Mike Bossy

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Position Forward
Height
Weight		 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Pro Clubs New York Islanders
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born January 22, 1957,
Montreal, Quebec
NHL Draft Round 1, 15th Overall, 1977
New York Islanders
Pro Career 1977 – 1987
Hall of Fame 1991

Michael "Mike" Bossy (born in Montreal, Quebec, on January 22, 1957) , to Ukrainian parents was an ice hockey player who played for the New York Islanders during their four-year reign as Stanley Cup champions in the early 1980s. Known for his powerful shot, he was among the league's goal scoring leaders. His career was cut short by injuries.

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[edit] Playing Career

Bossy scored a then record 53 goals as a rookie in the 1977-78 season, won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year, and was named a Second Team All-Star. Bossy and Wayne Gretzky are the only players to have scored 50 or more goals for nine seasons (Bossy had nine consecutive 50 goal seasons, a feat unmatched even today). Additionally, both are the only players ever to have scored 60 or more goals in as many as five seasons. Unlike Gretzky, however, who played 20 seasons, Bossy was healthy enough only for 10, of which only the first nine were full. During Bossy's final season, his bad back limited him to 63 games but he still managed 38 goals.

As he never played long enough for his skills to diminish, his scoring averages remain quite high. Bossy averaged .762 goals per game in the regular season, more than any other player in NHL history, and .659 in the playoffs, second only to Mario Lemieux at .710. Lemieux is second to Bossy in the regular season, at .754 (although if Lemieux had not made his comeback after his inital retirement, his career goals-per-game would have been much higher at .823). Other goal leaders averages, for comparison: Pavel Bure scored .623 in the regular season and .547 in the playoffs; Wayne Gretzky, .601 and .587; Brett Hull, .584 and .510; Phil Esposito, .559 and .469; Maurice Richard, .556 and .617; Bobby Hull, .547 and .521; Marcel Dionne, .542 and .429; Guy Lafleur, .497 and .453; Mike Gartner, .494 and .352. Many thus regard Bossy along with Lemieux (as well as Bobby Hull and Richard) as the best pure goal scorers ever to play the game. (It should be noted, however, that if Gretzky had retired after his first 10 years in the league, his numbers on a per game basis would have eclipsed all other players. Most of Gretzky's major records were all achieved before 1990, including his record as the only player ever to exceed 200 points in a single season, which he had done more than once).

In 1980-81, he scored 50 goals in 50 games, the first to do so since the great Maurice Richard thirty-six years earlier. Richard was on hand to congratulate Bossy for achieving that milestone. He recorded nine hat tricks that season, establishing an NHL-record (later broken by Gretzky).

Bossy was also known for being able to score goals in remarkable fashion, the most incredible, perhaps, in the 1982 Stanley Cup finals against Vancouver when, up-ended by a check and several feet in the air, parallel to the ice, Bossy nonetheless managed to hook the puck with his stick and score.

Bossy earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1982, and scored 17 goals in three straight playoffs -- 1981, 1982, and 1983 -- the only player ever to do so. In reaching the Stanley Cup Finals five times, between 1980 and 1984, Bossy scored 69 goals. By contrast, in Gretzky's five Stanley Cup Finals playoffs during his peak years with the Edmonton Oilers, he scored 59 goals.

Bossy played on a line with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies. Bossy was noted for his clean play, never resorting to fighting, and winning the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play three times: 1983, 1984, and 1986. Also notable about Bossy's game was his strong defensive play which enabled him to be on regular penalty-killing duty; this distinguished him from Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Bossy has harbored some animosity towards Gretzky and the Oilers, stating that the Islanders got little recognition for their dynasty (1980-1983) compared to the Montreal Canadiens (1976-1979) or Edmonton Oilers (1984-1990). The dominant scoring star of the late 1970s was Guy Lafleur but his skills waned in the 1980s. In 1982, Bossy set scoring records for right-wingers with 83 assists and 147 points in 80 games (Jaromir Jagr would break both records with 87 assists and 149 points in the 82-game 1995-1996 season). Though Bossy also won the Stanley Cup and the Smythe Trophy, far more attention was given to Gretzky who not only won the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy, but also shattered scoring records with an unheard of 212 points and 92 goals. Although the Islanders swept the Oilers in the 1983 final to win a fourth consecutive championship, Gretzky and his Oilers still received the most attention.

The Islanders made a fifth consecutive Stanley Cup final in 1984 but they were outmatched by the Oilers who defeated them 4 games to 1. Bossy, who had scored 8 goals after the first three rounds of the playoffs (and 17 goals in the past three consecutive postseasons), was silenced completely in the final. Afterwards, the Islanders would slowly decline, while injuries would take their toll on Bossy's back.

Bossy earned 5 First Team All-Star selections, one of only four right wings ever to do so, again a notable achievement considering that the other three had much longer careers (Gordie Howe - 26 years; Maurice Richard - 18 years; Guy Lafleur - 17 years).

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. His #22 jersey was retired by the Islanders on March 3, 1992. In 1998, he was ranked number 20 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, despite having an injury-shortened career.

In 2005, Bossy made a cameo appearance on the fourth sequel to the French Canadian classic movie Les Boys, playing himself.

On October 13th, 2006, the Islanders held a news conference to announce that Bossy had rejoined the organization, working with the front office in sponsor and fan development. [1]


[edit] Career Statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1972-73 Laval QMJHL 4 1 2 3 0 -- -- -- -- --
1973-74 Laval QMJHL 68 70 48 118 45 11 6 16 22 2
1974-75 Laval QMJHL 67 84 65 149 42 16 18 20 38 2
1975-76 Laval QMJHL 64 79 57 136 25 -- -- -- -- --
1976-77 Laval QMJHL 61 75 51 126 12 7 5 5 10 12
1977-78 Islanders NHL 73 53 38 91 6 7 2 2 4 2
1978-79 Islanders NHL 80 69 57 126 25 10 6 2 8 2
1979-80 Islanders NHL 75 51 41 92 12 16 10 13 23 8
1980-81 Islanders NHL 79 68 51 119 32 18 17 18 35 4
1981-82 Islanders NHL 80 64 83 147 22 19 17 10 27 0
1982-83 Islanders NHL 79 60 58 118 20 19 17 9 26 10
1983-84 Islanders NHL 67 51 67 118 8 21 8 10 18 4
1984-85 Islanders NHL 76 58 59 117 38 10 5 6 11 4
1985-86 Islanders NHL 80 61 62 123 14 3 1 2 3 4
1986-87 Islanders NHL 63 38 37 75 33 6 2 3 5 2
NHL Totals 752 573 553 1126 210 129 85 75 160 38

[edit] See Also

[edit] External links

Preceded by:
Butch Goring		 Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy
1982		 Succeeded by:
Billy Smith
Preceded by:
Danny Gare, Charlie Simmer, Blaine Stoughton		 NHL Goal Leader
1981		 Succeeded by:
Wayne Gretzky
Preceded by:
Guy Lafleur		 NHL Goal Leader
1979		 Succeeded by:
Danny Gare, Charlie Simmer, Blaine Stoughton
Preceded by:
Willi Plett		 Winner of the Calder Trophy
1978		 Succeeded by:
Bobby Smith
Preceded by:
Rick Middleton		 Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1983, 1984		 Succeeded by:
Jari Kurri
Preceded by:
Jari Kurri		 Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1986		 Succeeded by:
Joe Mullen
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