Coach name: Roger Neilson

Home town: Toronto Ontario

Born in: 1934

Years with the Canucks: 1982-1984

The Towel Incident is probably the one thing for which Neilson is best remembered. It occurred in 1982 with Neilson behind the bench of the Vancouver Canucks, who were playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup semi-final. After referee Bob Myers had called his ninth penalty on the Canucks, the frustration on the Vancouver bench went through the roof of the Chicago Stadium. Forward Tiger Williams turned to Neilson and said, "Let's throw every friggin' stick on the ice." "Nah," said Neilson, "I've tried that. Let's surrender." Neilson asked defenceman Jim Nill for his stick. "I came to the bench and he told me to give him my stick," remembered Nill. "I said, 'Here, you might as well have it.' I wasn't doing anything good with it that night. 'You might as well use it for something.' " Neilson grabbed a white towel and draped it over the end of Nill's stick and hoisted it aloft. Two or three Canucks players did the same thing. They got kicked out of the game, but Neilson's gesture became a rallying point for the Canucks. When they returned to Vancouver, a pilot in an Air Canada 747 waved a white towel at them. Fans inside the airport waved white towels. Thousands of fans waved them at the next two games. The Canucks went on to win the series, but lost in the final to the New York Islanders. "I just wish I had the (towel) concession," said Neilson. It was perhaps the best example of Neilson rebelling against the establishment.

Games Coaches	Wins	Loses	Ties
982	450	372	157