Phil Esposito

One of the game's greatest forwards and one of the game's greatest goalies grew up in the same family home. Phil practiced shooting against brother Tony for hours on end, and by 1970 both had reached the top of the hockey world and we're both named to the First All Star Team.

Tony is best known as a Chicago Blackhawk. It is often forgotten that Phil got his start in the NHL in the Windy City (in 1963-64), though it was a few years before Tony arrived. Phil of course is best known as a Boston Bruin and to a lesser degree as a New York Rangers.

Phil played three seasons as a Blackhawk, and was once touted as Bobby Hull's center of the future. However 3 and 1/2 seasons of averaging around 20 goals and 55 points, Chicago changed their mind on him. They felt he wasn't living up to his potential, and that his skating wasn't quick enough.

Phil joined the Bruins in a six player trade in 1967 from Chicago. Hindsight is always 20/20, but history tells us that this trade was one of the most lopsided in NHL history. Espo, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield were all sent to Boston and would all become key players of one of hockey's most explosive teams in the 1970s. Going to Chicago was Pit Martin, Jack Norris and Gilles Marotte.

Esposito was teamed up with Bobby Orr in Boston, forming one of the most dynamic scoring duos in hockey history. Orr would dance around from his point position with no one knowing how to defend against hockey's first offensively dominant defenseman. Esposito would park himself in the slot, readying himself for a pass, a deflection or a rebound. He was such a master of scoring garbage goals that a common saying in Boston in these days was "Jesus saves, but Espo scores on the rebound." Stan Fischler once dubbed Espo as the "highest paid garbage collector in the United States."

In his very first year in Boston Espo led the entire league in assists. By year two He became the first player to break the 100 point plateau. In fact, he smashed the old record held by Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull. Both of those magnificent Chicago players shared the record with 97 points in a single season. In 1968-69, Phil scored 126 points!! Two years later he would again post mind boggling totals of 76 goals and 76 assists for 152 points, unheard of stats then especially, and even by today's standards absolutely amazing!

Three years after the trade Espo led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup, ending a 29 year drought for the B's. Although Bobby Orr's flying-through-the-air Cup clinching goal against the Blues is best remembered, Esposito had an incredible playoff, scoring 13 goals and 27 points in just 14 games, leading all post season scorers in each category Two years later, the Bruins won another Stanley Cup with Esposito scoring 24 points in 15 games.

During his 8 1/2 years in Boston, Phil won 5 scoring titles and finished second twice. He led the NHL in goal scoring 6 straight seasons from 1969-70 to 1974-75. He was named to either the first or second All Star team each year he wore the black and gold. He was also a two time winner of the Hart Trophy (MVP) and Pearson Trophy (MVP as chosen by the players), as well as the recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy for contribution to hockey in the U.S.

Espo should be known as the greatest offensive force prior to Gretzky and Lemieux, but he was overshadowed by his even more amazing teammate Bobby Orr. And despite all the accolades and awards, Phil somehow never quite got the recognition he deserved. All of his success was credited to the presence of Orr. Despite the fact he was smashing the records of Gordie Howe or Maurice Richard, no one has ever placed him in their stratosphere. This could be because of his lack of graceful style as a hockeyist.

One of Espo's greatest hockey moments occurred in Europe. When Orr missed the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviets with a bad knee, Esposito took charge of the team and was the inspirational leader. He played a level never reached before. While everyone remembers Paul Henderson's game ending heroics, it was Phil's heroic effort was a key factor in the victory and finally won him the accolades he deserved.

Phil had a great charisma, much like a Hollywood actor. He was a fan favorite throughout North America, but also in Russia. While Vladislav Tretiak became adopted by Canadian fans as the hero from the enemy team, Russian people grew to love Espo, even though his style of hockey was not seen in Russia. It largely has to do with the pre-game introductions in the first game in Moscow where Espo tripped over a loose flower and fell on his butt when he was introduced. Ever the showman, Espo got up and did a curtsy much to the delight of the Soviet fans. They rarely had seen a hockey player with such personality.

While Paul Henderson gets much of the heroic credit for his game winning goals, it is well recognized that Phil Esposito was the best player for Canada. Without him, there was no way Canada would have conquered.

Phil Esposito was traded to the New York Rangers during the 1975-76 season and would finish his career on Broadway. The reason behind the trade was that Orr's knees had finally all but given up on him, and the Bruins were looking to regroup by trading a few of their top assets.

