Nykoluk was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant to Fred Shero in 1972 and helped guide them to the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. He was also an assistant to Shero for two seasons with the New York Rangers (1978-80).
In a statement, the Flyers said, "The Philadelphia Flyers are saddened to hear of the passing Mike Nykoluk. Mike was the first assistant coach in Flyers history and is widely considered the first full-time assistant coach in the National Hockey League. He served Hall of Fame head coach Fred Shero for three seasons and was instrumental in bringing back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975 to the city of Philadelphia. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mike's family during this difficult time."
Nykoluk coached the Toronto Maple Leafs for four seasons (1980-84). He was 89-144 with 47 ties in 280 regular-season games and 1-6 in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Prior to his coaching career, Nykoluk scored four points (three goals, one assist) in 32 games as a forward for the Maple Leafs in 1956-57.
He played 14 seasons in the American Hockey League, and he's sixth in AHL history in points (881), third in assists (686) and fifth in games played (1,069). Nykoluk won the Calder Cup with Hershey in 1959 and 1969 and was inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame in 2007.
