GM for 4- time champion N. Y. Islanders
BILL TORREY | 1934- 2018
SUNRISE, Fla. — Bill Torrey, the jovial bow- tie- wearing Hall of Famer who was the general manager of the New York Islanders when they won four consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1980s and eventually became the first president of the Florida Panthers, has died.
Mr. Torrey died at his home in South Florida on Wednesday night, the NHL said. He was 83.
No cause was immediately revealed, though he was not known to be in any sort of poor health. Mr. Torrey, who spent the last several years of his career as an adviser to Florida general manager Dale Tallon and also served as the franchise’s alternate governor, was at work like usual in his Panthers’ office earlier this week.
“Bill was a giant of our game,” Tallon said. “He was the architect of a dynasty, a Hockey Hall of Famer and most importantly, a committed family man. I’m heartbroken by the news of his passing. Bill was a mentor and a dear friend who was instrumental in bringing me to South Florida to work alongside him. He was a wonderful person who never lost his passion for the game and loved being at the rink.”
Mr. Torrey left an indelible impact on hockey, particularly the Islanders and the Panthers.
He was the first employee in Islanders history when the franchise was born in 1972, and the team raised a banner in his honor years ago calling him “The Architect.” Mr. Torrey then became Florida’s first president, and the Panthers gave him a banner in 2010 with the number “93” — a nod to 1993, when the team played its first game.
“He was a pioneer, who became a mentor and even better friend, to so many in the industry,” Islanders president and general manager Garth Snow said. “The teams he constructed set records that may never be broken, including the four straight Stanley Cup Championships and 19 straight playoff series wins.”