Bill_Barber

Bill Barber

William Charles "Bill" Barber (born July 11, 1952 in Callander, Ontario) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 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 resigned as the Director of Player Personnel for the Tampa Bay Lightning in June, 2008.

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 a 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 start of the 2008-2009 season, he still holds the Flyers regular season career scoring record with 420 goals. He is tied for the lead for Flyers career player goal with Richard 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 farn 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. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. 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 is currently the Director of Player Personnel for the Tampa Bay Lightning, a position he has held since August 2002.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1969–70	Kitchener Rangers	OHA	54	37	49	86	42	-	-	-	-	-
1970–71	Kitchener Rangers	OHA	61	46	59	105	129	-	-	-	-	-
1971–72	Kitchener Rangers	OHA	62	44	63	107	89	-	-	-	-	-
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