John Tonelli

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John Tonelli
Born (1957-03-23) March 23, 1957
Milton, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 01 in (1.85 m)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Houston Aeros
New York Islanders
Calgary Flames
Los Angeles Kings
Chicago Blackhawks
Quebec Nordiques
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 33rd overall, 1977
New York Islanders
Playing career 19751992

John A. Tonelli (born March 23, 1957)[1] is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He was a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the New York Islanders, and also played with the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League.

Career

In 1982 and 1985, Tonelli was a second team All-Star left wing for the Islanders. He played in the Stanley Cup finals in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984 with the Islanders, winning four championships in the process, and made an additional appearance as runner-up in the Cup finals in 1986 with the Flames.

On May 24, 1980, Tonelli had the assist on Bob Nystrom's overtime Stanley Cup-winning goal against the Philadelphia Flyers, giving the Islanders their first of four straight Cups. In Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum, Lorne Henning stole the puck at center ice, passed to Tonelli, who then criss-crossed with Nystrom, feeding him the puck on Nystrom's backhand for the winning goal at 7:11 of overtime. It was a play the two had perfected during practice.

Tonelli was a gritty forward with a never-say-die attitude for The New York Islanders who won four straight Stanley Cups. Tonelli, who was affectionately dubbed "The Greasy Jet" by his teammates, is remembered for scoring important "clutch goals" in the Islanders' run of four straight Stanley Cups and five straight finals appearances, particularly during the 1981-82 season. During the playoffs that year, The Islanders were five minutes away from being eliminated by a much weaker Pittsburgh Penguin team, trailing 3-1 in the deciding game. Tonelli assisted on a Mike McEwen goal that closed the champions within one goal, and tied the game himself with 2:21 to play. For an encore, it was John Tonelli that scored in overtime to win the game for the Islanders, thus extending their long reign as Stanley Cup champions.

Tonelli also scored the winning goal in a February 20, 1982 game against the Colorado Rockies, beating former teammate Chico Resch with just 47 seconds to play to allow the Islanders to set an NHL record (since broken) with their fifteenth consecutive victory.

Tonelli was one of the first players to challenge the Ontario Hockey Association and the Toronto Marlies OHA team, with which he had signed a contract at age 16. As he reached age 18 the WHA's Houston team offered him a contract, but his contract with the Marlies tied him to the OHA team for three years plus and option. Tonelli refused to play for Toronto in the playoffs after he turned 18, so that it would not imperil his legal arguments. Tonelli's agent Gus Badali sued the Marlies and the OHA and eventually the Ontario Courts ruled that the contract was unenforceable because Tonelli had been under the age 18 when he signed it (and his parents had not signed it). Tonelli's teammate, future NHLer John Anderson followed this same lead, sitting out for a period, but eventually returned to lead Toronto in the Memorial Cup.[2]

He was known for being virtually unbeatable in digging out the puck in the corners of the rink; however, Tonelli also had an excellent shot, was a good passer, and had excellent timing both offensively and defensively. Tonelli was also very versatile. During his eight seasons with the Islanders, coach Al Arbour used Tonelli on the famed "Banana Line" with Wayne Merrick and Bob Nystrom, on the top line with Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, and later he played flank for Brent Sutter and Patrick Flatley.

Although Tonelli played a key role in the four Cup victories the team won from 1980 to 1983, in some ways his career culminated in the fall of 1984 when he played for Canada in the Canada Cup, an invitation he almost turned down. He not only made the team, he had nine points, including a key assist on Mike Bossy's goal in overtime of the semifinal. Canada won the championship and Tonelli was named the tournament's best player, winning the 1984 Canada Cup MVP award.

He then rejoined the Islanders and had his best season ever, scoring 42 goals and 100 points in 1984-1985 before being traded to the Calgary Flames during the 85-86 season. The Flames, with Tonelli's experience, reached the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.

Tonelli finished his 1028-game NHL career with 325 goals and 511 assists for 836 points.

Other

The John Tonelli Arena in Milton, Ontario is named in his honour. He currently resides in New York City, working for Fidelity National Financial. His older brother Ray was also a hockey player.

Awards

  • OMJHL First All-Star Team (1975)
  • Most valuable player of the 1984 Canada Cup tournament.
  • Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1982 and 1985

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1973–74Toronto MarlborosOHA6918375562
1974–75Toronto MarlborosOMJHL70498613585
1975–76Houston AerosWHA791417316617771418
1976–77Houston AerosWHA802431551091134712
1977–78Houston AerosWHA6523416410361348
1978–79New York IslandersNHL7317395644101670
1979–80New York IslandersNHL771430444921791618
1980–81New York IslandersNHL702032525716581316
1981–82New York IslandersNHL8035589357196101618
1982–83New York IslandersNHL7631407155207111820
1983–84New York IslandersNHL73274067661713431
1984–85New York IslandersNHL804258100951018910
1985–86New York IslandersNHL6520416150
1985–86Calgary FlamesNHL93471022791649
1986–87Calgary FlamesNHL782031517230004
1987–88Calgary FlamesNHL741741588462578
1988–89Los Angeles KingsNHL7131336411060008
1989–90Los Angeles KingsNHL7331376862101236
1990–91Los Angeles KingsNHL71141630491224612
1991–92Chicago BlackhawksNHL3317837
1991–92Quebec NordiquesNHL1924614
NHL totals 1028 325 511 836 911 172 40 75 115 200

See also

References

  1. Cole, Stephen (2006). The Canadian Hockey Atlas. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 978-0-385-66093-8 (0-385-66093-6) Check |isbn= value (help). 
  2. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=170yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s-0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3634%2C469331

External links

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