. He was fired in 2002, and has since stopped coaching.
Retirement
Barber was forced to retire as a player after the 1984–85 season after being unable to return from reconstructive knee surgery in the spring of 1984.
The Flyers retired his number, 7, on October 7, 1990, just after he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. After his playing career he would coach the Flyers from December 2000 until April 2002, winning the Jack Adams Trophy after 2000–01. He also coached the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, to their first Calder Cup victory in 1998. He was the Director of Player Personnel for the Tampa Bay Lightning, a position he held from August 2002 to June 2008. Barber's name was added to the Stanley Cup for a third time in 2004 with Tampa Bay. On October 13, 2008, he returned to the Flyers organization when he was named a scouting consultant.[1]
On September 25, 2010, his hometown of Callander, Ontario opened the Bill Barber Sports Complex in his honour.[2]
Barber and his late wife, Jenny have two children, Brooks and Kerri. Jenny Barber died from lung cancer in 2001.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1967–68 | North Bay Trappers | NOJHA | 34 | 18 | 35 | 53 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | North Bay Trappers | NOJHA | 48 | 32 | 38 | 70 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Kitchener Rangers | OHA-Jr. | 54 | 37 | 49 | 86 | 42 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 22 | ||
| 1970–71 | Kitchener Rangers | OHA-Jr. | 61 | 46 | 59 | 105 | 129 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1971–72 | Kitchener Rangers | OHA-Jr. | 62 | 44 | 63 | 107 | 89 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1972–73 | Richmond Robins | AHL | 11 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1972–73 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 46 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 22 | ||
| 1973–74 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 75 | 34 | 35 | 69 | 54 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 | ||
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 34 | 37 | 71 | 66 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 8 | ||
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 50 | 62 | 112 | 104 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 18 | ||
| 1976–77 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 73 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 62 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 41 | 31 | 72 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1978–79 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 34 | 46 | 80 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 1979–80 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 40 | 32 | 72 | 17 | 19 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 23 | ||
| 1980–81 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 43 | 42 | 85 | 69 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 1981–82 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 45 | 44 | 89 | 85 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 66 | 27 | 33 | 60 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1983–84 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 63 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 903 | 420 | 463 | 883 | 623 | 129 | 53 | 55 | 108 | 109 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Canada | CC | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 1979 | NHL All-Stars | Ch-Cup | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1982 | Canada | WC | 10 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | |
| Senior totals | 20 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 14 | |||
All-Star Games
| Year | Location | G | A | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Montreal | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1976 | Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1978 | Buffalo | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1980 | Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1981 | Los Angeles | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1982 | Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| All-Star totals | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
Coaching record
NHL
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| PHI | 2000–01 | 54 | 31 | 13 | 7 | 3 | (100) | 2nd in Atlantic | Lost in first round |
| PHI | 2001–02 | 82 | 42 | 27 | 10 | 3 | 97 | 1st in Atlantic | Lost in first round |
| Total | 136 | 73 | 40 | 17 | 6 | ||||
AHL
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| HER | 1984–85 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | (63) | 6th in South | Out of Playoffs |
| PHI | 1996–97 | 80 | 49 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 111 | 1st in Mid-Atlantic | Lost in second round |
| PHI | 1997–98 | 80 | 47 | 21 | 12 | 2 | 106 | 1st in Mid-Atlantic | Won Championship |
| PHI | 1998–99 | 80 | 47 | 22 | 9 | 2 | 105 | 1st in Mid-Atlantic | Lost in third round |
| PHI | 1999–00 | 80 | 44 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 93 | 3rd in Mid-Atlantic | Lost in first round |
| Total | 336 | 193 | 101 | 38 | 9 | ||||
Awards
| Award | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Calder Cup champion | 1998 |
| Class Guy Award (Philadelphia Flyers team award) | 1981 |
| Jack Adams Award | 2001 |
| NHL First All-Star Team | 1976 |
| NHL Second All-Star Team | 1979, 1981 |
| Stanley Cup champion | 1974, 1975, 2004 |
See also
- List of NHL players with 100-point seasons
- list of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise
References
- 1 2 "News: Bill Barber Named as Scouting Consultant". Philadelphia Flyers. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ↑ http://openparliament.ca/hansards/2298/109/only/
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bill Barber. |
- Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Preceded by Pierre Plante |
Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick 1972 |
Succeeded by Mel Bridgman |
| Preceded by Mel Bridgman |
Philadelphia Flyers captain 1981–82 |
Succeeded by Bobby Clarke |
| Preceded by Joel Quenneville |
Jack Adams Award Winners 2001 |
Succeeded by Bob Francis |
| Preceded by Craig Ramsay |
Head Coach of the Philadelphia Flyers 2000–02 |
Succeeded by Ken Hitchcock |