Johnny Bucyk

[Felidae]

I'm surprised to find out in the search engine that there has never been a thread on Johnny Bucyck (at least one that hasn't been deleted..)

But he definitely deserves to be talked about. Just looking at his hockey reference page he has a very interesting career.

6 top 10 points finishes, but 4 of them happened in his 30s.

7 top 10 PPG finishes, 5 of them during his 30s.

Most of this could be attributed to expansion. But I don't know, even the older 30+ year old star players that maintained their production into the expansion era didn't necessarily have their most productive seasons. Bucyck did.


Something else that stood out was his shooting percentage. 10 seasons in the top 10 including 3 times leading the league.

Im not sure what the record is, but that has to be up there right? Craig Simpson (the career shooting% leader) led the league 3 times, but "only" 2 other times in the top 10.

And once again, most of this in his 30s.

So, did he actually improve as a player, or was this all circumstantial, due to the expansion and being on much better teams later in his career?




Beyond the stats though.. what was he like as a player? What was his reputation like back then? Feel free to share anything else interesting related to the man. Consider this the all encompassing Bucyck thread..

Click to read more...

 

[Bear of Bad News]

That's because his last name is spelled Bucyk.

Here are a few:

Thread 'Teemu Selänne vs John Bucyk'

Nov 17, 2009

Both played in different eras. Even the regular seasons were shorter then.

One is already in the HHOF, the other will follow.

Who is the better player all-time?
Teemu Selänne or John Bucyk?

• Ziostilon
• Replies: 93
• Forum: The History of Hockey

Thread 'An Aborted Johnny Bucyk Trade'

Sep 4, 2021

According to Rick Cole over at "50 Years Ago in Hockey," Punch Imlach's efforts to add a left-winger before the Trade Deadline in 1964-65 almost brought Johnny Bucyk to Toronto. Cole said that the "Bruins apparently asked for Eddie Shack and Jim Pappin and two young players (possibly Rochester’s Gerry Cheevers and Andre Champagne of Tulsa). Imlach agreed to the deal but the Bruins backed off at the last minute."

The hockey fans who like to imagine "what if" can imagine what if that trade had taken place? Bucyk was consistently productive for a poor Boston Bruins team (circa 1964-65)...

• Davenport
• Replies: 1
• Forum: The History of Hockey

• 

Thread 'Why Bucyk lost his captaincy for awhile?'

Nov 13, 2023

Just read the history of one of the most solid team in the history of the sports - The Bruins and these periods confused me.

Bucyk was appointed as a Captain in 1966 replacing Leo Boivin and...... directly lost it in 1967.

He was consider as "honorary captain" but unofficial one until he got it back in 1973.

As a result for this, Bruins 4th and 5th title being lifted.... captainless

Mind to you, Bucyk is already a mainstay and already produced 543 points in 651 games in 1967......

What Happen?

• Mohar Ikram
• Replies: 6
• Forum: The History of Hockey

Thread 'Johnny Bucyk, Erik Karlsson, and first time to100 points at age 30+'

Jun 11, 2023

Johnny Bucyk reached 100 points in a season only once, and the night he hit 100 points he was exactly 35 years and 364 days old; i.e., he turned 36 the next day.

Erik Karlsson has thus far reached 100 points in a season only once (last April) and he was 32 years and 314 days old.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has thus far reached 100 points in a season only once (last April), and he was 29 years and 358 days old when he did it; i.e., he turned 30 one week later. So, technically, he didn't "do" this.

Has any other player had his first 100+ point season achieved on the day on or after his...

• The Panther
• Replies: 18
• Forum: The History of Hockey

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

He was a damn good player and fan favorite in Boston who admittedly got his stats pushed to HOF level by being on the ice with Orr and Espo late in his career. Not to fully diminish him either because he was a key piece of that team

 

[Staniowski]

I like Bucyk. A good, smart player.

I believe he was known as a fairly weak skater early in his career, but his skating certainly improved if that was the case.

Certainly was aided in scoring by playing on the PP with Orr and Esposito.

Played for several years with Stanfield and McKenzie on the 2nd line, all three typically played on the PP with Orr, Esposito....Stanfield on D.

 

[Staniowski]

 

[Felidae]

I like Bucyk. A good, smart player.

I believe he was known as a fairly weak skater early in his career, but his skating certainly improved if that was the case.

Certainly was aided in scoring by playing on the PP with Orr and Esposito.

Played for several years with Stanfield and McKenzie on the 2nd line, all three typically played on the PP with Orr, Esposito....Stanfield on D.

So just a really smart player with no standout physical/technical skills?

 

[BadgerBruce]

So just a really smart player with no standout physical/technical skills?

The existing threads that deal with Johnny Bucyk do not really capture the type of player he was, and instead deal largely with his offensive production, which gets expressed in a number of different ways (raw, adjusted, etc.) and within a number of different contexts (pre-Orr/Esposito, with Orr/Esposito, etc.).

I’ll try to provide a different picture.

First, Bucyk was a big body, particularly in the late-50s and the 60s. Might have been the biggest player in the league at one time, standing a shade over 6 feet but a thick 215-220 lbs. The man was very strong. He played a physical game, was a heavy body checker, and was well known for throwing his big can into nasty hip checks. Bucyk is generally considered one of the four or five best hip checkers of his generation.

As well, his puck protection skills were very high and separating him from the puck was a task and a half, particularly along the boards and in the corners. Size, strength, body positioning were all top notch. Don’t let the Lady Byngs fool you — Bucyk was a tough dude who generally played within the rules and rarely took retaliation penalties.

During a dreadful 8-season run by the Bruins that saw them miss the playoffs every year, Bucyk was the team’s best all-around player pretty much the whole time. These years, when Bucyk was 24-32, largely coincide with what we’d usually consider a player’s peak, and stat counters should be aware that Chief had very little help on those awful Bruins teams.

Harry Sinden opined that Johnny Bucyk was the most dangerous winger in front of the net that he’d ever seen, and Tony Esposito likened him to the big butler Lurch in the Addams Family because of how he’d suddenly appear in the slot, seemingly from out of nowhere. His major weapon is rarely seen today: the flip shot. In his 1973 book “Hockey in my Blood,” he stresses how important the flip shot was to his success in front of the net.

A few other comments: Bucyk really did play a 200 foot game. Conscientious in his own end, didn’t blow the zone early, and during a time when man on man coverage was the norm, he played with obvious discipline.

Weaknesses? Bucyk was not a player with a lot of agency, by which I mean he did not impose his will on games. Not a particularly creative or inventive player, either — above average but not elite. But if you’re looking for a big body to play a north-south game on the wing with serious discipline (and good health) year after year, Bucyk is your guy.