Great Hockey Players RIP

[Charles Martel]

One of the greatest goaltenders of all time, Tony Esposito, has died of cancer.

 

[Flint]

A great player from a great hockey family. Sorry to hear another "hero" from my childhood gone.

 

[Charles Martel]

And now Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert has passed away at the age of 80. Gilbert is the New York Rangers franchise leader in goals (406) and the only Rangers player with over 1,000 points. Gilbert's #7 was also the first retired number in franchise history.

 

[Charles Martel]

Another New York Ranger from yesteryear, Emile Francis, has now died. He was an NHL goaltender, later a coach and General Manager.

 

[Charles Martel]

 

[Don Wassall]

Very sad news. Mike Bossy was an unparalleled sniper and goal scoring machine. He played just 10 NHL seasons yet scored 573 goals, simply fantastic and no one else is close to his 57.3 goals per season. RIP to an under-appreciated all-time great.

 

[white is right]

A lot of teams whiffed on Bossy as he was only a late first round pick, he was viewed as not rugged enough to take the rugged play of the late 70's. Bossy was the most prolific scorer in the history of the NHL and was a quiet leader. In this tribute to Bossy they mentioned Gillies, Bossy and Jean Potvin(brother of Denis) died within the last year or so.

 

[Don Wassall]

And now all-time great Guy Lafleur is gone at the age of 70. Lafleur was the dominant NHL player of the 1970s and was on 5 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup winners. RIP

 

[white is right]

And now all-time great Guy Lafleur is gone at the age of 70. Lafleur was the dominant NHL player of the 1970s and was on 5 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup winners. RIP

He was the most dynamic player of his era(once Orr had shot knees). He was fast and had a flair for the dramatic but injuries slowed him down in the 80's and he retired early like Bossy did but Guy launched a comeback as a Ranger and then had two seasons as a Nordique to finish off his career. Sad news, especially about a week after Bossy's death.

 

[Charles Martel]

Guy Lafleur was the fastest skater I've ever watched in person, one of the greatest talents ever in hockey.



TWO LEGENDS:

 

[Charles Martel]

Eric Nesterenko and Larry Hillman have passed away in their 80s.

Both had long NHL careers from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Nesterenko won a Stanley Cup championship with Chicago in 1961.

Hillman has his name on 6 Stanley Cups, one with Detroit, one with Montreal and four with Toronto.

 

[Charles Martel]

RIP Anders Börje Salming

 

[white is right]

RIP Anders Börje Salming

My favorite Leaf from his era, sad news and some what shocking as many people with ALS live many years before they succumb to the disease.

 

[Don Wassall]

Ken Dryden was the brilliant goalie of the powerhouse 1970s Montreal Canadiens. He helped lead them to six Stanley Cups that decade. Tall at 6' 4" and an intellectual, Dryden retired after a short eight year career and was elected to the hockey Hall of Fame. RIP

More on Dryden's life: https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/the-montreal-canadiens-mourn-the-passing-of-ken-dryden

 

[backrow]

Ken Dryden was the brilliant goalie of the powerhouse 1970s Montreal Canadiens. He helped lead them to six Stanley Cups that decade. Tall at 6' 4" and an intellectual, Dryden retired after a short eight year career and was elected to the hockey Hall of Fame. RIP

More on Dryden's life: https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/the-montreal-canadiens-mourn-the-passing-of-ken-dryden

View attachment 4873

Before my time but I always liked him. I started my athletic endeavors as a goalie and have a poster of him in his white mask on my wall.