Phil Esposito


Esposito, Philip Anthony
Philip Anthony Esposito, hockey player (b at Sault Ste Marie, Ont 20 Feb 1942). He began his NHL career as a centre in 1963 with the Chicago Black Hawks and was traded to the Boston Bruins in 1967. He and Bobby ORR led the Bruins to STANLEY CUP victories in 1970 and 1972, but his best season was 1970-71, when he scored 76 goals, a record that stood until Wayne GRETZKY scored 92 in 1981-82. Although not a fast or graceful skater, Esposito's size, determination and shooting skill won him the ART ROSS TROPHY (scoring championship) 5 times (1969, 1971-74), and the HART TROPHY (most valuable player) in 1969 and 1974.

Esposito was the inspirational leader of Team Canada during the dramatic CANADA-SOVIET HOCKEY SERIES of 1972. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1975 and retired in 1982, second then only to Gordie HOWE in both goals (717) and points (1590) on the all-time NHL scoring list. He became general manager of the New York Rangers in 1986, rapidly transforming the team with a flurry of trades. Esposito was fired by the Rangers following the 1988-89 season. In 1991 he was named president and general manager of the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning, which began its first NHL season in 1992-93. He retired in 1998 but continues to serve as colour commentator for the team. Phil Esposito was made an Officer of the ORDER OF CANADA in 1972 and was named to the HOCKEY HALL OF FAME in 1984.

Author DEREK DRAGER

0
0
Absolutely free, with over 40,000 articles in French and English, The Canadian Encyclopedia is the ultimate online resource for all things Canadian, from history, sports, arts, science, technology, and much, much more. Get started at www.TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
Feature Articles
The Formation of the RCMP

The Dominion government's advertisement asked for volunteers "able to read and write either the English or French language" with "good antecedents" who were good horsemen...

INSIDE TCE

Gallery
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Interactive Resources
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
Canucklehead
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
Timeline
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
100 Greatest Events
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.