{"id":279668,"date":"2025-11-08T16:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T16:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/279668\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T16:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T16:49:13","slug":"being-traded-by-the-bruins-still-doesnt-sit-well-with-esposito","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/279668\/","title":{"rendered":"Being traded by the Bruins still doesn\u2019t sit well with Esposito"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWell, you know,\u201d mused Esposito, 83, \u201cI still haven\u2019t gotten over it.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

No doubt some gray-haired Black and Gold fans share the sentiment.<\/p>\n

Five decades into their NHL existence at the time, the Bruins knocked the entire hockey world on its keester on Friday, Nov. 7, 1975. Then-general manager Harry Sinden wheeled Esposito, the most prolific goal scorer in NHL history to that point, and defenseman Carol Vadnais to New York for defenseman\/captain Brad Park and center Jean Ratelle, both marquee Rangers. New York also included spare defenseman Joe Zanussi in the deal.<\/p>\n

The swap stung all the more for some in the Bruins fan base because the Broadway Blueshirts were still chief rivals, dating to when the two bedraggled franchises often were co-tenants in the basement of the Original Six standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d noted Richard Johnson, the decades-long curator of The Sports Museum. \u201cAre you kidding? We\u2019re talking about the Rangers, the hated Hadfields.\u201d <\/p>\n

Linemates Vic Hadfield, Rod Gilbert, and Ratelle, suddenly the Bruins\u2019 newfound No. 1 pivot, once formed the Rangers \u201cGAG Line\u201d \u2014 as in goal a game. <\/p>\n

Then age 33, Esposito had just come off yet another 60-goal season (61-66\u2013127) in 1974-75 and stood as one of the central figures of the franchise\u2019s legendary, mesmerizing Big Bad Bruins era. After arriving in trade from Chicago at age 25 in May 1967, he rolled up 459 goals and 1,012 points across nine regular seasons (625 games) with the Bruins. The game had never seen his like as a goal scorer. Not even the great Bobby Hull, once his Golden Jet teammate in Chicago, could compare. <\/p>\n

Esposito\u2019s 717 goals today rank No. 7 on the NHL\u2019s all-time list.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus Saves!\u201d read the fading bumper stickers on the chrome-laden Fords and Chevys that tooled around our city\u2019s potholed streets, \u201cEsposito Scores on the Rebound!\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, the Bruins were a religion, with Esposito and the incomparable Bobby Orr, along with John Bucyk and Gerry Cheevers, as the high priests. They etched their names on the Stanley Cup twice, in 1970 and \u201872. They romanced the town at a level not even the Patriots reached in the astounding Belichick-Brady Super Bowl era<\/a>. <\/p>\n

They were winners, characters, cult heroes. New England streets were flooded with kids playing ball hockey, narrating their games aloud as they played, imagining they were \u201cNo. 4, Bobby Orr!\u201d or the great Esposito.<\/p>\n

The lone factor to dull the shock of the trade was that the Red Sox and Reds had just engaged in their dramatic World Series matchup, the hometown team having dropped Game 7 at Fenway. Sixteen days later, \u201cEspo\u201d was outta here. How much pain could one fan base comprehend?<\/p>\n

\u201cI never wanted to leave \u2014 not ever, ever, ever,\u201d said Esposito, noting he figured he would move directly into the Bruins broadcast booth once his playing days came to an end here. \u201cAs it turned out, you know, life\u2019s a funny thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The end came on the road with the Bruins in Vancouver, where he was apprised of the trade by coach Don Cherry. To this day, it irks Esposito that he didn\u2019t learn the news directly from Sinden.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should have called me,\u201d he said. \u201cHarry should have called.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinden, noted Esposito, only months earlier shook his hand on a new contract worth, he said, upward of $400,000 per annum.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe asked if I wanted a no-trade clause,\u201d said Esposito. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018Harry, do you think I really need one, after all we\u2019ve been through?\u2019 I mean, it was after \u201872 and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinden, who left the Bruins briefly for private industry after coaching the Bruins to the Cup win in \u201870, was reunited with his old center on Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series against a powerful, storied Soviet Union team. Esposito and Orr factored heavily in Canada prevailing in the eight-game series, and the win helped Sinden soon make his way back to Causeway Street as GM.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t win in \u201872,\u201d speculated Esposito, \u201cHarry never gets a job again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to Esposito signing the extension in Boston, he recalled, he was courted heavily by the rival World Hockey Association. He said the Vancouver Blazers offered him a $2 million signing bonus and a 10-year contract at $500,000 per season. <\/p>\n

