WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.339 Imagine standing directly in front of a heavily 00:00:02.339 --> 00:00:04.900 padded goaltender. Okay, setting the scene. Right. 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:08.380 And you're trying to track this tiny piece of 00:00:08.380 --> 00:00:11.080 vulcanized rubber flying around the ice. All 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:14.240 while massive angry defensemen are actively trying 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.539 to cross -check you into next week. Exactly. 00:00:16.539 --> 00:00:19.239 You are taking an absolute physical beating, 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:22.859 shift after shift, and all of this just to tap 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:25.539 a puck into a net. Yeah, it's brutal. It is. 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:28.359 But that is the exact space where today's subject 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:31.500 made is living. Welcome to the Deep Dive. Glad 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:33.960 to be here. We are pulling from a really comprehensive 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:37.359 biographical profile of Phil Esposito today. 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:40.799 This is a kid from an Ontario steel town who 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:43.159 didn't just, you know, break NHL records. He 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:45.439 completely shattered them. He really did. And 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:47.520 then he went on to fundamentally shape the modern 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:49.390 business of hockey. which we'll definitely get 00:00:49.390 --> 00:00:51.270 into. It is quite the visual you started with, 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:52.770 though, and I think it's important because it's 00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:55.329 so contrary to what we often celebrate in modern 00:00:55.329 --> 00:00:57.350 hockey. Right, the highlight reels. Exactly. 00:00:58.009 --> 00:01:01.549 Today, the NHL is defined by this high -scoring, 00:01:01.549 --> 00:01:05.469 flashy, end -to -end play. Players rely on elite 00:01:05.469 --> 00:01:08.370 edge work and pure speed. Yeah, but Esposito 00:01:08.370 --> 00:01:11.000 was... He was different. Completely different. 00:01:11.060 --> 00:01:13.319 The legacy we are examining today was built through 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:17.060 sheer brute force, just absolute perfect positioning 00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:20.700 and this unapologetic emotional fire that really 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:24.140 defined the 1970s era of the sport. And that 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:25.780 actually brings up a great question for you listening 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:29.140 right now. Have you ever found a niche so perfectly 00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:32.500 suited to your skills that you just became completely 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:34.900 unstoppable? Because that's exactly what Esposito 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:37.159 did, both on the ice and, as we'll see later, 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:40.459 in the boardroom. Yeah. But to understand how 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:43.599 he engineered that kind of dominance, we have 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:45.599 to look at the foundation. We have to go back 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:48.359 to Salt St. Marie, Ontario. The environment he 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:51.060 grew up in is absolutely crucial to understanding 00:01:51.060 --> 00:01:53.879 his tolerance for that physical grind. Sault 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:56.260 Ste. Marie was this tough, working -class steel 00:01:56.260 --> 00:01:58.280 mill town. Right, he was born there in 1942. 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:01.579 Yeah, and his father, Pat, actually quit school 00:02:01.579 --> 00:02:04.299 as a teenager just to work in those local mills. 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:07.219 The work ethic in that house was absolute. I 00:02:07.219 --> 00:02:09.219 read in the sources his father built their family 00:02:09.219 --> 00:02:13.490 home from scratch. For, like... $3 ,000. And 00:02:13.490 --> 00:02:16.789 paid it off entirely in six years. Wow. That 00:02:16.789 --> 00:02:20.270 relentless, grinding approach to life was just 00:02:20.270 --> 00:02:22.590 the baseline normal for the Esposito family. 00:02:22.830 --> 00:02:24.909 Which naturally bled into how he and his brother 00:02:24.909 --> 00:02:28.009 Tony approached hockey. And Tony, of course, 00:02:28.009 --> 00:02:30.189 went on to become a Hall of Fame goaltender himself. 00:02:30.509 --> 00:02:33.409 Right. They learned the game on frozen outdoor 00:02:33.409 --> 00:02:36.349 ponds in those freezing Canadian winters. It 00:02:36.349 --> 00:02:38.229 wasn't about fancy development camps back then. 00:02:38.349 --> 00:02:41.069 Not at all. It was about... surviving the cold 00:02:41.069 --> 00:02:43.729 and simply outworking the guy next to you. And 00:02:43.729 --> 00:02:46.169 that grit definitely served him well when he 00:02:46.169 --> 00:02:48.289 signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as a teenager. 