Phil Esposito's legacy with the Rangers

[McD27]

Craig Patrick was still running the show at the time. Espo replaced him a few weeks after the draft.

Thx. For some reason, I thought Espo drafted some good players for us.

 

[BringBackLibertys]

Listen, ESPO did not trade for himself when the deal went down, so we can't blame him for that. I am pretty sure in the 70s most players were not worried about conditioning in the off season, or even drinking and smoking. It was a different era. That being said I was a huge fan BECAUSE he was flamboyent, which a lot of people hate him for. He spoke his mind, never held back, and took a lot of flack for it. How many of you have complained because players only give canned answers in interviews??

I listened to a lot of his stories when he was on XM 5 days a week, he normally came on drunk, or already drinking, it was great. He said he was the color man for the Rangers, when the owners came to him and asked him to coach. He wanted to turn them down but they said be the coach or don't work here at all. From there, he did become the famous "trader Phil" of the "Strangers" era of the team. I really think we lost more because there was no time for players to get chemistry then anything else.

If you don't like him as a Ranger, I am guessing that it is because you resent the trade (which he didn't ask for) that brought him here, or the way he GM'ed the team. I think he deserves a better rap then most give him. As for appearances, he has done a few for Boston, and even showed up in Chicago (played there before Boston) when they retired his brother's jersey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIR-XHe4yNg

 

[McD27]

There were different "Sasson" lineups: here's the one with Hedberg, Dave Maloney, Espo and Doogie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UilzHNm95Qg

Lol. If I am Maloney I would hate seeing Doogie still having his hair and I don't.

 

[BringBackLibertys]

Lol. If I am Maloney I would hate seeing Doogie still having his hair and I don't.

Yea, cause we all look at Doogie and think his hair is real. Bro, that is the best example of what hair replacement can do for you! LOL

 

[Ratelleitlikeitis]

despite his accomplishments, I still feel like the Rangers were better off with Brad Park and Jean Ratelle.

Can't help but agree. Always felt Espo's legacy was a Bruin or Hawk rather than a Ranger. Never really cheered for him in a big way.
After reading other posts I wonder if Espo ever interviewed Joe Namath or vice versa. That would be funny stuff.

 

[ThisYearsModel]

Full disclosure: I HATED the guy when he was a Bruin, and hated the trade that brought him to NY. I have to laugh when I think about a video that I used to have (in the VCR days) where Donnie Maloney says something like "if there is anyone in hockey that I respect more than Espo, I can't think of one right now." This was just before lardass traded him to Hartford for Carey Wilson! Repeat.....Carey Wilson. Espo's heart was in the right place as GM, he wanted to end the curse. Problem was....he had no clue about what he was doing as a GM or coach. Other than the 79 finals run, which was due to John Davidson's excellence before he got hurt in the finals, Espo was a big waste of time in NY.

 

[poeman]

Dude has my jersey number...I wanted to a custom Rangers one with that number he is retired with it :/

 

[eco's bones]

Espo was the classic elite player on Broadway from the past era: A high-end talent that abused his body, never had any dedication to conditioning, and bascially just showed up to play. Joe Namath, but just past his prime when we got him, and no championship.

He was a leader, but often led his troops to the local bar even on game days. I'm sure they had a great time, but they had the talent to win it all and just didn't give it the required effort. Ranger fans deserved better.

Espo is one of the main reasons that Messier is so revered among older fans. Messier didn't squander his opportunity.

People need to keep in mind the era in which he played. It wasn't unusual for NHL players then to have summer jobs. Espo if I remember right was a tractor trailer driver for the first several years of his NHL career. Ed Giacomin got his chance with the Rangers because his older brother had a tryout with the Rangers he couldn't make so he sent his younger brother. Before that he was working in a salt mine or some **** like that.

Espo is a classic example though of a great player being a lousy coach or general manager.

 

[nsvoyageurs]

As a player, he helped lead the Rangers to the Cup final in 1979 against Montreal.

As a GM, the only two things that describe it would be lunacy and idiocy.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Espo was a victim of bad ownership. Evans and Dillard were too involved. He didnt get a blank check.

He traded Poddubny because he wanted guys who were tough. He traded Miller and Ridley because Carpenter was tough and could score goals.

He alleges to have had a deal in place Gretzky in 1988. He claims Sather called him and offered Gretzky for 15 million bucks.