Hull, his old Black Hawks (the name was changed to Blackhawks in 1986) teammate, had bolted Chicago fame and glory for WHA Winnipeg in the summer of \u201872, giving the upstart league legitimacy, and he played a part in trying to woo Esposito from the NHL. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was pushing me all the way, getting me more money than I ever dreamed possible,\u201d said Esposito. \u201cI remember getting in the plane in Vancouver, to come back, saying to myself, \u2018I don\u2019t want to leave Boston. I like Boston. I like the Bruins. I like the team. I like the uniform. I like the guys. I like the fans.\u2019 All that, you know? The fans could be critical, could boo and all that other stuff. But sometimes we deserved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Esposito has come to believe over the years that Sinden was forced to deal him because Jeremy Jacobs, the new team owner, did not like how the contract was structured. Following a blueprint Esposito said he\u2019d learned from Red Sox slugger Carl Yastrzemski<\/a>, he secured a deal that required the Bruins to pay him only $150,000 season and place the rest (some $250,000) into a blind trust, producing deferred compensation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarry came to me and asked if I\u2019d rewrite it, they\u2019d pay me more [per year] if I did,\u201d recalled Esposito. \u201cBut I said, \u2018Why, Harry? That\u2019s my savings.\u2019 I could live like a king \u2014 a king! \u2014 on $150,000 a year. But he said Jacobs didn\u2019t like the deal, didn\u2019t understand it. Freddie Stanfield had the same kind of deal<\/a>, because I suggested it to him. Maybe that\u2019s why he got traded to Minnesota [prior to the 1973-74 season], I don\u2019t know. All I know is, I wouldn\u2019t change it, and I was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vadnais had a no-trade deal <\/a>and didn\u2019t report to the Rangers, noted Esposito, until he was paid more money. Esposito played five more seasons in New York, never scored more than 42 goals or 81 points, and retired after the 1980-81 season. He was 39. He enjoyed only one lengthy playoff run with the Rangers, losing to the Canadiens in the 1979 Cup Final.<\/p>\n

\"PhilPhil Esposito became beloved at Madison Square Garden, here acknowledging the New York faithful after recording his record 30th career hat trick on Feb. 18, 1979, against Washington.G. Paul Burnett\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

Park was 27 upon arriving in Boston<\/a> as the youngest of the four main players in the deal. Ratelle was 35. They were central to the Bruins shaping a new era, what became the beloved Lunchpail AC, and in one four-year span (1976-79), played in two Cup semifinals and two Cup Finals.<\/p>\n

All of which is to say, Sinden fared considerably better with his shocking Bruins deal than Harry Frazee did with his shocking Red Sox deal<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Ruth became baseball\u2019s home run king, bigger than the game itself, in his days after the Red Sox. Esposito\u2019s impact on hockey, though not equal to that of the Bambino, was nonetheless astounding. He crafted his legacy in Boston, where his No. 7 hangs in the Garden rafters.<\/p>\n

\u201cLater on in life, around when I hit 80,\u201d said Esposito, he began to wonder how different his life and career would have played out had the trade never happened.<\/p>\n

Upon retiring as a player, Esposito joined Sam Rosen in the Rangers broadcast booth for a successful run as a TV color man. In 1985, Esposito became New York\u2019s GM, though not by choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever wanted to leave the TV job, but I was made an offer I couldn\u2019t refuse,\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt was either become GM or I don\u2019t work for [Madison Square Garden Network]. I was told that by Art Barron, head of Paramount at the time. His exact words were, \u2018You don\u2019t understand: either take the job, or you don\u2019t work for MSG.\u2019 OK, duh, I guess I take the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon being fired in 1989, Esposito had years remaining on his contract, allowing him the time to explore NHL expansion in Tampa. He soon found the investors and the Lightning, with Esposito the father of the franchise, opened play in October 1992. Now, 33 years later, he still provides color commentary for many of the Lightning games on radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t leave that job,\u201d he promised, \u201cunless they take me out of the building with a crane.\u201d <\/p>\n

If not for that dark day of Nov. 7, 1975, said Esposito, who\u2019s to say any of those good fortunes would have found him?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s times in life we all get beat up, kicked in the [rear end], knocked down. But you realize, it\u2019s not the getting knocked down, it\u2019s whether you can get up. No doubt about it. Can you get up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ZdenoZdeno Chara signed a one-day contract in 2022 to retire as a member of the Bruins.John Tlumacki\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

TOP-NOTCH COLLECTION<\/p>\n

Chara notes three prized possessions<\/p>\n

Zdeno Chara counts one sweater and two jerseys among his prized possessions. <\/p>\n

The sweater, a Red Wings model, belonged to Nicklas Lidstrom, the sublime Winged Wheels defenseman whose seemingly effortless play fascinated and inspired Big Z to build finesse into his game. Lidstrom autographed the No. 5 sweater for his pal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are good friends,\u201d said Chara, who\u2019ll be formally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night. \u201cWe talk, text a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lidstrom, who won the Norris Trophy seven times as the NHL\u2019s top blue liner, entered the Hall in 2015. <\/p>\n