00:02:48.569 --> 00:02:51.900 Yeah. By the 1960s, he was up in the NHL. He 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:54.020 was centering a line for the legendary Bobby 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:56.639 Hall. Which sounds like a dream scenario. It 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:58.939 was. He was a highly effective playmaker, putting 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:01.860 up really solid numbers. He had a 61 -point season 00:03:01.860 --> 00:03:05.080 and even helped Chicago reach the 1965 Stanley 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:08.060 Cup final. But the tactical system in Chicago 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:10.919 just didn't fully leverage his specific physical 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:13.599 attributes. Right. He was a good player, but 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:16.560 he wasn't yet that architectural force of nature 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:19.280 he would eventually become. That transformation 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:23.199 required... A change of scenery. A very big change 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:25.879 of scenery. A monumental blockbuster trade in 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:30.139 1967. Chicago sent him, along with Ken Hodge 00:03:30.139 --> 00:03:34.000 and Fred Stanfield, to the Boston Bruins. Okay, 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:36.099 let's unpack this. Let's do it. To understand 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:38.639 why this trade literally changed hockey history, 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:41.840 we have to look at how Esposito actively changed 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:43.979 the geometry of the offensive zone. The Willie 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:47.300 Sutton analogy is perfect. Yes. He is often described 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:50.569 as the Willie Sutton of hockey. Sutton famously 00:03:50.569 --> 00:03:52.870 robbed banks because, well, that's where the 00:03:52.870 --> 00:03:56.210 money was. Esposito parked his massive 6 '1", 00:03:56.210 --> 00:03:59.990 215 -pound frame dead center in the slot because 00:03:59.990 --> 00:04:01.949 that's where the goals were. What's fascinating 00:04:01.949 --> 00:04:04.370 here is the tactical evolution that positioning 00:04:04.370 --> 00:04:06.789 represented. You have to remember, in the late 00:04:06.789 --> 00:04:09.449 60s and early 70s, the crease rules were not 00:04:09.449 --> 00:04:11.789 strictly enforced the way they are today. It 00:04:11.789 --> 00:04:14.240 was the Wild West in front of the net. Exactly. 00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:17.000 And goaltenders predominantly used a stand -up 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.680 style, which left the lower half of the net totally 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:22.740 vulnerable to rebounds. So Esposito sees this 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:26.379 inefficiency. Yes. He realized that... If he 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:29.019 could physically establish real estate in that 00:04:29.019 --> 00:04:31.420 high danger area between the face -off circles, 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:34.500 he didn't need to be the fastest skater. He just 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:37.339 needed to be immovable. Precisely. He would fight 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:39.800 for that free ice against incredibly frustrated 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:43.459 defenders. He used his long reach and just incredible 00:04:43.459 --> 00:04:46.399 upper body strength to shield the puck. And once 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:48.459 he got it on his stick in that zone... It was 00:04:48.459 --> 00:04:51.100 going on net. Guaranteed. I love his own quote 00:04:51.100 --> 00:04:53.120 from the sources summarizing this whole strategy. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:56.139 He said, scoring is easy. You simply stand in 00:04:56.139 --> 00:04:58.379 the slot, take your beating, and shoot the puck 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:00.860 into the net. It sounds so simple when he says 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:03.980 it. It does, but the physical toll of taking 00:05:03.980 --> 00:05:06.079 that beating is what kept literally everyone 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:08.720 else from doing it. It perfectly encapsulates 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:11.300 his philosophy, though. Success isn't always 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:14.379 pretty or graceful. Sometimes achieving your 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:16.980 goal is quite literally just about enduring the 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:19.620 friction and the punishment better than the competition. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:21.779 Because they were allowed to punish him. Oh, 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:25.040 absolutely. He would withstand absolute floggings 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.220 from penalty -killing defensemen. They were allowed 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:29.500 to use their sticks like lumberjack axes back 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:31.980 then. And he still managed to get his shots off. 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:34.560 And that. willingness to endure the friction 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.980 completely revolutionized his production. I mean, 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:41.459 in his very first year in Boston, he hit 35 goals 00:05:41.459 --> 00:05:45.519 and led the team in scoring. But the 1968 -69 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:48.100 season is where he completely rewrote the history 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:50.699 books. Yeah. He became the first player in the 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:53.939 history of the NHL to score 100 points in a single 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:56.399 season. The very first. And he didn't just edge 00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:01.060 past the milestone. he finished with 126 points. