Hockey
b. Feb. 20, 1942, Sault Ste. Marie, ONT
Career Statistics
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Early in his career, Esposito was regarded by some observers as a "garbage player" who scored easy goals simply by hanging around the net. As time went on and he was consistently among the top scorers in the NHL, he was finally recognized as one of the all-time great hockey players.
After dropping out of high school to play junior hockey, Esposito became a professional in 1961 and he joined the Chicago Black Hawks in 1963. He was the center on Bobby Hull's line in 1965/66, when Hull scored a record 54 goals.
Chicago traded Esposito to the Boston Bruins in 1967. He was the league's leading scorer and winner of the Hart Trophy in the record-shattering 1968/69 season, when three players went over the 100-point mark. Esposito had 126 points on 49 goals and 77 assists, while Hull scored 107 and Gordie Howe had 103 points.
Esposito was also the league's top scorer in 1970/71, with an incredible 152 points on 76 goals and 76 assists; in 1971/72, with 133 points on 66 goals and 67 assists; in 1972/73, with 130 points on 55 goals and 75 assists; and in 1973/74, with 145 points on 68 goals and 77 assists.
He helped lead the Bruins to Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972. Esposito scored 23 points in the 1970 playoffs, then a record.
The New York Rangers acquired Esposito during the 1975/76 season but injuries and a more conservative style of team play limited his scoring for the rest of his career. He retired as a player in 1981.
Esposito became general manager of the Rangers in 1986. Impatient with the team's progress, he replaced Coach Ted Sator with Tom Webster during the 1986/87 season, then fired Webster and took over himself shortly before the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers lost in the first round. The following season, he fired Michel Bergeron and again became coach. Esposito lost both jobs after the Rangers failed even to qualify for the playoffs.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Esposito was exceptionally strong and difficult to move once he took up a position near the net, as he liked to do, and his unusually long arms often allowed him to get the puck when it seemed out of reach.
In 1,282 regular season games, he scored 1,590 points on 717 goals and 873 assists. He had 137 points, on 61 goals and 76 assists, in 130 playoff games.
Hockey Hall of Fame
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| Regular Season |
| Seas | Team | Gm
| G | A | Pts |
| 63-64 | Chi | 27
| 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 64-65 | Chi | 70
| 23 | 32 | 55 |
| 65-66 | Chi | 69
| 27 | 26 | 53 |
| 66-67 | Chi | 69
| 21 | 40 | 61 |
| 67-68 | Bos | 74
| 35 | 49 | 84 |
| 68-69 | Bos | 74
| 49 | 77 | 126
|
| 69-70 | Bos | 76
| 43 | 56 | 99 |
| 70-71 | Bos | 78
| 76 | 76 | 152
|
| 71-72 | Bos | 76
| 66 | 67 | 133
|
| 72-73 | Bos | 78
| 55 | 75 | 130
|
| 73-74 | Bos | 78
| 68 | 77 | 145
|
| 74-75 | Bos | 79
| 61 | 66 | 127
|
| 75-76 | Bos | 12
| 6 | 10 | 16 |
| 75-76 | NYR | 62
| 29 | 38 | 67 |
| 76-77 | NYR | 80
| 34 | 46 | 80 |
| 77-78 | NYR | 79
| 38 | 43 | 81 |
| 78-79 | NYR | 80
| 42 | 36 | 78 |
| 79-80 | NYR | 80
| 34 | 44 | 78 |
| 80-81 | NYR | 41
| 7 | 13 | 20 |
| Totals | | 1282
| 717 | 873 | 1590
|
| Playoffs
|
|---|
| Seas | Team | Gm
| G | A | Pts |
| 63-64 | Chi | 4
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64-65 | Chi | 13
| 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 65-66 | Chi | 6
| 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 66-67 | Chi | 6
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67-68 | Bos | 4
| 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 68-69 | Bos | 10
| 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 69-70 | Bos | 14
| 13 | 14 | 27 |
| 70-71 | Bos | 7
| 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 71-72 | Bos | 15
| 9 | 15 | 24 |
| 72-73 | Bos | 2
| 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 73-74 | Bos | 16
| 9 | 5 | 14 |
| 74-75 | Bos | 3
| 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 77-78 | NYR | 3
| 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 78-79 | NYR | 18
| 8 | 12 | 20 |
| 79-80 | NYR | 9
| 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Totals | | 130
| 61 | 76 | 137
|
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