UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Almost 2,000 kilometres from where his honourary banner dangles majestically from the Nassau Coliseum rafters, Al Arbour is a prisoner in his own body at a hospice in Sarasota, Fla., a victim of the dastardly duo of Parkinson’s and dementia.
Wheelchair bound and barely able to speak, if at all, the ailing Arbour, according to those who know him, needs any ray of hope, any nugget of optimism to add some light in what can otherwise be some very dark days thanks to the heinous diseases the legendary coach is battling.
And maybe, just maybe, the 2015 New York Islanders are helping to that end, even if just for a fleeting moment.