One of Chara\u2019s two cherished jerseys, also autographed, belonged to Lance Armstrong. Chara became a devoted bicyclist early in his career, building the sport into his rigorous training for hockey. Armstrong\u2019s seven Tour de France titles won from 1999-2005 (all later revoked<\/a>) inspired Chara.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was riding, so that was really speaking to me,\u201d he said. \u201cHe had an amazing determination to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chara\u2019s other prized jersey, yet to be autographed, belonged to Michael Jordan. He bought it on eBay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to have it signed, too, one day,\u201d said a smiling Chara. \u201cI\u2019m working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though hockey was by far his preferred sport from a young age while growing up in Trencin, Slovakia, Chara was enthralled by the success of Jordan and the Bulls<\/a>. The NBA was years ahead of the NHL in televising games in Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cLate \u201980s, early \u201890s, we didn\u2019t have NHL games on TV,\u201d said Chara. \u201cWe only had NBA games through the German satellite network. I don\u2019t think I saw my first NHL game until 1992, Pittsburgh [vs. Chicago] in the Cup Final.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chara, who kept a Jordan poster taped to his bedroom wall, made sure to watch the two NBA games that made it to TV each week. He was captured by Jordan\u2019s athleticism and drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chicago dynasty \u2026 winning championships,\u201d mused Chara. \u201cAnd just watching him play, seeing his drive and determination to win. That excellence really inspired me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BradBrad Park, Bobby Orr, and Jean Ratelle were all smiles at Bruins practice at the Garden on Nov. 12, 1975, less than a week after the blockbuster trade from the Rangers. Frank O’Brien\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

UNWELCOME TO BOSTON<\/p>\n

Greenberg recalls Park\u2019s poor reception<\/p>\n

Nate Greenberg, who spent three-plus decades in charge of Bruins public relations, was only two years on the job Nov. 7, 1975, when the club acquired Jean Ratelle and Brad Park from the Rangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cA public relations department of one \u2014 and I was it,\u201d said Greenberg, recalling that he banged out a news release on the trade on his manual Smith Corona typewriter inside the club\u2019s office at 150 Causeway Street. \u201cThe whole time I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Boy, if I\u2019m on the job for another 100 years, no way am I ever going to write another release like this.\u2019 Man, you talk about a blockbuster, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Invention and widespread use of the internet<\/a> still decades away, the standard practice of the day, recalled Greenberg, was first to phone the club\u2019s beat writers, as well as the news wire services (Associated Press and United Press International), and alert them that a trade was coming down. Once the release was edited and prepared, it was then faxed to the outlets.<\/p>\n

By midafternoon, Greenberg was on his way to Logan Airport to pick up Park, after which he drove the accommodating new defenseman directly to WBZ studios on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton. WBZ owned the Bruins\u2019 radio rights and Guy Mainella, host of the station\u2019s \u201cCalling All Sports,\u201d<\/a> said Greenberg, \u201cdid handstands\u201d when offered the chance to have the former Rangers captain on the show live and in studio. <\/p>\n

Park and Greenberg arrived, entered through WBZ\u2019s front doors, and took seats in the waiting room. Televisions were playing, noted Greenberg, but the sound in the waiting room was the uncensored feed from Mainella\u2019s call-in show. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just say the callers weren\u2019t happy with the deal,\u201d said Greenberg, recalling that one fan after another lambasted the trade. \u201cNot good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caller comments, often spicy, were blocked from making it on air. But in the waiting room, Park was treated to a barrage of raw emotion from a faithful, angered fan base.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, not good,\u201d recalled Greenberg. \u201cI purposely maneuvered my chair between Parkie and the door \u2026 in case he tried to take off! The callers were vicious! Absolutely vicious! As it was playing out, we didn\u2019t know 95 percent of what was said never got on the air \u2014 they had a kill switch \u2014 but inside the waiting room it was a string of four-letter words \u2026 and worse!\u201d<\/p>\n

Park, noted Greenberg, had been \u201cthe face of the Rangers, basically,\u201d making him a prepackaged villain in the eyes of Bruins fans. He almost immediately became a fan favorite once pulling in his No. 22 Spoked-B sweater (and playing his first 10 games often as Bobby Orr\u2019s partner). But the immediate receipt was rough.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonest to God, he took it in good spirits \u2014 better than I could have taken it, I\u2019ll tell you that,\u201d said Greenberg. \u201cI was petrified that he was going to walk out or turn to me and say, \u2018Hey, take me back to Logan!\u2019 Guy did a great job with him, but man, the kid on the kill switch had a busy two hours.\u201d <\/p>\n

The fans\u2019 wrath wasn\u2019t exclusively directed to Park that day, recalled Greenberg. Callers also unloaded on his boss, general manager Harry Sinden, for making the deal. <\/p>\n

The prevailing attitude of the day, among fans and many in the media, noted Greenberg, was that star players were meant, if not obligated, to finish their careers in the cities where they made their names. That quaint concept didn\u2019t make it out of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d only worked around Harry for two years at that time,\u201d said Greenberg. \u201cBut I realized that day, if he felt a trade was the right thing to do then that was it. He lived by that, right or wrong. If he felt a move made the team better, he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWell, you know,\u201d mused Esposito, 83, \u201cI still haven\u2019t gotten over it.\u201d No doubt some gray-haired Black and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-279668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}