Bob Berry could score. Bob Berry could coach. Yet, when it came to the post season, Bob Berry didn’t have much luck. Being stuck in Los Angeles in the 1970’s did not serve up much springtime hockey. As a head coach, Bob was behind the bench of some great teams but won just one playoff series.
Bob Berry – Player
Bob played one year of junior hockey in 1963-64, split between the Verdun Junior Maple Leafs and Peterborough Petes before taking the route of higher education. Berry played three years of university hockey with Sir George Williams College from 1964-65 to 1966-67. The college is better known as Concordia University today.
Between 1968-69 and 1976-77, Berry played 541 regular season National Hockey League games with the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings. He played just two games with the Habs, in 1968-69. Over his career, he scored 159 goals and assisted on 181 for 340 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Bob played just 26 games, adding eight points.
In 1970-71, while playing for the Kings, Berry became part of Vancouver Canucks history. The Kings faced the Canucks in Vancouver’s inaugural home opener and won the game 3-1 at Pacific Coliseum. Bob is credited with the first goal ever scored against the Canucks.
His best season offensively came in 1972-73. While playing the full 78 game regular season schedule, Berry scored 36 goals and assisted on 28 for 64 points. The Bob Pulford coached Kings finished fifth in the West Division and did not qualify for the post season.
Bob Berry Collection
Pre and post NHL, Berry played in the American Hockey League. In 1968-69, he was a member of the Cleveland Barons. The following year, he played for the Montreal Voyageurs. The farm club of the Canadiens finished first overall in the nine team AHL but did not fare well in the post season. In an odd three team round robin semi-final series, Montreal went winless against the Buffalo Bisons and Springfield Kings.
In 1977-78 with his NHL career in the rearview mirror, Berry played one final year in the AHL with the Springfield Indians. Over the final 23 games of the regular season, he also took on the role of head coach. Springfield reached the Calder Cup playoffs but fell to the Nova Scotia Voyageurs 3-1 in the opening round.
Bob Berry – Head Coach
Between 1978-79 and 1993-94, Berry served as head coach for a handful of NHL teams. He started with the Kings and is credited for putting together the Triple Crown Line of Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor. He also had stints as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.
As head coach, Bob’s teams qualified for the post season seven times but won just one playoff series. The 1992-93 St. Louis Blues were led by two future members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Both Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan achieved the 50 goal plateau while Curtis Joseph put up great numbers in goal. After sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round, the Blues fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round with the series going the full seven games.
Berry is still in the game as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Bob Berry – Rookie Card
The Bob Berry rookie card appears as number 76 in both the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee and 1971-72 Topps sets. The card features Berry as a member of the Los Angeles Kings and is valued as a common card.
Bob Berry Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1968-69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968-69 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 68 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 104 |
| 1969-70 | Montreal Voyageurs | AHL | 71 | 18 | 41 | 59 | 104 |
| 1970-71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 77 | 25 | 38 | 63 | 52 |
| 1971-72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 17 | 22 | 39 | 44 |
| 1972-73 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 36 | 28 | 64 | 75 |
| 1973-74 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 77 | 23 | 33 | 56 | 56 |
| 1974-75 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 60 |
| 1975-76 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 37 |
| 1976-77 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 69 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 20 |
| 1976-77 | Fort Worth Texans | CHL | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 1977-78 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 74 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 56 |
| NHL Totals | 541 | 159 | 191 | 350 | 344 |