Phil Esposito

Philip Anthony Esposito, Order of Canada (born February 20, 1942) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the best to have ever played in the National Hockey League. Phil is the older brother of Tony Esposito, a goaltender who, like Phil, is a Hall-of-Famer.

After retiring as a player, Esposito served as a head coach and general manager for the New York Rangers before co-founding the Tampa Bay Lightning.. He was the principal studio analyst for the NHL on Fox circa 1995-1998. He now serves as Tampa Bay's radio color commentator.

Biography[]

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. It was 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 Saint Catherine Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association in1962, Esposito spent two seasons with Chicago's minor league affiliate, the St. Louis Braves, scoring 90 points in his first season and 80 points in only 46 games in his second.

Chicago Black Hawks[]

Midway through the 1964 season, Esposito was called up to the parent Black Hawks to make his NHL debut. Centering 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, he was dealt to the Boston Bruins in a blockbuster trade, along with teammates Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. While the hitherto unremarkable Hodge and Stanfield became stars in Boston, Esposito blossomed into the greatest scorer of his day, becoming the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season with 126 in the 1969 season. He would top the "century" mark six times in all, including five consecutive seasons between 1971 and 1975 (plus a 99-point season in 1970), capturing the Art Ross Trophy in 1969 and 1971–74 as the top regular season scorer, and leading the league in goals for six straight seasons, (69/70 to 74/75).

Esposito was named to the NHL's First All-Star team six consecutive times (from 1969–74), and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player in 1969 and 1974. His Boston fans printed and displayed bumper stickers during his best years to celebrate his scoring: they 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.”^[1]

During these great years, centering one of the most renowned forward lines in history with Hodge on right wing and left winger Wayne Cashman, 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 1971, Esposito shattered the record for most goals scored in a season when he finished up with 76. This record stood until 1987 when Wayne Gretzky scored his 77th, 78th and 79th goal 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 now held by Gretzky at 215. Only three other players have reached the 150 point-scoring plateau — Mario Lemuiex with 199, Steve Yzerman with 155 and Bernie Nicholls with exactly 150 points — and only Gretzky, Lemieux, Brett Hull, Teemu Seelane and Alexander Moligny have scored 76 or more goals in a season. That season also saw Esposito shatter the single season mark for shots on goal with 550. This record still stands; in fact, only one other player has been within 100 shots of tying it (Alexander Ovechkin in 2008–09, in a season that was four games longer than when Esposito set the record).

After his performance in the Summit Series, where he was the inspirational captain for Team Canada and its leading scorer in the series, he won the 1972 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's outstanding male athlete of the year and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Esposito also scored the first goal of the series and he scored or assisted four times in the deciding game. During that series, his scolding of Canadian fans, who booed the national team after a 5–3 loss to the Soviet Union in Game Four, was credited with firing up his teammates:^[2] "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." ^[3]

He also played for Team Canada in the inaugural Canada Cup in 1976, on a line with Hall of Famers Bobby Hull and Marcel Dionne. The following year, Esposito would represent Canada once more in the 1977 World Championships.

New York Rangers[]

In 1976, he and Carol Vadnais were traded to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, Joseph Zanussi and Jean Ratelle.

While not as glittering an offensive force as in his glory days, as captain of the Rangers, Esposito led the Blueshirts 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 Stanley Cup final in 1979 where at 37 years of age he finished third in postseason scoring.^[4]^[5]

On November 4, 1977, Esposito scored his 600th NHL goal at Vancouver, becoming the first player to reach that milestone in a Rangers uniform.

He retired in 1981, behind only Gordie Howe in career goals and total points, and third in assists to Howe and Stan Mikita.

Management[]

Esposito served as General Manager and coach of the Rangers for three years in the mid 1980s, during which he earned the nickname "Trader Phil" for the numerous transactions he made. During his tenure as GM, he made more trades than the Vancouver Canucks had made in the entire 1980s.^[6] While serving as GM, two of his most famous trades included the trade for the legendary Marcel Dionne and one which he sent a first round pick to the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche) as compensation for signing Michel Bergron to be the Rangers' coach.

He moved on to found the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning but faced competition from the Compuware Group who wanted to place a team in nearby St. Petersburg. It was proposed to Esposito that he merge his bid with the Compuware Group to which he refused.^[7] His reputation and force of personality was widely credited with winning the expansion bid for Tampa Bay—in 1992, serving as the team's president and general manager until 1998. Compuware eventually purchased the Hartford Whalers.

In the Lightning's inaugural season, he made hockey history by signing Mahon Rheuame, making her the first woman to sign with an NHL team. He later admitted in his autobiography that signing Rheaume was only a publicity stunt for the new franchise and that she had no business being in the NHL. He remains the team’s radio color commentator, and also co-hosts a daily call-in show on XM Satellite Radio's Home Ice channel, made especially for hockey.

