Jean Potvin, a defenseman who played on the first two of the New York Islanders’ four Stanley Cup championships in the 1980s, died on Tuesday in Westin, Fla.
Potvin spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League, eight with the Islanders.
He also anticipated, correctly, that the Islanders would choose his brother Denis, who was four years younger, as the top overall pick in the forthcoming N.H.L.
“Many people think of him as one of the top five defenseman,” Jean Potvin told Psyched, a sports psychology magazine, in 2007.
“Al was screaming at me when he found out the doctor said I couldn’t perspire for three days,” he told The New York Times in 2016.
The Islanders improved quickly under Arbour and with players like Clark Gillies , Bryan Trottier, Bob Nystrom and Glenn Resch.
He returned to the Islanders as a free agent in 1979 and played part time during the next two seasons, when they won the Stanley Cup, but did not participate in the playoffs.
Jean René Potvin was born on March 25, 1949, in Ottawa.
Jean played junior hockey for the Ottawa 67’s and for the Springfield Kings of the American Hockey League before joining the parent club, the Los Angeles Kings for four games in the 1970-71 season.
After he retired, Potvin was the radio analyst for the Islanders until 1989.
