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Philip Anthony Esposito, OC (born February 20, 1942 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a retired professional hockey centerman who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

Playing career

Esposito joined the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1964 season, and centering for the great Bobby Hull for four seasons, proved himself a quality playmaker, twice finishing amongst the league leading scorers. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the best to have ever played in the NHL.

In 1967, he was dealt to the Boston Bruins in a blockbuster trade along with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. While the hitherto unremarkable Hodge and Stanfield became stars in the Black-and-Gold, Esposito blossomed into the greatest scorer of his day, where he became the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season with 126 in the 1969 season. He would top the "century" mark seven times in all, including five consecutive seasons between 1971 and 1975 (plus a 99 point season in 1970). Esposito would also capture the Art Ross Trophy in 1969 and 1971-1974 as the top regular season scorer.

Esposito was named to the NHL's First All-Star team six consecutive times (from 1969 to 1974), and won the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP 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 being 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. During these great years, centering one of the most renowned forward lines in league history with Hodge 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 the 1971 season, Esposito shattered the record for most goals scored in a season when he finished up with 76. This record stood until February 1982 when Wayne Gretzky scored his 77th, 78th and 79th goal against the Buffalo Sabres. 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 likewise now held by Gretzky. Only two other players have reached the 150 point scoring plateau; Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman, and only Gretzky, Lemieux, Brett Hull, Teemu Selänne, and Alexander Mogilny have scored 76 or more goals in a season. Nonetheless, Esposito holds the record for the most shots on goal in a single season.

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. During that series, his scolding of Canadian fans, who were booing the national team after a 5-3 loss to the Soviet Union in game four, was credited with firing up his teammates after that dissapointment*. Esposito also scored the first goal of the series and he scored or assisted 4 times in the deciding game. He also played for Team Canada in the inugural Canada Cup in 1976 and in the 1977 World Championships.

In the 1976 season, he and teammate Carol Vadnais were traded to the New York Rangers for Brad Park and Jean Ratelle. 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 Stanley Cup final in 1979 where he finished third in postseason scoring. He retired in 1981, then only second to Gordie Howe in career goals and total points.

Retirement

Esposito served as General Manager and Coach of the Rangers for three years in the mid 1980s, where he earned the nickname "Trader Phil" for the numerous transactions he made while holding that office. He moved on to found the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning -- where 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; 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.

Esposito was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. In December of 1987, his #7 jersey was retired by the Boston Bruins in an emotional ceremony where the current wearer, superstar defensemen Ray Bourque, surrendered the number in Esposito's honor. Philip Anthony Esposito was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. Esposito’s younger brother Tony is also an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Former NHL'er Alexander Selivanov is Esposito's Son-in-law.

Awards & achievements

Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1961-62 St. Catharines OHA 49 32 39 71 54 6 1 4 5 9
1961-62 Sault Ste. Marie EPHL 6 0 3 3 2 -- -- -- -- --
1962-63 St. Louis EPHL 71 36 54 90 51 -- -- -- -- --
1963-64 St. Louis EPHL 43 26 54 80 65 -- -- -- -- --
1963-64 Chicago NHL 27 3 2 5 2 4 0 0 0 0
1964-65 Chicago NHL 70 23 32 55 44 13 3 3 6 15
1965-66 Chicago NHL 69 27 26 53 49 6 1 1 2 2
1966-67 Chicago NHL 69 21 40 61 40 6 0 0 0 7
1967-68 Boston NHL 74 35 49 84 21 4 0 3 3 0
1968-69 Boston NHL 74 49 77 126 79 10 8 10 18 8
1969-70 Boston NHL 76 43 56 99 50 14 13 14 27 16
1970-71 Boston NHL 78 76 76 152 71 7 3 7 10 6
1971-72 Boston NHL 76 66 67 133 76 15 9 15 24 24
1972-73 Boston NHL 78 55 75 130 87 2 0 1 1 2
1973-74 Boston NHL 78 68 77 145 58 16 9 5 14 25
1974-75 Boston NHL 79 61 66 127 62 3 4 1 5 0
1975-76 Boston 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

International statistics

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

See also

1942 births | Living people | Officers of the Order of Canada | Hockey Hall of Fame | Stanley Cup champions | Hart Trophy winners | Art Ross winners | Lester Pearson Award winners | Chicago Blackhawks players | Boston Bruins players | New York Rangers players | New York Rangers coaches | 1972 Team Canada players | Canadian ice hockey players | National Hockey League 100-point seasons | Canadian Sports Hall of Fame | Ontario sportspeople | Italian Canadians | People from the Sault (Ontario) | St. Catharines Teepees alumni

Phil Esposito | Phil Esposito | フィル・エスポジト | Phil Esposito

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Phil Esposito".

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