{"id":9721,"date":"2025-01-07T04:14:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T09:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/?p=9721"},"modified":"2025-01-07T07:14:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T12:14:14","slug":"ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Calgary Flames Coach and Exec Al MacNeil Dies at 89"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"380\" height=\"250\" src=\"http:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/al-macneil.jpg\" alt=\"Al MacNeil\" class=\"wp-image-9722\" style=\"width:300px\" title=\"Ex-Calgary Flames Coach and Exec Al MacNeil Dies at 89\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ex-NHL player and Stanley Cup-winning coach Al MacNeil has passed away at the age of 89.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Calgary Flames confirmed his death on Monday.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MacNeil played for five NHL teams and later transitioned to coaching, leading the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup victory and serving as the Flames\u2019 first head coach.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former NHL player and Stanley Cup-winning coach <strong>Al MacNeil has passed away at the age of 89<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Calgary Flames confirmed his death in a statement on Monday, noting that <strong>MacNeil died Sunday in Calgary<\/strong>. The cause of death was not disclosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacNeil\u2019s hockey career spanned several decades, beginning as a defenceman in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/hockey\/nhl\">NHL<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He played 524 games across five teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1955 and 1968.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout his playing career, <strong>MacNeil scored 17 goals, compiled 75 assists, and accumulated 617 penalty minutes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Calgary Flames mourn death of former head coach, executive, Al MacNeil\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3hS-lEgRtg8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-transition-to-coaching\">The Transition to Coaching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the legacy of the Nova Scotia native extended far beyond his time as a player.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1971, he made a remarkable transition to coaching as the rookie head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, leading them to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/hockey\/odds\">Stanley Cup<\/a> victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He later served as Montreal\u2019s director of player personnel during their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 1978 and 1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacNeil\u2019s leadership also reached the American Hockey League, where he <strong>won three Calder Cups<\/strong> as the general manager and head coach of the Montreal Canadiens&#8217; farm team, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, in 1972, 1976, and 1977.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following his coaching tenure with Montreal, MacNeil became the last head coach of the Atlanta Flames before they relocated to Calgary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There, he also became the first head coach of the Calgary Flames, leading them through their first two seasons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1989, he served as an assistant general manager for the Flames&#8217; Stanley Cup championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"al-was-a-great-man\">\u201cAl Was a Great Man\u201c<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>Al was a great man who will be dearly missed by our organization<\/em>&#8220;, said <strong>Murray Edwards<\/strong>, chairman of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was a long-term loyal member of our Flames family ever since the team&#8217;s arrival in Calgary in 1980.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to his work with the Flames, MacNeil contributed to Canada\u2019s success in the international arena as an assistant coach for the Canadian team that won the 1976 Canada Cup and again at the 1981 Canada Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman<\/strong> remarked on MacNeil\u2019s profound impact on the sport, saying, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the last 70 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockeydb.com\/ihdb\/stats\/pdisplay.php?pid=10618\">Al MacNeil<\/a>&#8216;s impact on our game has been profound, both on and off the ice. He was the consummate professional who conducted himself with humility and grace.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacNeil leaves behind his wife, Norma, son Allister, an amateur scout for the Flames, daughter Allison, son-in-law Paul Sparkes, and grandsons Jack and Ben Sparkes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Robert Hayes<\/strong>, president and chief executive officer of the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, described MacNeil as a \u201c<em>legend<\/em>\u201d within the Flames family.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;<em>His reputation and experience allowed him to command the room with his advice and guidance<\/em>&#8220;, Hayes added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flames president of hockey operations Don Maloney expressed the team&#8217;s deep loss, saying, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We lost an icon. \u2018<em>Chopper<\/em>\u2019 was a Stanley Cup champion and a Calder Cup champion but most importantly he was our friend and mentor.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary: Former NHL player and Stanley Cup-winning coach Al MacNeil has passed away at the age of 89.\u00a0 The Calgary Flames confirmed his death in a statement on Monday, noting that MacNeil died Sunday in Calgary. The cause of death was not disclosed. MacNeil\u2019s hockey career spanned several decades, beginning as a defenceman in the [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12,16,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ex-Calgary Flames Coach and Exec Al MacNeil Dies at 89<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Al MacNeil, former NHL player and Stanley Cup-winning coach, has passed away at age 89; the news was confirmed by the Calgary Flames.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Calgary Flames Coach and Exec Al MacNeil Dies at 89\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Al MacNeil, former NHL player and Stanley Cup-winning coach, has passed away at age 89; the news was confirmed by the Calgary Flames.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Betting.ca News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-07T09:14:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-07T12:14:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.betting.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/01\/al-macneil.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Doug Hirdle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DHirdle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Hirdle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Doug Hirdle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/671c752adfb5662da980fc82ba1bfc19\"},\"headline\":\"Ex-Calgary Flames Coach and Exec Al MacNeil Dies at 89\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-07T09:14:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-07T12:14:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89\"},\"wordCount\":546,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/al-macneil.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Canada\",\"Hockey\",\"NHL\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89\",\"name\":\"Ex-Calgary Flames Coach and Exec Al MacNeil Dies at 89\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/ex-calgary-flames-coach-and-exec-al-macneil-dies-at-89#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/al-macneil.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-07T09:14:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-07T12:14:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.betting.ca\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/671c752adfb5662da980fc82ba1bfc19\"},\"description\":\"Al MacNeil, former NHL player and Stanley Cup-winning coach, has passed away at age 89; 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