Billy Reay

William Tulip Reay (August 21, 1918 – September 23, 2004) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he began playing at a young age, making the St. Boniface Seals in 1937. The Detroit Red Wings signed him as a free agent in 1939, and in 1942, at age 24, he was named player-coach of the Quebec Aces in the Quebec senior league, a role he held for two seasons while making spot appearances with the Red Wings.

Before the 1945-46 season, Reay was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Ray Getliffe and Rolly Rossignol, where he played primarily on the second line. Across ten NHL seasons from 1943 to 1953, he won two Stanley Cups.

Reay turned to coaching, working in the NHL from 1957 to 1959 and again from 1963 to 1977, primarily with the Chicago Black Hawks, whom he led to the Stanley Cup Final three times. Though he never won a Cup as a coach, Reay won over 500 games as a head coach and was the second coach to win 500 games with one team. Upon his retirement he ranked second in NHL history in wins, and he remains one of thirty coaches to have reached 500 victories.