The adjustment was at first very difficult for Phil, but he soon learned to like New York and next thing you know it could have been named Espoville - it was his kind of town! He average 30 plus goals and a point a game in his 6 seasons in New York. His Ranger highlite was during the 1978-79 playoffs when he was a great leader in the Rangers spectacular playoff drive that finished just shy of the Stanley Cup.

Phil Esposito retired in 1980-81. Phil Esposito's final statistics are absolutely mind boggling. 1282 games played, 717 goals, 873 assists for 1590 points! At the time of his retirement only Gordie Howe had amassed more points! He added 61 goals and 137 points in 130 playoff games and 30 points in 25 international games. Not bad for a guy who didn't learn to skate until he was a teenager.

Espo's career highlight came after retirement. On Dec. 3, 1987 the Bruins retired their great leader's jersey. Ray Bourque, whose stature is such that he need not defer to anyone, relinquished his No. 7 and from then on wore 77, so that Esposito's jersey could be retired and elevated to the rafters of the Garden.

"I don't care (about being inducted into) the Hall of Fame, to tell you the truth," he said. "My biggest thrill was having my number retired at Boston Garden. That to me is where it's at."

In retirement Phil became a pitchman and a broadcaster, but he also was a successful hockey executive. He became general manager and for a short time head coach of the New York Rangers. Later he was one of the founders of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Cam Neely

Cam Neely was the ultimate Boston Bruin. Character, perseverance, team work, physical play, play to death, win - all traits that can be easily used to describe both Neely and his B's.

Cam Neely actually started his NHL career with his hometown Vancouver Canucks when they made him their first round selection way back in 1983. Neely probably turned out to be their best first round pick ever selected by the Vancouver Canucks. It's just too bad, as any Canucks fan will tell you, they traded him away so early in his career.

The trade happened on Neely's 21st birthday. In hindsight it was the best birthday present he probably ever got. The floundering Canucks traded him and the third overall draft pick in 1987 ( Boston selected Glen Wesley who went on to a career spanning 2 decades) for Barry Pederson, who at the time was a star in the league but was coming off of two major shoulder surgeries to remove a benign tumor. Pederson never did regain his superstar form. Neely became the Bruins leading scorer and the Boston Garden's fan favorite.

Cam would score 36, 40, and 38 goals in his first 3 seasons with Boston. Cam would go on to record two straight 50 goal seasons before he suffered a major blow to his knee. During the Bruins Conference Final against Pittsburgh, a cheap hit on Cam's thigh by rival defenseman Ulf Sameulsson began Cam's injury woe's that would plague him for the rest of his tragically shortened career.

Limited to 22 games the next 2 seasons Cam still managed to chip in 20 goals and 10 assists, and added 4 playoff goals in the '93 playoffs.

Cam returned for the 93-94 season scoring 50 goals for the third time. It took Cam only 44 games to reach the 50 goal plateau, only Wayne Gretzky has done it faster. (Mario Lemieux in the 88-89 season also scored 50 in 44 games.) Cam hurt his knee again shortly after scoring his 50th, and missed the playoffs that season.

Again, Cam went into an extensive rehabilitation program, and returned in the strike shortened season of 1994-95 and scored 27 goals in 42 games. The 1995-96 season proved to be Cam's last, as on February 7, 1996 the Boston Bruins suffered perhaps their worst loss in franchise history. They lost to Buffalo in overtime 2-1, but Cam suffered a degenerative hip condition forced Cam into a premature retirement. But not before he had established himself in the hearts of Bruin fans everywhere. Cam played the game the way it was meant to be played. Cam was as devastating with his body checks and fists, as he was with his goal scoring exploits. Cam's intense efforts to come back time and again from devastating injuries were recognized with his winning of the Masterton Trophy after the 93-94 season.

On January 12th, 2004, the Boston Bruins bestowed their highest honor on Neely, retiring his jersey number 8 high to the rafters, never to be worn again. It was a fitting tribute, as Neely truly ranks with the Bruins all time greats like Eddie Shore, Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito and Raymond Bourque.

