Phil Esposito
Phil Esposito OC | |||
---|---|---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1984 | |||
Born |
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada | February 20, 1942||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Chicago Black Hawks Boston Bruins New York Rangers | ||
National team | Canada | ||
Playing career | 1963–1981 |
Philip Anthony Esposito OC (/ˌɛspəˈziːtoʊ/ ESP-ə-ZEE-toh,[1] Italian: [eˈspɔːzito]; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers, winning two Stanley Cups with Boston.
He is considered one of the greatest players of all time, and is the older brother of fellow Hall-of-Famer
After retiring as a player, Esposito served as head coach and general manager for the Rangers for two seasons. In 1991, he and his younger brother co-founded the Tampa Bay Lightning, the first NHL expansion team in Florida. The elder Esposito served as the franchise's first president and general manager until 1998; he now serves as Tampa Bay's radio colour commentator.
Esposito was named one of the '
Playing career
Minor league
Esposito signed with the Chicago Black Hawks as a teenager and was assigned to the Sarnia Legionnaires Jr. 'B' hockey team for the 1960–61 season. In just 32 games with the Legionnaires, he scored 47 goals and 61 assists, for 108 points - a scoring pace of 3.3 points per game. In a playoff game, he scored 12 points in one game as the Legionnaires advanced to the Western Ontario final before being eliminated. After a sparkling junior season with the
Chicago Black Hawks
Midway through the 1964 season, Esposito was called up to the parent Black Hawks to make his NHL debut. Centreing for the great Bobby Hull beginning in the 1965 season, he proved himself a quality playmaker, twice finishing amongst the League-leading scorers over the next three seasons.
Boston Bruins
In 1967, Esposito was dealt with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield to the Boston Bruins in a blockbuster trade. While Hodge and Stanfield rose to become stars in Boston, Esposito blossomed into the greatest scorer of his day. In 1969, he became the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season, far eclipsing the "century" mark with a record 126. He would fall a single point shy in 1970, then reached triple digits again the next five years running. Along the way, he captured the Art Ross Trophy as the top regular-season scorer in 1969 and 1971 to 1974, and led the League in goals six straight seasons between 1969–70 and 1974–75.
Esposito was named to the NHL's first All-Star team six consecutive times (from 1969 to 1974), and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1969 and 1974. His Boston fans, celebrating his scoring touch during his heyday, displayed bumper stickers that read, "Jesus saves, Espo scores on the rebound." Esposito, while not a fast or graceful skater, was best known for his unmovable presence in front of the opposition net from which he could score from all angles. Esposito has said, "Scoring is easy. You simply stand in the slot, take your beating and shoot the puck into the net."[4] He also possessed a combination of skating and stickhandling ability, strength, and long reach that enabled him to "rag the puck," holding onto it for long periods of time in the face of opponents' checks and thus enabling his team to kill off penalties.
During his prime, Esposito centred one of the most renowned forward lines in history, featuring Ken Hodge on his right wing and Wayne Cashman on his left. Esposito and fellow superstar Bobby Orr led the Bruins to Stanley Cup victories in 1970 and 1972, and first-place finishes in the League in 1971, 1972 and 1974.
During 1970–71, Esposito shattered the record for most goals in a season, finishing with 76. The mark stood until 1982, when Wayne Gretzky scored his 77th, 78th and 79th goals against the Buffalo Sabres on February 24, 1982, at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Esposito was on hand to present the game puck to Gretzky. Esposito also set the single-season point-scoring record in 1971 with 152, a mark later raised by Gretzky to 215. Only four others have reached the 150 point plateau — Mario Lemieux (4 times), Steve Yzerman , Bernie Nicholls and Connor McDavid — and only Gretzky, Lemieux, Brett Hull, Teemu Selänne and Alexander Mogilny have matched or bettered Esposito's 76 goals in a season. The 1970 season also saw Esposito shatter the single-season mark for shots on goal, tallying 550. Only one other player has come within 100 shots of this record, Alexander Ovechkin in 2008–09, in a season that was four games longer than when it was set.
As of May 31, 2021, Esposito ranked second in all-time regular-season goals for Boston with 459 (behind only Johnny Bucyk's 545). As of 2022, Esposito third behind Cam Neely and Patrice Bergeron in all-time Bruins playoff goals with 46. Esposito holds the Boston record for most playoff hat-tricks with four, one of which was a four-goal game versus Toronto in 1969. Often used to kill penalties, Esposito scored 20 shorthanded goals for Boston over his career.
After his performance in the
"If the Russian fans boo their players in Moscow like you people are booing us, I'll come back and apologize personally to every one of you, but I really don't think that will happen. We gave it and are doing our best. All of us guys are really disheartened. . . We came out here because we love Canada. They're a good hockey team, and we don't know what we could do better, but I promise we will figure it out. But it's totally ridiculous – I don't think it is fair that we should be booed."[6]
Esposito also played for Canada in the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976, on a line with Hall-of-Famers Bobby Hull and Marcel Dionne. The following year, he would represent Canada once more in the 1977 World Championships in Vienna.
New York Rangers
In 1975–76, Esposito was traded because he did not want to relinquish his playing time, even with his age.[7] He and Carol Vadnais were traded to the New York Rangers on November 7[8] in exchange for Brad Park, Joe Zanussi and Jean Ratelle. This trade was monumental, as Esposito was still a great scorer, but Ratelle was a skilled centre and Park was arguably the second best defenceman in the NHL, behind Bobby Orr.[7]
While not as glittering an offensive force as in his glory days, as captain of the Rangers, Esposito led the team in points each of his full seasons with the club and remained an effective scorer until his final season. The highlight of his years in New York was leading the Rangers to the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals where, at 37 years of age, he finished third in postseason scoring.[9][10]
On November 4, 1977, Esposito scored his 600th NHL goal, against the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver, becoming the first player to reach that milestone in a Rangers uniform.
Esposito retired in 1981, behind only Gordie Howe in career goals and total points, and third in assists to Howe and Stan Mikita.
Post-playing career
New York Rangers
Esposito served as general manager and head coach of the Rangers from 1986 to 1989, during which he earned the nickname "Trader Phil" for the numerous transactions he made.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Founder and Manager
When the NHL announced its expansion plans in the late 1980s, Phil Esposito, along with his brother Tony, sought to place a franchise in Tampa Bay, Florida. They faced competition from the Compuware Group, which wanted to place a team in nearby St. Petersburg, Florida. It was proposed to Esposito that he merge his bid with the Compuware Group, which he refused.[18] His reputation and force of personality was widely credited with winning the expansion bid for Tampa Bay on December 6, 1990. The Tampa Bay Lightning would start play in the 1992–93 NHL season, with the elder Esposito as the team's first president and general manager.[19]
For the Lightning's inaugural season, Esposito hired many of his former teammates from the Bruins, including Cashman as an assistant coach and former Bruins trainer John "Frosty" Forristal as trainer. He also made hockey history by signing Manon Rhéaume, making her the first woman to sign with and play for an NHL team.
However, one of the Esposito group's key backers, the Pritzker family, had backed out a few months before the bid, to be replaced by a Japanese consortium headed by Kokusai Green, a golf course and resort operator.[20] Though Kokusai Green had helped the Esposito's secure the initial bid, the team languished under their ownership; financed almost entirely by loans, the Lightning were constantly short of cash, hampering Esposito's ability to function as GM.[21] Kokusai Green's owner, Takashi Okubo, never met with the Espositos (or with any other NHL officials), and it was rumored that the consortium was a criminal front for the yakuza.[22] The Lightning quickly fell to the bottom of the league and Esposito fired head coach Terry Crisp in 1997. Even with interim coach Jacques Demers, who had enjoyed successful tenures with the Red Wings and Canadiens, the Lightning lost 55 games for a franchise-worst .268 winning percentage.