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:03.660 Breaking the 100 -point barrier at that time 00:06:03.660 --> 00:06:05.920 was like breaking the four -minute mile. It was 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:07.899 a psychological ceiling as much as a physical 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:11.019 one. And once he shattered it, he completely 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:13.459 recalibrated what was considered a successful 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:15.819 season for a top -tier forward in the league. 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:18.680 Here's where it gets really interesting. Two 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:22.759 years later, during the 1970 -71 season, he put 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:25.079 up numbers that look like they belong in a video 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:29.220 game. Oh, the 71 stats are just absurd. He scored 00:06:29.220 --> 00:06:33.000 76 goals and 152 points. He was averaging nearly 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:36.079 a goal every single game. To put that 76 goal 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.959 record in perspective, it stood untouched for 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:42.300 over a decade. It required a generational anomaly 00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:45.540 named Dwayne Gretzky to finally break it in 1982. 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:48.199 Which is saying something. And it's really worth 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:50.779 noting the character Esposito showed in that 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:53.819 moment. He actually traveled to Buffalo to personally 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:56.839 hand Gretzky the game puck when the record was 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.800 broken. That's a classy move. But, you know, 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:02.379 the goals alone don't tell the full story of 00:07:02.379 --> 00:07:05.060 the physical dominance required in that 71 season. 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:07.240 We really have to look at the volume. The shot 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.009 volume. Yeah. How do you even put up 550 shots 00:07:10.009 --> 00:07:13.430 on goal in a single season when opposing defenses 00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:16.009 know exactly what you're trying to do? That 550 00:07:16.009 --> 00:07:19.009 shot record is arguably more unbreakable than 00:07:19.009 --> 00:07:21.350 the goal record. Really? More unbreakable than 00:07:21.350 --> 00:07:25.339 76 goals? Definitely. To understand why, you 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:27.680 have to look at how defensive systems have evolved 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:31.040 since then. Today, teams play heavily layered 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.300 zone defenses. They utilize the trap, wingers 00:07:34.300 --> 00:07:37.139 collapse low to block shooting lanes. It's just 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:40.139 a wall of bodies now. Right. Furthermore, modern 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:42.220 butterfly goaltenders take away the bottom of 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:45.860 the net entirely. But in Esposito's era, defense 00:07:45.860 --> 00:07:48.699 was heavily man -to -man. Oh, okay. So if you 00:07:48.699 --> 00:07:50.699 could win the one -on -one physical battle in 00:07:50.699 --> 00:07:53.500 the slot, the lane was open. And he was taking 00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:56.160 almost seven shots a game? That is wild. Since 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:58.759 that season, only Alexander Ovechkin in 2008 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:01.600 has even come within 100 shots of that record. 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:03.540 And Ovechkin is considered one of the greatest 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:05.699 shooters ever. Exactly. And Ovechkin had the 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:08.459 benefit of an 82 -game schedule, whereas Esposito 00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:12.279 did it in 78 games. It requires just a terrifying 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.519 level of determination. He wasn't operating in 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:18.019 a vacuum, right? The Boston Bruins at this time 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:20.160 were an absolute juggernaut. They created an 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:22.600 ecosystem where this style of play could really 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:27.139 thrive. Historically dominant. In that 1970 -71 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:30.579 season, the top four scores in the entire league 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:34.059 were all Boston Bruins. It's hard to even fathom 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:37.159 that happening today. Esposito, Bobby Orr, Johnny 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:40.659 Busiek, and Ken Hodge finished 1, 2, 3, and 4 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:43.840 in league scoring. Bobby Orr was revolutionizing 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:46.159 how defensemen activated into the offensive rush. 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:48.799 So he was constantly feeding the puck down to 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.519 Esposito, who was revolutionizing the crease. 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.320 A perfect storm of tactical innovation. It really 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:57.000 was. And amazingly, they repeated that top four 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:01.340 scoring sweep again in the 1973 -74 season, with 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:03.700 Wayne Cashman taking that fourth spot. Boston 00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:05.899 absolutely worshipped him for it. He was the 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:08.440 ultimate cultural icon for a working class city. 