Tom McVie, the fourth head in Washington Capitals franchise history, passed away at 89 on Monday. McVie was also an assistant coach, scout, and long-time ambassador for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins announced the news of his passing.
After an 18-season career with nine different minor league teams, McVie transitioned into the coaching world. The Capitals gave him his first NHL job, naming him head coach on December 31, 1975. He maintained the position with Washington for parts of four seasons.
“The Washington Capitals are deeply saddened by the passing of former head coach Tom McVie and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during this challenging time,” the Capitals wrote in a statement. “McVie, who was named the fourth head coach in Capitals history in 1975 and served in the role until 1978, made significant contributions during the franchise’s early years and will forever be part of our history.”
McVie took over in Washington at the end of 1975 after the Capitals went through three coaches, Jim Anderson, Red Sullivan, and Milt Schmidt, in their first year and a half of existence. The 1974-75 expansion Caps won just eight total games (8-67-5) and have the worst points percentage (.131) of any team in the league’s history.
The Caps fared better in McVie’s first full season in charge, the 1976-77 campaign, but still missed the playoffs with a 24-42-14 record. After two more unsuccessful seasons, the Capitals released McVie, and he ended up with the Winnipeg Jets. With Winnipeg, he won the 1979 WHA championship and then coached the Jets through their first two seasons in the NHL.
After departing Winnipeg, McVie returned to minor league hockey for the next decade, coaching the CHL’s Oklahoma City Stars and the AHL’s Maine Mariners and Utica Devils. He won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL Coach of the Year with Utica in 1988-89.
In 1991, McVie was named the new head coach of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, leading the team for 93 games before joining the Bruins as an assistant coach in 1992. He lasted three seasons behind Boston’s bench before becoming the head coach of the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers and AHL’s Providence Bruins for one season each.
The Bruins eventually made McVie a pro scout in 1998, and he held that role until retiring after the 2019-20 season.
