Phil Esposito (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #14)
Adjusted Stats
1963-1964 Chi 32 GP 4 goals 2 assists 6 points 0.22 PPG
1964-1965 Chi 82 GP 29 goals 40 assists 69 points 0.84 PPG
1965-1966 Chi 81 GP 32 goals 30 assists 63 points 0.78 PPG
1966-1967 Chi 81 GP 26 goals 48 assists 74 points 0.91 PPG
1967-1968 Bos 82 GP 43 goals 60 assists 103 points 1.26 PPG
1968-1969 Bos 80 GP 55 goals 85 assists 140 points 1.76 PPG
1969-1970 Bos* 82 GP 49 goals 64 assists 113 points 1.38 PPG
1970-1971 Bos 82 GP 79 goals 79 assists 158 points 1.92 PPG
1971-1972 Bos* 80 GP 69 goals 70 assists 140 points 1.75 PPG
1972-1973 Bos 82 GP 55 goals 74 assists 128 points 1.56 PPG
1973-1974 Bos 82 GP 68 goals 78 assists 147 points 1.79 PPG
1974-1975 Bos 81 GP 56 goals 60 assists 117 points 1.44 PPG
1975-1976 Bos/NYR 76 GP 33 goals 44 assists 77 points 1.01 PPG
1976-1977 NYR 82 GP 32 goals 44 assists 76 points 0.93 PPG
1977-1978 NYR 81 GP 36 goals 41 assists 78 points 0.96 PPG
1978-1979 NYR 82 GP 38 goals 33 assists 71 points 0.86 PPG
1979-1980 NYR 82 GP 31 goals 39 assists 70 points 0.85 PPG
1980-1981 NYR 42 GP 6 goals 10 assists 16 points 0.39 PPG
Adjusted Playoff Stats
1963-1964 Chi 4 GP 0 goals 0 assists 0 points 0.00 PPG
1964-1965 Chi 13 GP 3 goals 3 assists 7 points 0.50 PPG
1965-1966 Chi 6 GP 1 goal 1 assist 2 points 0.35 PPG
1966-1967 Chi 6 GP 0 goals 0 assists 0 points 0.00 PPG
1967-1968 Bos 4 GP 0 goals 3 assists 3 points 0.75 PPG
1968-1969 Bos 10 GP 8 goals 10 assists 18 points 1.78 PPG
1969-1970 Bos* 14 GP 12 goals 13 assists 25 points 1.79 PPG
1970-1971 Bos 7 GP 3 goals 6 assists 9 points 1.31 PPG
1971-1972 Bos* 15 GP 8 goals 14 assists 22 points 1.49 PPG
1972-1973 Bos 2 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.44 PPG
1973-1974 Bos 16 GP 9 goals 5 assists 14 points 0.85 PPG
1974-1975 Bos 3 GP 4 goals 1 assist 5 points 1.53 PPG
1977-1978 NYR 3 GP 0 goals 1 assist 1 point 0.32 PPG
1978-1979 NYR 18 GP 7 goals 11 assists 18 points 1.01 PPG
1979-1980 NYR 9 GP 3 goals 3 assists 5 points 0.57 PPG
Career - 1372 GP, 741 goals, 901 assists, 1646 points, 1.20 PPG
Career-Highs - 79 goals (70-71); 79 assists (70-71); 158 points (70-71); 1.92 PPG (70-71)
Avg. (18 seasons) - 76 GP, 41 goals, 50 assists, 91 points, 1.20 PPG
Peak Avg. (67-75) - 81 GP, 59 goals, 71 assists, 131 points, 1.61 PPG, 2 Cups
Playoff Career - 130 GP, 58 goals, 72 assists, 130 points, 1.00 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 12 goals (69-70); 14 assists (71-72); 25 points (69-70); 1.79 PPG (69-70)
Accolades - 2 MVP awards, 5 Art Ross
All-Star Teams - 6-time 1st-team, 2-time 2nd-team
2-time Stanley Cup Champion
We see Phil Esposito now on commercials with Frank D'Angelo, or remember his failed stint as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and perhaps begin to think of him as a little bit of a joke. It's the George Foreman syndrome: people think about the modern incarnation and forget how dominant these guys were as youngsters.
But don't make that mistake with Esposito. Here's something that may shock you: in terms of adjusted numbers, Phil Esposito holds the record for most goals in a season...not Wayne Gretzky (I'm not counting the pre-1930s numbers of Howie Morenz, Bill Cook, etc). Esposito's 76 in 1970-1971 absolutely shattered the previous record and was head-and-shoulders above anyone else's total that year. The next closest goal scorer that year was his Boston teammate John Bucyk, with 51...I guess someone had to pot all of those passes from Orr (by comparison, the year Gretzky potted 92 was the highest-scoring season in NHL history...Mike Bossy scored 64 and Dennis Maruk scored 60).
Another somewhat surprising fact: no one aside from Wayne Gretzky has a better "peak average" than Esposito, and that peak is easy to see, from 1967 to 1975. Over those eight years, Espo scored more total goals than anyone (again, post-1935) ever has...a staggering average of 59 per season. Throw in 131 points and a PPG average of 1.61, and you see that Esposito was no mere passenger on the Bobby Orr Express.
Still...with Espo, there was always the question of how much his success was correlated to Orr's greatness. And certainly, it can be no coincidence that Esposito's peak average of 1967-1975 begins exactly when Orr came into the league and blossomed and ends exactly when Orr was essentially finished from injuries. But I've always viewed the "he owes his success to x" arguments as somewhat thin...they were leveled at Martin Brodeur early in his career ("he's the product of a great defence"), until Brodeur proved to be one of the best goalies of all-time. And in a different sport, they were also brought up against Tom Brady ("any quarterback could succeed in that system"), and we all know how those arguments turned out.
So, yes, Esposito benefited from Orr, just as Kurri benefited from Gretzky. But somebody had to finish those passes from Orr...Esposito was the best at it. Having seen some Bruins games on ESPN classic or the NHL network, I'm surprised by how much Esposito reminds me of one of today's stars, Evgeni Malkin. Neither player has/had blazing speed, but they are both huge, physical presences who have a gliding style. But even more so than Malkin, Esposito was known for his Andreychuk-like ability to score "garbage" goals in the slot. A popular bumper sticker in Boston during Esposito's time read "Jesus saves. Esposito scores on the rebound."
Indeed he did...fifth all-time in adjusted goals, eighth in points, two Cups, two MVP awards, the captain of the famous Team Canada team that participated in the Summit Series (and the Series' leading scorer as well). Perhaps he played in the shadow of Orr, but Esposito still remains one of the finest centers the league has seen.
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