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Al Arbour, who led Islanders to four straight Stanley Cups, dies

Al Arbour, the Hall of Fame Islanders coach, who combined old-school discipline with forward-thinking creativity to produce a modern sports dynasty, died Friday morning after a long illness. He was 82.

While his players were in the locker room on May 17, 1983, drinking champagne out of the Stanley Cup for the fourth time, Arbour said in a television interview: "There is no team with greater character, in any sport."

That came, in large part, from the man who was persuaded to take the coaching job in 1973 when general manager Bill Torrey showed him that the North Shore of Long Island was nothing like New York City.