Scotty Bowman is such a slave to detail, precision and planning. Did anyone actually think he would fail to fashion the perfect exit strategy? Ever since Bowman underwent knee-replacement surgery and an angioplasty that caused him to miss the early part of the 1998-99 season, hockey fans wondered when the legendary Detroit Red Wings coach would retire. True to form, Bowman was inscrutable and cryptic until the end, and didn't even tell his wife of his plans. But moments after the Wings defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup finals last June, Bowman sidled up to team owner Mike Ilitch and whispered, "I got to go, Mike." Ilitch's response? "Thanks, Scotty." Then Bowman informed his players of his decision, one-by-one. A joyous night for the Red Wings suddenly turned bittersweet. And yet it was the only fitting way for Bowman to go out. Arguably the greatest coach in hockey history, Bowman, then 68, retired on the same night he hoisted the Stanley Cup for the ninth time, surpassing the record held by his mentor, former Montreal coach Toe Blake. Over a coaching career that spanned five decades and five franchises -- St. Louis, Montreal, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Detroit -- Bowman won 1,467 games, and his innovative formations singlehandedly changed the way the sport is played. Not for nothing was the man inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991 -- 11 years and three Stanley Cups before he finally called it quits. Bowman was not what you'd call a "players' coach." He didn't buddy-up to his minions. He didn't dispense praise liberally or suffer mistakes gladly. But, to a man, his players respected his feel for the sport and sixth sense for making adjustments. They even developed an appreciation for his savant-like obsession with statistics and numbers. On the night Bowman retired, Detroit forward Brendan Shanahan was asked what he'd remember most about his former coach. After a beat, the player responded: "He taught all of us how to play the game of hockey."

--Jon Wertheim

Photograph by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI