Bill Torrey Ryan McLeod Oilers Jersey , the jovial bow-tie wearing Hall of Famer who was the general manager of the New York Islanders when they won four consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1980s and eventually became the first president of the Florida Panthers, has died.

Torrey died at his home in South Florida on Wednesday night, the NHL said. He was 83.

No cause was immediately revealed, though he was not known to be in any sort of poor health. Torrey, who spent the last several years of his career as an advisor to Florida general manager Dale Tallon and also serving as the franchise’s alternate governor, was at work like usual in his Panthers’ office earlier this week.

”Bill was a giant of our game,” Tallon said. ”He was the architect of a dynasty, a Hockey Hall of Famer and most importantly, a committed family man. I’m heartbroken by the news of his passing. Bill was a mentor and a dear friend who was instrumental in bringing me to South Florida to work alongside him. He was a wonderful person who never lost his passion for the game and loved being at the rink.”

Torrey left an indelible impact on hockey, particularly the Islanders and the Panthers.

He was the first employee in Islanders history when the franchise was born in 1972, and the team raised a banner in his honor years ago calling him ”The Architect.” Torrey then became Florida’s first president, and the Panthers gave him a banner in 2010 with the number ”93” – a nod to 1993 Rashaan Evans Jersey Elite , when the team played its first game.

”He was a pioneer, who became a mentor and even better friend, to so many in the industry,” Islanders president and general manager Garth Snow said. ”The teams he constructed set records that may never be broken, including the four straight Stanley Cup Championships and 19 straight playoff series wins.”

Florida reached the Stanley Cup final in 1996 under Torrey, falling to Colorado. Earlier that season, Torrey went into the Hall of Fame as a builder who specialized in taking expansion teams and turning them into quick winners.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called Torrey ”a true legend of our game.”

”His imprint is on virtually every team in our league, as he personally mentored and inspired generations of NHL general managers who have followed him and established the team-building blueprint based upon scouting, drafting and player development that today remains the model for lasting success,” Bettman said.

Brian Burke, a longtime hockey executive, asked Torrey for some advice in the early 1990s and remembered getting about a four-sentence answer on how to build a club.

Burke never forgot any of those words Ed Dickson Color Rush Jersey , and they became the guide that he’s used ever since – even when putting together the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team that lost a classic gold-medal game against host Canada at the Vancouver Games.

And what Torrey did, Burke said, will never be matched.

”Bill Torrey won four consecutive Stanley Cups with the Islanders,” Burke said in 2011. ”It’ll never be done again. In a salary cap system I think you’re lucky to win two Cups in 10 years. But you’ll never win four in a row again with this format.”

William A. Torrey was born June 23, 1934 in Montreal. He attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, studying business and psychology. His first hockey front-office job was with the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets in the 1960s, and his NHL career started in 1967 when he was hired as executive vice president of the California Seals – another expansion club.

He went to the Islanders in 1972, then to the Panthers in 1993 and never left.

”An original Panther and the forefather of our franchise, Mr. Torrey had a champion’s spirit and lived for the game,” Panthers owner Vincent Viola said. ”His indomitable energy and his commitment to hockey and to South Florida was inspiring. It was an honor to work with him and know him.”

Torrey is survived by four sons, a brother David Justice Jersey , a sister and 10 grandchildren. Funeral arrangements have not been revealed.

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More NHL hockey: First, the Patriots tuned out a week full of off-field drama. Then, they silenced the Titans to earn yet another trip to the AFC championship game.

Tom Brady passed for three touchdowns and 337 yards, and New England cruised past Tennessee 35-14 on Saturday night to advance to their seventh consecutive conference title game.

New England (14-3) will host the winner of Sunday’s divisional matchup between Jacksonville and Pittsburgh.

It was Brady’s 10th career postseason game with at least three TD tosses, moving him past Joe Montana for the most in NFL history. James White caught a touchdown pass and ran for another, and Danny Amendola had 11 catches for 112 yards.

New England’s victory came on the heels of a week filled with turmoil following reports of discord involving Brady, coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft.

None of that showed on the field Saturday.

”I’ve been around long enough,” Brady said. ”So, 18 years, there’s so many nice things said about me. It just goes with the territory.”

The Titans (10-8) took an early 7-0 lead, but New England scored 35 straight points to take control.

Marcus Mariota completed 22 of 37 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, but was under duress for most of the second half. He was sacked eight times Authentic Brandon McCarthy Jersey , a Patriots playoff record.

Coach Mike Mularkey said after the game his quarterback strained a quadriceps in the first quarter.

”It had an impact,” Mularkey said. ”We had to get out of some of our scheme with him.”

New England also held Derrick Henry to just 28 yards rushing on 12 carries.

The Titans came back from an 18-point deficit in the second half to beat the Chiefs 22-21 in the wild-card round last week – the largest comeback on the road in the Super Bowl era. But the Patriots didn’t give them a chance for an encore.

Leading 14-7, the Patriots stretched their lead to 14 just before halftime thanks to a trio of careless penalties on the Titans.

Tennessee initially forced a three-and-out, but gave up a first down via a fourth-and-5 neutral zone infraction on Brynden Trawick before New England’s punt attempt.

Armed with a new set of downs, Brady went to work moving the Patriots down the field with a steady diet of short passes. The Titans helped along the way with illegal contact and unnecessary roughness penalties. It eventually culminated in a 4-yard TD pass from Brady to Chris Hogan in the back of the end zone that made it 21-7.

Brady threw a short shovel pass to White, who ran it in from the 5-yard line to make it 7-7 early in the second quarter.

The Patriots appeared to have a touchdown three plays earlier, when Dion Lewis caught a pass from Brady and was tackled by Wesley Woodyard at the 19. Lewis landed on top of the defender, then got up and continued to the end zone.

The officials initially ruled that he had never been down and called it a touchdown. But replays showed Lewis’ butt hit the ground at the 19.

Corey Davis made a one-handed catch on a 15-yard pass from Mariota in the corner of the end zone to give the Titans a 7-0 lead. Mariota had a pair of 11-yard runs to help set up the score.

Davis added an 11-yard TD reception with 1:55 left in the game – and the Titans’ season.

INJURIES

Titans: Right tackle Jack Conklin walked off on his own power after injuring a knee in the first quarter. He did not return. … Tight end Jonnu Smith was carted off in the third quarter with a right leg injury.

Patriots: Right tackle LaAdrian Waddle left with a knee injury early in the third quarter. … Cornerback Jonathan Jones was helped off the field late in the fourth quarter.

UNFORCED ERRORS

The Titans had 85 penalties in the regular season – the second-fewest in the NFL.

They were flagged 10 times for 62 yards on Saturday, just the second time they had 10 or more this season.

MOVING ON UP

Gronkowski finished with six catches for 81 yards and touchdown. It was his 10th career postseason TD. He’s tied with five others for third all-time. But it’s the most for a tight end.

Gronk also moved into second all-time for a tight end with 835 postseason receiving yards. He passed Keith Jackson, and only Dallas Clark is ahead of him.

UP NEXT

The Patriots will play the winner of Sunday’s matchup between the Jaguars and Steelers in the AFC championship game.

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