Boston Bruins’ Scoring Legend Phil Esposito
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.
It was as a Bruin that ‘Espo’ began his onslaught against the NHL record book.. 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.
In the’70-71 season, Esposito smashed the NHL record for most goals in a season with 76. That record stood for over a decade until Wayne Gretzky scored 79 for the Edmonton Oilers in’81-82. Gretzky also broke Espositos single season points record of 154. 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 fact, just last Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals became the first player to come within 100 shots of Espositos mark.
In’75, Esposito was traded with Brad Park to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, Joe Zanussi and Jean Ratelle. By that point, he had been slowed considerably by knee injuries but his experience, intelligence for the game and nose for the puck made him a valuable component of the Broadway Blueshirts offense and he was named team captain. Until the very end of his career, he remained a dangerous scoring threat that all opposing teams were forced to reckon with.
After his retirement in’75, moved into the executive suite. 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.
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