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:10.700 He fit perfectly there. There was a famous bumper 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:12.559 sticker all over Boston at the time that simply 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:15.500 read, Jesus saves, Espo scores on the rebound. 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:18.259 That is incredible. It just highlights how perfectly 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:20.919 his gritty, hardworking style resonated with 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.200 the cultural identity of Boston. And he delivered 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:25.299 on that adoration, too. He brought them two Stanley 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:29.919 Cups in 1970 and 1972. Ending a 29 -year championship 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:32.740 drought for the franchise. And he brought the 00:09:32.740 --> 00:09:35.779 attitude to match the hardware. The trash talk 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:37.740 was legendary. Oh, he knew how to work the press. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:40.799 During the 1972 playoffs against the New York 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:44.220 Rangers, the Rangers won Game 5 to stave off 00:09:44.220 --> 00:09:47.649 elimination. The press asked Esposito for his 00:09:47.649 --> 00:09:50.789 reaction, and he famously fired back, If the 00:09:50.789 --> 00:09:52.190 Rangers think they're going to beat us in the 00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:54.470 next two games, they're full of Park spelled 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:57.429 backwards. Which is a very direct and public 00:09:57.429 --> 00:10:00.629 shot at Rangers star defenseman Brad Park. Classic. 00:10:00.830 --> 00:10:03.190 But the key to great trash talk is backing it 00:10:03.190 --> 00:10:05.970 up. And the Bruins eliminated the Rangers in 00:10:05.970 --> 00:10:08.269 Game 6, right there in Madison Square Garden. 00:10:08.470 --> 00:10:11.279 Brutal. However, his leadership and his emotional 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:14.240 fire weren't just reserved for Boston. If we 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:17.059 connect this to the bigger picture, 1972 was 00:10:17.059 --> 00:10:19.080 also the year of the Summit Series. Oh, right. 00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:21.379 Which really elevated him from a regional star 00:10:21.379 --> 00:10:24.580 to a true Canadian national hero. The Summit 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:27.299 Series pitting Team Canada against the Soviet 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:30.279 Union. Calling it a hockey tournament feels like 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:32.539 a massive understatement. Because it was much 00:10:32.539 --> 00:10:35.000 more than that. The geopolitical and cultural 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.899 weight of the summit series cannot be overstated. 00:10:38.019 --> 00:10:41.940 We are talking about the absolute height of the 00:10:41.940 --> 00:10:44.299 Cold War. It was basically ideologies playing 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:47.299 out on the ice. Precisely. The Soviets played 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:50.919 this beautiful, highly conditioned, weaving possession 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:54.679 game. Meanwhile, the Canadians played their traditional 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:58.539 physical dump and chase style. And Esposito was 00:10:58.539 --> 00:11:01.279 the emotional heartbeat of Team Canada. And that 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:04.139 heartbeat was completely exposed in Game 4 in 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:07.940 Vancouver. Team Canada lost 5 -3, and the Canadian 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:10.600 fans, who were totally shocked by the Soviet 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:13.019 dominance, actually started booing their own 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:15.340 team off the ice. Which prompted one of the most 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:17.519 defining moments in Canadian sports history. 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:20.580 Esposito was interviewed live on national television 00:11:20.580 --> 00:11:22.620 immediately after the game. Right on the ice, 00:11:22.700 --> 00:11:25.039 right. Right there. He was sweating, completely 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.000 physically exhausted, and he scolded the entire 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:30.879 country. Wow. He told the fans that if the situation 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.419 were reversed and Russian fans booed their players 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:35.960 in Moscow, personally apologize, but he didn't 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:37.940 think it would ever happen. He looked directly 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:40.539 into the camera and said, we came out here because 00:11:40.539 --> 00:11:43.379 we love Canada. I don't think it is fair that 00:11:43.379 --> 00:11:46.700 we should be booed. It was incredibly raw. You 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:49.360 rarely see athletes drop the PR filter like that, 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:51.419 especially on national television. What was the 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:54.860 fallout from calling out an entire nation's fan 00:11:54.860 --> 00:11:58.690 base like that? It acted as a psychological defibrillator 00:11:58.690 --> 00:12:01.190 for the team. It totally galvanized the locker 00:12:01.190 --> 00:12:04.070 room and completely shifted the momentum of the 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:07.029 series. Because they ended up winning. Yes. He 00:12:07.029 --> 00:12:10.309 went on to score or assist four times in the 00:12:10.309 --> 00:12:13.960 deciding Game 8 to win the series. He even won 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:16.320 the Lou Mars Trophy that year as Canada's outstanding 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:19.080 male athlete. Incredible. That tournament proved 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:21.179 he was far more than just a physical presence 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:23.700 in the slot. He was a leader capable of carrying 00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:26.600 the emotional weight of an entire nation. Which 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:30.299 makes the events of 1975 so incredibly jarring. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.720 After all the records, the Stanley Cups, the 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:35.259 absolute devotion to the Bruins. Boston traded 00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:37.919 him. Boston traded him. And the destination made 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:40.139 it infinitely worse. He was traded to the New 00:12:40.139 --> 00:12:42.929 York Rangers. The very team he used to relentlessly 00:12:42.929 --> 00:12:46.330 mock in the press. The Brad Park team. Yep. He 00:12:46.330 --> 00:12:49.110 and Carol Vadnes were sent to New York in a blockbuster 00:12:49.110 --> 00:12:52.350 deal for Brad Park, Joe Zanussi, and Gene Rattel. 00:12:52.769 --> 00:12:55.450 The story of how he found out is just brutal. 00:12:56.409 --> 00:12:58.929 Don Cherry, who was the Bruins' head coach at 00:12:58.929 --> 00:13:01.649 the time, went to Esposito's hotel room to break 00:13:01.649 --> 00:13:04.190 the news. That couldn't have been a fun conversation. 00:13:04.210 --> 00:13:07.429 No. Esposito's immediate reaction was sheer denial. 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:10.519 He told Cherry, please don't say it's New York, 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.639 please, because if you do, I am going to jump 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:15.840 out the window. He was devastated to leave the 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:18.820 city he helped define. It was a profound heartbreak 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:22.019 trade. But true to the exact nature that made 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:23.980 him successful in the slot in the first place, 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:27.000 he endured the friction and adapted. You really 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.539 did. He was named captain of the Rangers. And 00:13:29.539 --> 00:13:31.799 while he wasn't putting up 150 points anymore, 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:34.679 his positioning and hockey IQ allowed him to 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:37.220 remain their leading scorer for every full season 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:39.720 he played in New York. He even scored his 600th 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:43.600 career NHL goal in a Rangers uniform. That made 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.100 him only the third player in history to reach 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:48.000 that milestone at the time. It's an elite club. 00:13:48.409 --> 00:13:52.110 And he led them all the way to the 1979 Stanley 00:13:52.110 --> 00:13:55.730 Cup finals at 37 years old. Still producing. 00:13:55.950 --> 00:13:58.470 He finally recognized it was time to step away 00:13:58.470 --> 00:14:02.409 midway through the 1980 -81 season. He noticed 00:14:02.409 --> 00:14:04.490 the franchise shifting toward a youth movement. 00:14:04.710 --> 00:14:08.450 His final game on January 9th, 1981 against the 00:14:08.450 --> 00:14:11.549 Buffalo Sabres was a deeply emotional sendoff. 00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:14.200 I can imagine. Both teams lined up on the ice. 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:16.580 He skated out to center ice at Madison Square 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:19.000 Garden, tossed his gloves back to the bench, 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:22.259 and the sellout crowd chanted, Espo, Espo, for 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:24.879 nearly four straight minutes. Four minutes of 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:27.580 just cheering. Even the legendary Gordie Howe 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:29.759 was in attendance to pay his respects to a man 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:32.500 who at the time was second only to Howe in all 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:34.960 -time goals and points. It's a perfect cinematic 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:37.720 ending to a playing career. But what's truly 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:40.240 wild about his biography is that his impact on 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:42.879 the NHL was arguably only half over. The second 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:45.179 act. Exactly. He transitions into the Trader 00:14:45.179 --> 00:14:47.580 Phil era. He takes over as general manager and 00:14:47.580 --> 00:14:50.919 head coach of the Rangers from 1986 to 1989. 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:53.919 How did his playing style translate to the front 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:57.090 office? Honestly, he treated managing a roster 00:14:57.090 --> 00:14:59.870 very much like he treated the slot. Aggressive, 00:15:00.129 --> 00:15:02.629 impatient, and forceful. Hence the nickname, 00:15:02.929 --> 00:15:06.610 Trader Phil. Right. He earned that nickname because 00:15:06.610 --> 00:15:09.269 he was constantly making sweeping moves to try 00:15:09.269 --> 00:15:12.120 and win immediately. During his short tenure 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:15.299 as GM, he executed more trades than the Vancouver 00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:17.899 Canucks had made in the entire decade of the 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:21.039 1980s. That is a staggering stat. Including bringing 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:23.500 in legendary veteran talent like Marcel Dion. