Sinden Predicted NHL Sweep
1979 Challenge Cup 

As the coach of the 1972 Summit Series Canadian team, Harry Sinden came to expect the same question over the years. The victorious coach in the first-ever showdown between NHL players and Soviet players was sought after for his opinion as to who would win in subsequent tournaments.

Prior to the 1979 Challenge Cup, Sinden predicted Team NHL would sweep all three game.

In a Norm MacLean article in The Hockey News, Sinden was quoted saying "The NHL will win all three games. They will be very close, but the NHL will prevail."

Sinden wasn't the only NHL coach or manager to predict a Team NHL victory:

New York Islanders master mind Al Arbour had one concern, but it wasn't enough to prevent him from predicting a NHL victory. "I think it will be a tough series. The only thing I can see standing in the way of the NHL is the lack of practice time the players will have with each other. But that won't be enough to stop the NHL from winning at least two of the three games."

Don Cherry, then still with Boston but as loud-mouthed as always, showed his allegiances. "The NHL will win two out of three. Why? Because I'm in the NHL and they pay my salary." He later added "..at least I hope they will."

Not everyone was interested in the series. When asked for his prediction Los Angeles Kings coach Bob Berry barked "I have little interest in the series."

Roger Nielson of Toronto was confident of victory as well. "It's going to be 2-1 for somebody, but I'm going to have to with the NHL. They more we play them, the more chance we have of becoming familiar with their style. It is going to be very close."

Vancouver's Harry Neale was willing to give the Russians a little more credit than most of his colleagues. "It will be a desperate struggle. The players must apply themselves. The guys have to stay out of the penalty box because there is just no reasonable way you can intimidate them (the Soviets). NHL players must be disciplined and not retaliate. The biggest enemy of the NHL players is the penalty box, not the Russians."

One coach who refused to give his prediction was Scotty Bowman, coach of Montreal and the NHL All Stars. "I don't even know who we're playing against. I'm too involved in the series and I can't say. I refuse to make a prediction. But we have the potential, based on past series, to do very well. That's all I can say."

Fred Shero, a staunch advocate of Soviet hockey, refused to make a prediction either. " I don't know who the players are. I don't go to the horses and I don't gamble. How the hell am I supposed to know?"