Esposito was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. In December 1987, his #7 jersey was retired by the Boston Bruins in an emotional ceremony where the then-current wearer, superstar defenseman Ray Boruque, pulled off his #7 jersey to reveal his new number, 77—dramatically "surrendering" his old number in Esposito's favor. Esposito was "visibly moved" when Bourque showed the Boston Garden crowd his new number, which he used for the rest of his career.^[8] 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[]

1969 -Art Ross Trophy winner
1969 - Hart Memorial Trophy winner
1970 - Stanley Cup champion
1971 - Art Ross Trophy winner
1971 - Lester B. Pearson award winner
1972 - Stanley Cup champion
1972 - Art Ross Trophy winner
1973 - Lester B. Pearson Award winner
1973 - Art Ross Trophy winner
1974 - Art Ross Trophy winner
1974 - Hart Memorial Trophy winner
1978 - Lester Patrick Trophy winner
1984 - Inducted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame
December 3, 1987 - #7 jersey retired by the Boston Bruins
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980)
NHL First All-Star Team (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)
NHL Second All-Star Team (1968, 1975)
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 (5th), assists (21st), and total points (10th), as of the end of the 2008-09 season.
Won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian athlete of the year in 1972.
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.
Had thirteen consecutive 30+ goal seasons, second most in history.
First NHL player to score 1,000 points in a decade.
In 1998, he was ranked number 18 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
Inducted in 2007 (alongside brother Tony) into the Sault Ste Marie Walk of Fame.
Ranked No. 23 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley and Sons, 2009).
Received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto^[9] in 2009.
Statue unveiled in his honor in front of the Tampa Bay Times Forum on December 31, 2011.

Career statistics[]

Statistics			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1961-62	Saint Catherines Teepees	OHA	49	32	39	71	54	6	1	4	5	9
1961–62	Sault Thunderbirds	EPHL	6	0	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Saint Louis Braves	EPHL	71	36	54	90	51	—	—	—	—	—
1963–64	St. Louis Braves	CPHL	43	26	54	80	65	—	—	—	—	—
1963-64	Chicago Blackhawks	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			1282	717	873	1590	910	130	61	76	137	138

International play[]

Played for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series
Played for Team Canada in the 1976 Canada Cup
Played for Team Canada in the 1977 Ice Hockey World Championship

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1972	Canada	Summit Series	8	7	6	13	15
1976	Canada	Canada Cup	7	4	3	7	0
1977	Canada	World Championship	10	7	3	10	14

Pop-culture references[]

He and New York Rangers teammates Ron Duguay, Dave Maloney and Anders Hesberg famously appeared in a TV commercial for Sasson designer jeans in 1977. In 1979, Esposito and Ranger teammates recorded a song written by Alan Thicke as a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Resea called the Hockey Sock Rock.^[10]

Phil Esposito is referred to in the Barenaked Ladies song "Celebrity", as well as Fun Lovin' Ladies song "Smoke 'Em".

A shorter paraphrase of his speech during the Summit Series was delivered by Brent Butt on the "The Good Old Table Hockey Game" episode of Corner Gas. Later in the same episode, a table hockey figure is shown to be fallen on the ice, it is remarked to be Esposito.

He has also made two appearances in the Showcase series Rent-A-Goalie, first in a subplot involving the stealing of his DNA and second playing poker with his brother Tony.

Esposito has made several appearances on the Denis Leary created television show Rescue Me. He plays Battalion Chief "Izzy" who also serves as the coach of the Fire Department hockey team.

References[]

^ McDonell, Chris. Hockey's Greatest Stars, page 15.
^ CBC News. http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-41-318-1646/sports/summit_series/clip3.
^ McDonell, Chris. Hockey's Greatest Stars, page 24.
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ Remembering Phil Esposito, Craig McInnis, Editor, ISBN 978-1551926391.
^ Thunder and Lightning: a No-B.S. Hockey Memoir, Phil Esposito and Peter Golenbock, ISBN 978-0771030864.
^ McDonell, Chris. Hockey's Greatest Stars, page 104.
^ Connor, Kevin."Walking proud in Little Italy"
^ "Sports". The Canadian Encyclopedia / The Encyclopedia of Music In Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2011.

External links[]

Sporting positions
Preceded by Brad Park	New York Rangers Captain 1975–78	Succeeded by Dave Maloney
Preceded by Bobby Clarke	National Hockey League Players Association President 1979–February 10, 1981	Succeeded by Tony Esposito
Preceded by Michel Bergeron and Tom Webster	Head Coach of the New York Rangers 1986-87, 1989	Succeeded by Roger Nielson and Michel Bergeron
Preceded by Position created	General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning 1992–98	Succeeded by Jacques Demers
Preceded by Craig Patrick	General Manager of the New York Rangers 1986–89	Succeeded by Neil Smith
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Bobby Hull	National Hockey League Goal Leader 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975	Succeeded by Reggie Leach
Preceded by Bobby Clarke	Lester B. Pearson awardwinner 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974	Succeeded by Jean Ratelle and Bobby Orr
Preceded by Bobby Clarke and Stan Mikita	Winner of the Hart Trophy 1969, 1974	Succeeded by Bobby Clarke and Bobby Orr
Preceded by Stan Mikita and Bobby Orr	Winner of the Art Ross Trophy 1969, 1971-74	Succeeded by Bobby Orr
Preceded by Herve Filon	Lou Marsh Trophy winner 1972	Succeeded by Sandy Hawley

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