Neely's career lasted 726 games, long enough to earn enshrinement in Hockey's Hall of Fame. In those 726 career games his numbers were staggering - 395 goals, 299 assists and 694 points, not to mention a healthy 1241 penalty minutes. And he carried on his production in the clutch when games mattered most. In 93 Stanley Cup playoff games he scored 57 goals and 89 points. Had he been healthy he possibly could have challenged the 650 goal mark.

As amazing of a goal scorer that he was, lighting the lamp did not define Cam Neely. He was the ultimate power forward of his time. His hands were as soft as a feather when he handled the puck, yet hard as a rock when handled an enemy. Defensemen feared going back into their corner to chase a loose puck knowing Neely was right behind them. As a forechecker he was relentless and imposing. He was an insane body checker and a dangerous fighter. Through his physical play he set the tone of games.

The physical game took it's toll on Neely's body, yet he handled diversity with the utmost of class. He showed courage and perseverance, and a deep love of the game. Cam Neely gave everything he had to the game of hockey - his blood, sweat and tears, his hip, quad and knee, and most of all his heart.

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Gerry Cheevers

The name Gerry Cheevers instantly brings to mind images of his unmistakable goalie mask. A simple white old-school mask, Cheevers had it covered in painted stitches.

"There were different types of masks but they were all white," Cheevers recalled in an interview with the Hockey Hall of Fame. "I hated white. It reminded me of purity, which was not the case the way I played goal. My thought was to get out of practice. One day, the puck came up and hit me. It wouldn't have cut me without my mask, but I fainted, passed out and on the training table. (Coach) Harry (Sinden) came in and said, 'Get out there! You're not hurt.' So I said okay. I turned to Frosty Forristall, our trainer and said, 'Frosty, paint a stitch mark or two on the mask,' so he painted this big gouge over the right eye and it got a laugh. We started to paint stitches every time I got hit. Frosty would calculate where it would have been and how many stitches it would have taken."

Beyond the mask, Cheevers is remembered as one of the greatest goaltenders in history, despite never winning a Vezina or never making a NHL All Star team.

He was an extremely popular figure and among the most entertaining goaltenders in hockey history. "Cheesey" had a style described as "aggressive and instinctive." He loved to skate around the ice and handle the puck, becoming one of the earliest goalies to roam the ice. A standup goalie who charged out of his net to challenge shooters, he was far from the perfect textbook goalie. Instead he relied on great reflexes and anticipation, often making saves look incredibly spectacular.

"Cheevers is the most exciting goalie you'll ever see," said Joe Crozier, a former goalie great and Cheevers minor league coach in Rochester. "He'll have your fans on the edge of their seats all night."

He was also very combative, not afraid to mix it up and take matters into his own hands, much like a later-day Billy Smith or Ron Hextall. The truculent goalie's combined 304 career PIMs between the NHL and WHA were once a major league record.

He was also recognized as one of hockey's true clutch goaltenders. He backstopped the Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships, in 1970 and 1972, and helped them reach the finals in 1976-77 and 1977-78. Harry Sinden said: "Certainly we had Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, but I'm sure we couldn't have won the Cups without Gerry Cheevers." Cheevers was one of the all time best "money" goalies. When the games were big, Cheevers was at his best.

Born in the "Garden City" of St. Catherines, Ontario on December 7, 1940, Gerry Cheevers grew up with hockey in his blood. His father was a part-time scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the local arena manager, and he was very active in the young goalie's upbringing.

His father encouraged his son to play junior hockey in the Leafs system with the St. Mikes Majors, although it was a no-brainer for the impressionable youngster who had always cheered on Turk Broda and the Leafs. He played well with St. Mikes, backstopping them to a Memorial Cup championship in 1961, his final year of junior hockey.

Cheevers actually played part of that final junior season as a forward.

"In my last year of junior, I played a month of forward," Cheevers recalled in an interview with the Hockey Hall of Fame. "They needed a goaltender for the next year, and Dave Dryden was available, but he could only come to the team if he could play ten or twelve games that year. Father David Bauer made a deal with him and put me at forward to satisfy both Dave Dryden and to show me what it was like to play forward. I played ten or twelve games at forward that year. I was never so happy to get back in goal! A lot of guys were trying to get even for wayward sticks in the crease! I could always skate. I was just missing the instinct of knowing what to do with the puck."

In 1961-62 Cheevers turned pro and bounced around with three minor league teams in two different leagues. But on December 2, 1961, just 5 days before his 21st birthday, he was called up by the Leafs to play two games due to injuries to Johnny Bower and Don Simmons.

