Ex-NHL coach — part of the Bruins organization for more than three decades — was great hockey mind who "livened up every room he entered."

Tom McVie, Boston Bruins ambassador and former coach for the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets, is dead at age of 89.

BOSTON — Tom McVie, who coached the Winnipeg Jets to the 1979 World Hockey Association championship over Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers in the final year before the franchises were absorbed into the NHL, has died. He was 89.

The first person to coach the Jets in the NHL and the last man to coach a Winnipeg team to a pro hockey championship – the Jets of the World Hockey Association – McVie died at his Vancouver home on Sunday. He was 89.

Just about an hour after the Utica Comets won their game on Monday against the Syracuse Crunch, they found out a piece of their history was gone.

Tom McVie, who coached the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets, has died. He was 89. McVie, also a longtime member of the Boston Bruins organization, died Sunday at his home in Vancouver,

FILE - Winnipeg Jets alumni coach Tom McVie picks Teemu Selanne (13) to take the penalty shot as Ab McDonald listens, in against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period of the NHL Heritage Classic alumni game, Oct. 22, 2016, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP, File) AP

Somber news for the Black and Gold: the death of former assistant coach Tom McVie, the inimitable hockey lifer with a deep voice and a deeper treasure trove of jokes and stories. He was 89.

BOSTON – I’ve said it and wrote it time and again about Tom McVie – he was the best storyteller in the hockey world. It’s not even close. You mention his name to anyone who knew him and immediately that person would attempt to tell a story and imitate McVie’s scratchy, deep voice. McVie passed away Sunday night. He was 89.

Tom McVie, a Boston Bruins ambassador who coached the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets, died at the age of 89. "The entire Boston Bruins organization is deeply saddened to ...

They say old hockey linemates never lose their bond and the Seattle Totems who played as a trio with Tom McVie certainly kept him in their memories despite time and distance. McVie, who died ...

Tom McVie, who coached the Winnipeg Jets to the 1979 World Hockey Association championship before moving on to a head-coaching career in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils, died at the age of 89.