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.039 He definitely kept the Rangers in the headlines, 00:15:26.299 --> 00:15:28.759 though his impatience didn't ultimately result 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:31.279 in a championship. But his biggest boardroom 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.200 gamble, and perhaps his most lasting impact on 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:37.000 the business of the NHL, came in the early 90s. 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:39.220 The expansion era. The league announces expansion 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:42.440 plans, and Esposito decides he wants to establish 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:45.899 a franchise in Tampa Bay, Florida. It was considered 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.440 an astronomically risky proposition. I mean, 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:51.279 selling ice hockey in Florida in the early 1990s 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:53.320 was a monumental task. People thought he was 00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:56.200 crazy. They really did. But he, along with his 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:59.259 brother Tony, spearheaded the bid. They faced 00:15:59.259 --> 00:16:01.879 intense competition from a well -funded group 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:04.399 wanting to put a team in nearby St. Petersburg. 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:07.539 It was a real battle. The league even pressured 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:10.039 Esposito to merge his bid with the competing 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:13.440 group just to ensure financial stability, and 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:16.179 he flatly refused. What gave him the leverage 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:18.980 to refuse a merger when starting an expansion 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:22.419 team from scratch requires... so much capital. 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:25.200 It was purely his reputation and his sheer force 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:27.740 of personality. The sources indicate that his 00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:30.139 unyielding confidence convinced the NHL's board 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:32.460 of governors. He just willed it to happen. Exactly. 00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:35.840 He won the expansion bid in December 1990, bringing 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:38.559 the Tampa Bay Lightning into existence. He essentially 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.059 willed a professional hockey team into the Florida 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:43.980 market. And he immediately proved he wasn't afraid 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:47.840 to shatter conventions either. In 1992, he signed 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:50.850 goaltender Manon Riome. A huge moment. Making 00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:53.490 her the very first woman to sign with and play 00:16:53.490 --> 00:16:55.909 in an exhibition game for an NHL team. It was 00:16:55.909 --> 00:16:58.850 a massive trailblazing moment. But managing this 00:16:58.850 --> 00:17:01.549 new franchise was incredibly turbulent behind 00:17:01.549 --> 00:17:04.789 the scenes. Oh, extremely. And this raises an 00:17:04.789 --> 00:17:06.690 important question about the murky realities 00:17:06.690 --> 00:17:09.670 of sports ownership and financial leverage. Because 00:17:09.670 --> 00:17:12.569 the money dried up fast. Yes. Esposito's initial 00:17:12.569 --> 00:17:15.210 financial backers unexpectedly pulled out of 00:17:15.210 --> 00:17:18.220 the deal. So to save the franchise, he scrambled 00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:20.920 and secured backing from a Japanese consortium 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.900 called Kokusai Green. And the bizarre part of 00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:26.420 this arrangement was that the actual owner never 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:29.259 once met with the Espositos or NHL officials. 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:32.900 Not once. Which is unheard of for a major sports 00:17:32.900 --> 00:17:35.359 franchise. And according to the sources, there 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:38.039 were rampant rumors that the Kokusai Green consortium 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:40.779 was actually a front for the Yakuza. Regardless 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:43.220 of whether those rumors were true, the verifiable 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:45.839 financial reality of the situation was incredibly 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:48.759 grim. The team was funded almost entirely through 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:50.940 high interest loans rather than actual operating 00:17:50.940 --> 00:17:53.339 capital. They were just drowning in debt. Exactly. 