Though his scoring records have been obliterated by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, former Boston Bruins/New York Rangers center Phil Esposito is still regarded by hockey cognoscenti as one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the game. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, as is his brother Tony Esposito who was a standout goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Esposito was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and his prodigious hockey talent quickly became apparent. He was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks as a teenager, and made his NHL debut in’64 quickly earning a spot on the teams top line between Bobby Hull and Marcel Dionne. In’67, Esposito was traded to the Boston Bruins along with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. Within a few years Hodge and Stanfield blossomed into All Stars, while Esposito quickly took his place alongside his former teammate Hull as the best scorer in the league. Suffice to say that Boston fans were of the opinion that theyd gotten the best of the deal.
Esposito began to shred the NHL record book in Boston, prompting Bruins fans to display car bumper stickers that read Jesus Saves; Esposito scores on the rebound. In’69, he became the first NHL player to top the 100 point mark (combined goals and assists) for the season”he obliterated the record with 126 points, which would be the first of six times that hed top the century mark. He topped 100 points in five straight seasons between’71 and’75, missing a sixth straight season by a single point with 99 in’70.
Esposito’s greatest single season was in’70-71, when he destroyed the NHL’s single season goal scoring mark with 76. That record stood until Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers broke it in’81-82. Even now, only four other players including Gretzky have scored more than 150 points in a season and only five others have scored more than 76 goals in a season. Perhaps the most amazing element of Espositos game was the frequency with which he put the puck on net”Espo had 550 shots on goal in’70-71. No one has since come close.
In’75, Esposito was traded with Brad Park to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, Joe Zanussi and Jean Ratelle. He had slowed somewhat, but was still enough of a valuable player and team leader that he was named the Rangers’ captain. He remained a very dangerous scoring threat until the end of his career.
After his retirement in’75, he remained active in hockey. He served as the GM of the Rangers before helping secure an expansion team for Tampa, Florida in’92. Esposito served as the President and GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning until’98. After stepping away from formal duties, he’s remained a very visible member of the hockey media. He hosts a daily hockey radio show on XM Radio, and has even done some acting appearing in a recurring role as a fire chief on the TV series Rescue Me.
Ross Everett is a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 and an authority onprofessional hockey history and NHL hockey betting . He’s a published expert on handicapping theory, as well as stock and investment strategy. He contributes to a number of websites providing insight on how to bet on NFL football, mixed martial arts and boxing.
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