Tony Tanti
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Tony Tanti (born September 7, 1963 in Toronto, Canada) was a professional ice hockey player. He was a right winger and played in the National Hockey League.
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[edit] Playing career
Tony Tanti still holds the Ontario Hockey League rookie record for goals, scoring 81 in 1980-81 with the Oshawa Generals. He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as the 12th overall pick in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, but was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for feared fighter and able scorer Curt Fraser during the 1982-83 season.
As a junior with Oshawa, Tanti had broken scoring records set earlier by Wayne Gretzky, and Vancouver fans were hoping he'd bring that scoring touch to the west coast. He did. In his first full season as a Canuck (1983-84), he set a new club record with 45 goals and added 41 assists for 86 points. He followed that up with 39, 39, 41 and 40-goal seasons, respectively. In eight seasons with the Canucks, Tanti totalled 250 goals and 220 assists for 470 points - to this day remaining fifth overall in team scoring, and continuing to lead in career power play goals with 102.
At the height of his game, Tanti was one of the most feared snipers in the league. At just 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m), 180 pounds (82 kg), he had a knack for eluding opposing checkers and darting around defensemen. He was named the Canucks' most exciting player five years in a row (1983-84 through 1987-88), led the team in goals for five straight years starting in 1983-84, and was selected to play in the 1984 and 1986 NHL All-Star games. (He was unable to play in 1984 due to injury. However, in 1986, he played on a line with Denis Savard and Mark Messier, and scored the first goal of the event.) He was named Canucks team MVP for the 1987-88 season, and was also chosen to play for Canada at four consecutive World Championships (1 Junior and 3 Elite) beginning in 1984.
Tanti concluded his NHL career with brief stints in Pittsburgh and Buffalo and then found new success playing for six seasons in Berlin, Germany. He has now retired from the game and resides in West Vancouver, working as an agent for a wholesale flooring business. In his spare time, he coaches youth hockey alongside former Canucks teammate Dave Babych.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1979-80 | St. Michael's Buzzers | OHA-B | 37 | 31 | 27 | 58 | 67 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1980-81 | Oshawa Generals | OHA | 67 | 81 | 69 | 150 | 197 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 41 | ||
| 1981-82 | Oshawa Generals | OHA | 57 | 62 | 64 | 126 | 138 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 15 | ||
| 1981-82 | Chicago | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1982-83 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 30 | 34 | 28 | 62 | 35 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1982-83 | Chicago | NHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1982-83 | Vancouver | NHL | 39 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1983-84 | Vancouver | NHL | 79 | 45 | 41 | 86 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1983-84 | Canada | WJC-A | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1984-85 | Vancouver | NHL | 68 | 39 | 20 | 59 | 45 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1984-85 | Canada | WEC-A | 10 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 21 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1985-86 | Vancouver | NHL | 77 | 39 | 33 | 72 | 85 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 1985-86 | Canada | WEC-A | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1986-87 | Vancouver | NHL | 77 | 41 | 38 | 79 | 84 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1986-87 | Canada | WEC-A | 10 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1987-88 | Vancouver | NHL | 73 | 40 | 37 | 77 | 90 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1988-89 | Vancouver | NHL | 77 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 69 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1989-90 | Vancouver | NHL | 41 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989-90 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 37 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | Pittsburgh | NHL | 46 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 44 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | Buffalo | NHL | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1991-92 | Buffalo | NHL | 70 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 100 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1992-93 | BSC Preussen Berlin | 1.GBun | 34 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 73 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | BSC Preussen Berlin | 1.GBun | 41 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 44 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | BSC Preussen Berlin | DEL | 42 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 114 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1995-96 | Berlin Devils | DEL | 43 | 32 | 28 | 60 | 56 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | Berlin Capitals | DEL | 43 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | Berlin Capitals | EuroHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997-98 | Berlin Capitals | DEL | 41 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 84 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 697 | 287 | 273 | 560 | 661 | 30 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 27 | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Categories: 1963 births | Buffalo Sabres players | Canadian ice hockey players | Chicago Blackhawks players | Deutsche Eishockey-Liga players | Living people | Maltese Canadians | Oshawa Generals alumni | Pittsburgh Penguins players | People from Toronto | Vancouver Canucks players | National Hockey League first round draft picks