Kokusai Green sold the Lightning to insurance tycoon
Broadcaster
After he retired with the Rangers in 1981, he joined
After his firing, Esposito returned to the Lightning organization for the
Honours
Esposito was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. On December 3, 1987, his #7 jersey was retired by the Boston Bruins in an emotional ceremony where the then-current wearer, superstar defenceman Ray Bourque, pulled off his #7 jersey to reveal his new number, 77—dramatically "surrendering" his old number in Esposito's favour (coincidentally, Esposito wore #77 with the New York Rangers, because #7 was already being worn by Rod Gilbert). Esposito was "visibly moved" when Bourque showed the Boston Garden crowd his new number, which he used for the rest of his career.[27] Esposito was also on hand in Boston to hand Bourque his retired number after the latter retired.
Esposito's younger brother Tony is also an honoured member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Former NHL player Alexander Selivanov is Esposito's son-in-law.
Awards and achievements
- NHL second All-Star team (1968, 1975)
- Played in 1980)
- Art Ross Trophy winner (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)
- Hart Memorial Trophy winner (1969, 1974)
- NHL first All-Star team (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)
- Stanley Cup champion (1970, 1972)
- )
- Received Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1972.[28]
- Won Lou Marsh Trophyas Canadian athlete of the year in 1972.
- Lester Patrick Trophy winner (1978)
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.
- His #7 Jersey was retired by the Boston Bruinson December 3, 1987.
- Retired as the second leading all-time NHL goal and point scorer, and third in assists.
- Among the all-time NHL leaders in goals scored (7th), assists (21st), and total points (10th).
- 1968–69 – First player in NHL history to reach 100 points in a single season (finished with 126)
- First player in NHL history to score 1,000 points in a decade (1970s).
- Holds the record for shots on goal in a single season with 550 in 1970–71.
- All-time leader in game-winning goals with 118. (tied by fellow Bruin Jaromír Jágr on April 21, 2013) [29]
- Had thirteen consecutive 30+ goal seasons, second most in NHL history.
- In 1998, he was ranked number 18 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
- Inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.[30]
- Inducted in 2007 (alongside brother Sault Ste Marie Walk of Fame.
- In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, was ranked No. 23 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons[31]
- Received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2009.[32]
- Statue unveiled in his honour in front of the Tampa Bay Times Forum(now Amalie Arena) on December 31, 2011.
- Inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
- In 2017, Esposito was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[2]
- In 2023, Esposito was named as one of the inaugural members of the Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Fame.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
- Bold indicates led league
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1961–62
|
St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 49 | 32 | 39 | 71 | 54 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | ||
1961–62 | Sault Thunderbirds | EPHL
|
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1962–63 | St. Louis Braves | EPHL | 71 | 36 | 54 | 90 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1963–64
|
St. Louis Braves | CPHL | 43 | 26 | 54 | 80 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1963–64 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 27 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1964–65 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 44 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 15 | ||
1965–66 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 69 | 27 | 26 | 53 | 49 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
1966–67 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 69 | 21 | 40 | 61 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
1967–68 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 74 | 35 | 49 | 84 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
1968–69 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 74 | 49 | 77 | 126 | 79 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 8 | ||
1969–70 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 76 | 43 | 56 | 99 | 50 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 16 | ||
1970–71 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 76 | 76 | 152 | 71 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | ||
1971–72 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 76 | 66 | 67 | 133 | 76 | 15 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 24 | ||
1972–73 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 55 | 75 | 130 | 87 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
1973–74 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 68 | 77 | 145 | 58 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 25 | ||
1974–75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 79 | 61 | 66 | 127 | 62 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||
1975–76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 12 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1975–76 | New York Rangers | NHL | 62 | 29 | 38 | 67 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1976–77 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 34 | 46 | 80 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1977–78 | New York Rangers | NHL | 79 | 38 | 43 | 81 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
1978–79 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 42 | 36 | 78 | 37 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 20 | ||
1979–80 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 34 | 44 | 78 | 73 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | ||
1980–81 | New York Rangers | NHL | 41 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 1,282 | 717 | 873 | 1,590 | 910 | 130 | 61 | 76 | 137 | 138 |
International
Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Canada | SS | 8 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 15 | |
1976 | Canada | C-Cup | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | |
1977 | Canada | WC
|
10 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 14 | |
Senior totals | 25 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 29 |
Head coaching record
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win% | Result | ||
NYR | 1986–87 | 43 | 24 | 19 | 0 | (48) | 4th in Patrick | 2 | 4 | .333 | Lost in Division Semifinals (PHI) |
NYR | 1988–89 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | (0) | 3rd in Patrick | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost in Division Semifinals (PIT) |
Total | 45 | 24 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 8 | .200 | 2 playoff appearances |
In popular culture
Esposito and New York Rangers teammates
Esposito makes an appearance in the 2015 animated Christmas special, The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale, both as a young ballet dancer's imaginary mentor and as the actual person performing a cameo in The Nutcracker. He voiced the role himself.[34]
Esposito also appeared in a recurring role for several episodes as a fire chief in Denis Leary's FX show Rescue Me.
See also
- 1972 Summit Series
- Hockey Hall of Fame
- List of Canadian sports personalities
- List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
- List of NHL players with 1,000 points
- List of NHL players with 500 goals
- List of NHL statistical leaders
- Notable families in the NHL
References
- ^ "Esposito, Phil". Lexico US English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022.
- ^ a b "100 Greatest NHL Players". National Hockey League. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ Eric Duhatschek. "NHL99: Phil Esposito's boldness followed him from the ice to NHL front offices".
- ^ McDonell, Chris. Hockey's Greatest Stars, page 15.
- ^ "Home fans boo, Espo lets them have it". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2 March 2004.
- ^ McDonell, Chris. Hockey's Greatest Stars, page 24.
- ^ a b Pelletier, Joe (15 November 2008). "Brad Park Hated The Bruins, Then He Became One". Greatest Hockey Legends.com. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ "Esposito Gets 2 Goals, But Rangers Lose, 7-5". The New York Times. 8 November 1975. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "New York Rangers - All Time Roster". rangers.nhl.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "NewYork Rangers - Photo Memory - New York Rangers - All Time Roster". rangers.nhl.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ Duhatschek, Eric (27 January 2023). "NHL99: Phil Esposito's boldness followed him from the ice to NHL front offices". The Athletic. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- New York Times. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- New York Times. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-55192-639-1.
- ^ Castro, Tom (18 January 2021). "Rangers' Esposito Era: 5 Best and Worst Trades of 'Trader Phil'". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ Cart, Julie (11 March 1987). "Dionne Asks for a Trade, Goes to Rangers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- New York Times. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-7710-3086-4.
- ^ "A franchise is born 25 years ago". NHL.com. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ Stein, Gil (1997). Power Plays: An Inside Look at the Big Business of the National Hockey League. pp. 86–92.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (6 April 1998). "A Soap Opera on Ice". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
- ISBN 0-8160-4697-2.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- Washington Post. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ McDonell, Chris. Hockey's Greatest Stars, page 104.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ Switaj, Caryn (21 April 2013). "Moving in the Right Direction – Jagr Nears Milestone with GWG". BostonBruins.com. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- ^ "Phil Esposito". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Connor, Kevin."Walking proud in Little Italy"
- ^ "Sports". The Canadian Encyclopedia / The Encyclopedia of Music In Canada. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ^ "Hockey and ballet team up as Phil Esposito lends his voice to 'The Curse of Clara'". Toronto Sun, December 8, 2015.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Esposito learned to love the Big Apple[permanent dead link]
- The Trade
- Phil Esposito, winner of the Lionel Conacher Award and the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award: Virtual Museum of Canada Exhibit