Espo offered Kisio, Sandstrom, Beezer and a pick with 15 million bucks for Gretzky but was turned down by ownership.

Espo as a GM was like Gretzky as a coach. He couldnt get the guys to be as tough and dedicated as he was. The Garden and Espo had a bad breakup. Avfew years later he was a pitch man for the Lightning.

Espo hated New York. Hated the city, the team, the building etc.

 

[Machinehead]

Espo isn't any different than any other legend this organization casts aside like a hairball simply because he wasn't on the '94 team.

 

[Crease]

Espo isn't any different than any other legend this organization casts aside like a hairball simply because he wasn't on the '94 team.

While I agree they bang the '94 drum way too hard, the organization certainly didn't cast aside Giacomin and Gilbert like they have to Espo and to a much lesser extent Bathgate.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Espo was great. He did not like NY and NY did not like him at the time the trade happened but Espo came to love NY and the fans came around as well. He was very well liked in the locker room. He tried to look out for Donnie Murdoch. He is a guy that loved the game and it showed. Our run to the cup was a real team effort. JD was amazing in those playoffs but Espo's line played great as well. Espo was like 36 at that time.

 

[Baby Punisher]

My most fond memory of Espo was when he wore a tuxedo behind the bench during a game that was played on New Years eve. Dude was & still is nuts.

 

[Giacomin]

I think Espo is totally underrated as a Ranger. The Rangers of the early 70,s were a very good team that could not get over the hump and beat Boston,Philly and Chicago and a change was needed. Many fans today say the Rangers were fleeced by Boston but Espo was the perfect guy to lead Duguay,Maloney,Greschner,Davidson etc and then when the Rangers added the Swedes they had the chance to win it all led by Espo. I still contend as good as Ratelle and Park were they were not the leaders the Rangers needed to nurture the young talent and who knows but I think the Rangers in 1979 were a cheap shot away from Potvin from winning the Cup. In 1979 the Rangers captured the hearts of NYC led by Phil Esposito!

 

[True Blue]

He was a former great player that we mortgaged the future for. Much like other trades. And he was a horrific member of management.

 

[McD27]

Espo probably had something to do with getting JD his TV gig.

 

[bernmeister]

I remember the trade. Esposito had a fit. Any team but the Rangers. Every year in training camp we'd hear the same crap--'I finally feel like a Ranger'. He was a leader though and became the captain--the Rangers did make it the Stanley Cup finals in 1979. He never put up the points for the Rangers though that he did for the Bruins. Well--no Bobby Orr--no Brad Park either because Park was part of the deal for Espo. His line mates in Boston were Hodge and Cashman but on the pwp there was Johnny Bucyk who was an extraordinary pwp guy. Espo has a very expressive persona--he can come across as a blowhard--that personality worked better for him as a player than as a coach or general manager. He was rash--didn't always things through very carefully. Got the nickname 'Trader Phil'.

Went through a batch of coaches. I liked Michel Bergeron though. Remember him walking down the bench screaming obscenities at the refs with his real strong French accent. They wouldn't allow some of the **** he used to say today. Stepped off his perch one time and cracked his head real good. Had to get stitched up. He gave himself a heart condition.

1. An excellent post all around.
2. In the bold, believe the verb "think" unintentionally omitted.
3. Do not blame Espo the same way I hold Emile Francis (ptuoo, ptuoo [spit sounds]) responsible for the stupid railroading of Ratelle and Park for lesser players.

4. That said, while he was good he was also very overrated.
5. Guys like Lemieux, they had that magical reach, they could really embarrass a goalie. Espo was no Mario, an average at best game except 10-15 feet in the slot out in front. But not exceptional like Ratelle, esp, on backhand.
6. Espo looked 1000% better than he was because of Orr.
7. That said, he still looked like a good player after adjusting.
8. Can't go through his GM record here, but on balance feel there were more hits than misses.

9. Also, believe Hodge for Middleton was before his time, but wish we could have gotten Bucyk, not for Middleton, but that was a hell of a W, esp. for shooting pucks in FROM BEHIND THE FREAKIN NET!!!!!!!

 

[The Lone Ranger]

despite his accomplishments, I still feel like the Rangers were better off with Brad Park and Jean Ratelle.

Yeah, but....

For all the flak that Espo gets for not leading NY to the Cup, the same thing was true for Park and Ratelle with Boston. They all got as far as the Cup finals, but couldn't get past the late '70s Montreal juggernaut.