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:55.960 The Lightning were constantly strapped for cash, 00:17:56.140 --> 00:17:58.740 which completely hamstrung Esposito's ability 00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:01.180 to actually build a competitive roster. They 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:03.180 were playing in a converted fairgrounds building 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:05.740 called the Expo Hall. That does not sound like 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:08.789 an NHL arena. It wasn't. The team struggled horribly 00:18:08.789 --> 00:18:11.029 on the ice, and the financial strain eventually 00:18:11.029 --> 00:18:13.990 led to the team being sold to a new owner, Art 00:18:13.990 --> 00:18:17.750 Williams, in 1998. Who abruptly fired Esposito 00:18:17.750 --> 00:18:21.410 just two games into the next season. Yeah. It's 00:18:21.410 --> 00:18:23.650 a brutal end to his tenure as the architect of 00:18:23.650 --> 00:18:26.289 the franchise. Though he did later return to 00:18:26.289 --> 00:18:29.150 the Lightning organization as a deeply passionate 00:18:29.150 --> 00:18:31.690 radio broadcaster. He couldn't stay away from 00:18:31.690 --> 00:18:34.480 the game. But despite all the boardroom chaos, 00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:37.500 the financial stress, and the murky ownership 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:41.220 sagas of his executive career, his pure legacy 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:44.299 as a player remained absolutely sacred to the 00:18:44.299 --> 00:18:47.079 hockey world. Unquestionably. To understand that, 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.500 we actually have to rewind slightly to a moment 00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:52.440 in 1987. Yes, the Jersey retirement ceremony 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:55.019 in Boston. It remains one of the most profoundly 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:57.059 respectful moments in the history of the sport. 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:00.910 On December 3rd, 1987. Esposito returned to the 00:19:00.910 --> 00:19:03.210 Boston Garden to finally have his number seven 00:19:03.210 --> 00:19:05.470 raised to the rafters. But there was a significant 00:19:05.470 --> 00:19:07.910 logistical issue with that, wasn't there? There 00:19:07.910 --> 00:19:11.769 was a very big one. At the time, the Bruins superstar 00:19:11.769 --> 00:19:14.890 defenseman and captain, Ray Bork, was wearing 00:19:14.890 --> 00:19:17.869 number seven. Oh, wow. The team president had 00:19:17.869 --> 00:19:20.589 informed Esposito prior to the ceremony that 00:19:20.589 --> 00:19:22.950 Bork would continue to wear the number for the 00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:25.460 remainder of his career and eventually... both 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:27.960 of their names would hang from the rafters together. 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.359 And Esposito was okay with that. He accepted 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:33.200 that arrangement. But during the on -ice ceremony, 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:36.579 Bork skated directly over to Esposito, shook 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:39.380 his hand, and then dramatically pulled off his 00:19:39.380 --> 00:19:42.500 number seven jersey to reveal a brand new number, 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:45.900 77, stitched underneath. He surrendered the number. 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:48.740 right there on the ice in front of the entire 00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:51.700 crowd so that Esposito's number seven could go 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:54.220 up to the rafters entirely alone. It gives you 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:57.039 chills. The sources know that Esposito was visibly 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.200 moved by the gesture. You simply cannot ask for 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:02.220 a better testament to the sheer reverence he 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:04.039 commanded from the next generation of players. 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:07.559 And he actively used that reverence and his position 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:10.200 of influence to give back to the players who 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.160 built the league alongside him. He did a lot 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:14.700 of charitable work, right? He did. He established 00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:17.480 the Phil Esposito Foundation, specifically designed 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:20.119 to provide crisis financial assistance to former 00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:22.839 NHL players. You have to remember the era he 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:25.819 played in. Many of his peers retired well before 00:20:25.819 --> 00:20:28.240 the league established proper modern... pension 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:30.339 benefits. They just didn't have the safety net 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:33.019 modern players have. No. They broke their bodies 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:35.019 for the game and were left with very little. 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.180 He also helped establish the Cary Esposito Memorial 00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:41.039 Fund, named in honor of his late daughter, to 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:43.019 help underprivileged children in the Tampa Bay 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:46.079 area participate in youth hockey. So what does 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:48.369 this all mean? When you look at the totality 00:20:48.369 --> 00:20:50.509 of the sources covering Phil Esposito's life, 00:20:50.670 --> 00:20:53.490 you don't see the fastest skater or the most 00:20:53.490 --> 00:20:55.630 graceful tactician. Definitely not gratefully. 00:20:55.789 --> 00:20:57.849 But you see a man who understood exactly where 00:20:57.849 --> 00:21:00.369 he needed to be. He found his slot literally 00:21:00.369 --> 00:21:03.349 on the ice, taking the relentless physical abuse 00:21:03.349 --> 00:21:06.450 to score goals and metaphorically in the boardroom, 00:21:06.529 --> 00:21:09.589 forcing his way into NHL expansion and building 00:21:09.589 --> 00:21:12.869 hockey in nontraditional markets. And he dominated 00:21:12.869 --> 00:21:16.029 those spaces through unparalleled passion and 00:21:16.029 --> 00:21:19.289 an absolute refusal to be moved. It is a profound 00:21:19.289 --> 00:21:22.410 lesson in self -awareness. