Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden ( born September 14 , 1932 in Kingston , Ontario , Canada ) was the long - time general manager , coach , and president of the Boston Bruins of the NHL , and was the coach of the Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series . He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders category . Playing career . Sinden played defence for the Toronto Marlboro bantams before moving up to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey Association ( OHA ) for junior hockey . He played in Oshawa from 1949 to 1953 and then played six seasons in the OHA senior with the Whitby Dunlops . Sinden was team captain when the Dunlops won the Allan Cup in 1957 . The Dunlops with Sinden then went on to win the 1958 World Hockey Championship for Canada in Oslo , Norway . Sinden also won a silver medal as a member of the Canadian national men ' s hockey team at the 1960 Olympics . The core of the team was the Kitchener - Waterloo Dutchmen , with Sinden one of four players from the Dunlops added to the lineup to strengthen the team for the Olympics . Near the end of the season , the Montreal Canadiens placed Sinden on their negotiation list , but they did not reach an agreement . Sinden played some games with the Hull - Ottawa Canadiens in the Eastern Professional Hockey League and met Lynn Patrick , general manager of the Boston Bruins . Patrick signed Sinden as player - assistant coach for the Kingston Frontenacs , the Bruins ' EPHL affiliate , starting in 1960 – 61 . Sinden was named a first - team all - star for the 1961 – 62 season and league MVP for 1962 – 63 . After the league folded , the team became the Minneapolis Bruins of the Central Hockey League for the 1963 – 64 season , with Sinden as player - coach . After two seasons , the team moved again , becoming the Oklahoma City Blazers , where Sinden finished his playing career in the 1965 – 66 season after six seasons with the franchise . In his final season , he coached the team to the league championship . Coaching in the NHL . In May 1966 , Sinden moved to the NHL as the head coach of the Boston Bruins . At 33 , he was the youngest coach in the league at the time , coaching the youngest team . In his first season — with a team that included rookie Bobby Orr — the Bruins finished out of the playoffs with the worst record in the league . By his second year , aided by the acquisition of Phil Esposito from the Chicago Black Hawks , the team posted a winning record , and in Sinden ' s third season , the Bruins finished with 100 points , just behind the Montreal Canadiens for top spot in the NHL . In his fourth season , 1969 – 70 , he coached the Bruins to the their first Stanley Cup in 29 years . Retirement and Summit Series . Despite his success with the team , Sinden had a rocky relationship with Bruins management during the championship season , which led to the 37 year - old Sinden announcing his retirement just days after winning the Cup . The club placed him on its voluntary retired list , preventing him from taking a job with another team for one year . Sinden accepted a job with Stirling Homex Corp . , a home construction company in Rochester , New York . In June 1972 , after two years away from hockey , he was named head coach and manager of the Canadian team for the eight - game Summit Series . After a slow start , he led the Canadians to a come - from - behind win , capped by Paul Henderson ' s series - winning goal with 34 seconds remaining in the final game . Esposito , reunited with Sinden , was the leading scorer in the series . Sinden maintained a tape recorded diary throughout the series , which was turned into a book , " Hockey Showdown " , published in 1972 . Returns to the Bruins . Within days after the Summit Series , Sinden signed a five - year deal with the Bruins to become the team ' s general manager , succeeding Milt Schmidt , who was made executive director . Sinden would spend just over 28 years as general manager of the Bruins , almost surpassing the 30 - year tenure ( 1924 – 54 ) of the team ' s founding manager , Art Ross . He added the title of club president in 1989 , and remained as the chief executive of the club until the summer of 2006 , when he retired to a consulting role . As GM , Sinden presided over the team ' s long years of consistent success , setting the North American major professional record for most consecutive seasons in the playoffs with 30 , which including making the finals five times ( 1974 , 1977 , 1978 , 1988 , 1990 ) and two regular season first place finishes ( 1983 , 1990 ) . Currently , Sinden is the " Senior Advisor to the Owner " for the Bruins , as well as a member of the selection committee for the Hockey Hall of Fame .