With all that said, there definitely does seem to be some sort of unspoken divide between Espo and the Rangers organization since the man got canned as GM. Heck, Brendan Shanahan gets more mention on MSG telecasts for his brief tenure in a Ranger sweater, even though Espo's contributions to the franchise is far more significant.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Yeah, but....

For all the flak that Espo gets for not leading NY to the Cup, the same thing was true for Park and Ratelle with Boston. They all got as far as the Cup finals, but couldn't get past the late '70s Montreal juggernaut.

With all that said, there definitely does seem to be some sort of unspoken divide between Espo and the Rangers organization since the man got canned as GM. Heck, Brendan Shanahan gets more mention on MSG telecasts for his brief tenure in a Ranger sweater, even though Espo's contributions to the franchise is far more significant.

He made some truly awful short sighted moves like Ridley/Miller for Carpenter, Kjell Sameulson for Bob Froese, and the one no one mentions is trading a young Mark Tinordi who went on to have a very good NHL career.

He also had a horrible temper and rubbed people the wrong way, which is part of the reason he never gets mentioned anymore.

 

[E-Train]

He made some truly awful short sighted moves like Ridley/Miller for Carpenter, Kjell Sameulson for Bob Froese, and the one no one mentions is trading a young Mark Tinordi who went on to have a very good NHL career.

Dealing Dave Gagner was awful as well.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

My most fond memory of Espo was when he wore a tuxedo behind the bench during a game that was played on New Years eve. Dude was & still is nuts.

I think it would be awesome to bring that tradition back. It's definitely a classier look than the Jean-Guy Talbot alternative...

 

[NickyFotiu]

Recently Espo called out Larry Brooks to a small degree on the radio. Brooks in my opinion is as nasty and dishonest as they come. Many Rangers players despised Brooks in the 1970's-1980's. So the other day Brooks whines in his newspaper that Espo did not mention how he repeatedly kicked Brooks in the back of his leg in a elevator back in the day. If Brooks thought that would make me view him as a victim he was wrong. After all the nasty dishonest things Brooks has posted over the years I thought he should be grateful that was all that Espo did to him. That made me like Espo even more.

 

[Sea Bass Neely]

Espo was the classic elite player on Broadway from the past era: A high-end talent that abused his body, never had any dedication to conditioning, and bascially just showed up to play. Joe Namath, but just past his prime when we got him, and no championship.

He was a leader, but often led his troops to the local bar even on game days. I'm sure they had a great time, but they had the talent to win it all and just didn't give it the required effort. Ranger fans deserved better.

Espo is one of the main reasons that Messier is so revered among older fans. Messier didn't squander his opportunity.

Bruins fan and i come in peace. Even though Phil talks **** about being traded by Chicago/Boston -- and perhaps i am biased, but IMO he was far more pissed off about being traded from the Boston Bruins than he was being traded from Chicago to Boston -- and a lot of all that has to do with how well he played alongside Boston legends like Bobby Orr.

Espo finished his career with the Rangers, but i still to this day believe the salt in the wound of being traded out of Boston has effected his attitude. He never wanted to leave Boston.

As for Messier, i had a ton of respect for the man before he intentionally tried to inflict a massive head injury on Mike Modano (during the incident when the paramedics dropped Modano off of the stabilizing-stretcher).

Messier clearly had a stride on Modano and deliberately targeted his head. This impact to the head was so severe (this can be seen on YouTube) that Modano was out cold before his head even slammed onto the ice and he went gliding motionless into the boards.

Overall i like Messier, but that was one of the dirtiest hits i have ever seen in the NHL. I am not a Stars fan, but Modano did not deserve that... he was never a dirty player.

Anyhow, it's time Esposito bury old grudges.

 

[Thesensation19*]

I was born in 1990 so I do not know much. As a player he was very very talented and he did have some strong years with the Rangers. But I was always skeptical about his work ethic. Its a reason to why he was traded from Boston by Don Cherry. Its something that was brought up by many people.

Regardless of his days as a player, one thing I read recently was that Esposito played a huge part in Herb Brooks departure from the Rangers.

Though Brooks had an average, at best, career as a NHL coach he did his best years with a young Ranger squad. I think Brooks was an underrated coach especially by many Canadian NHLers at that time and by the time he was let go we had just drafted Leetch. Its hard to say that I wish things were different but I would like to believe we would have had won more Cups with him than without.

So I was never happy about Espositos big mouth.