"It was a great thrill — no mask, Bobby Hull, scared to death. Billy Harris got three goals (the Leafs won 6-4). Then we got on the train and played the next night in Detroit. We got beat 3-1. I'll never forget that night. Gordie Howe came down, shot what I thought was a routine wrist shot and knocked the stick right out of my hands! I thought, 'Oooh....They're a little bit bigger and stronger up here!"

That would prove to be the extent of his career with the Leafs. Those were the days of the Original Six, and goaltending jobs were hard to come by, and the Leafs were a powerhouse backed by Bower. Cheevers was moved on to the Bruins organization, but did not find regular employment until 1967-68, the first season of NHL expansion.

Cheevers confessed he wasn't all that excited about the Bruins, who at the time were a weak team.

I really wasn't crazy about sticking with the Bruins. But when Bobby Orr showed up (in 1966-67), they got a different perspective. You knew that it as just a matter of time before the team turned around. And then (in May 1967), they made the big trade with Chicago for Phil (Esposito), Kenny Hodge and Freddy Stanfield. It looked like things were going to be pretty good. I thought, 'I've gotta be on that team.'"

Powered by Cheevers, Orr and Esposito, the Bruins quickly evolved into a championship team, going from last place in 1966-67 to winning the Stanley Cup in 1970 and again in 1972.

Shockingly, Cheevers defected from the Bruins to sign with the upstart World Hockey Association. Citing unhappiness with the Bruins contract offers, he signed with the Cleveland Crusaders for 7 seasons and a whopping total, back then anyways, of $1.4 million.

"I had wonderful days in Cleveland. I would never trade them in."

Cheevers would play with the Crusaders for the next 4 seasons, but would return to the Bruins in 1976. He would play four more years with the Bruins before retiring in 1980.

Cheevers was one of the few goaltenders to become a successful coach. He took over as the Bruins coach in 1980-81, lasting until 1985. In that time he had an impressive record of 204 wins, 126 losses and 46 ties, though the Bruins could never go far in the playoffs.

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Art Chisholm

Art Chisholm was a great university player with the Northeastern Huskies. A two-time All-American center scored a record 100 goals and 81 assists for 181 points in only 71 games between 1959 and 1961. The 1977 Northeastern Hall of Fame inductee was a three-time All-East, All-New England and Beanpot All-Tournament selection. He won the Walter Brown Trophy his junior year as New England's Outstanding Player.

Under the old amateur status rules, Art was personally invited by Bruin GM Lynn Patrick to play for the Bruins in the final 3 games of the 1960-61 season. Chisholm turned down an original offer by the Bruins but accepted this offer.

"You know I refused the Bruins’ first offer of these three games tryout, but I changed my mind when Lynn Patrick called me up again Tuesday afternoon,” said Chisholm at the time.

Despite not scoring a point in his three games with the Bruins, Chisholm impressed the Bruins, their fans and the media.

Coach Milt Schmidt, Mr Boston Bruins himself, felt that Chisholm made a very good showing in his first game.

“I only had to tell him one thing during the entire game,” said Milt, “He had good moves out there but I am not too sure yet about his speed.”

Reporter Henry McKenna had this to say about him:

"Art’s all-round play made one wonder why pro scouts haven’t been chasing him all season. He took regular turn between Jerry Toppazzini and Don McKenney; fore-checked cleverly in the New York end; made nice passes and almost scored in the third period on a Toppa rebound after having had a previous chance ruined a minute before when his stick broke as he shot on a set-up 10 feet in front.

"He looked not at all out of place. He skated far better than expected and fitted into the plays exceptionally well when one realizes he had no practice to become familiar with the Bruins scheme of play.

"His all-around effort definitely was a large factor in the victory only the third in 14 starts vs. the Rangers. Of what he showed last night, Chisholm, the first local boy to be given a chance with the B’s in 14 years, definitely can play professional hockey if he so desires."

Chisholm however didn't desire to play professional hockey. Art opted instead to finish his degree work at NU under their 5-year Co-op plan, thus ending his professional hockey career after only three games.

“I wanted to satisfy myself as to whether I could hold my own in pro hockey or not. Honestly, I figure I am too old to be starting in this game at the age of 25, and lacking the experience might take me too long to catch up.”

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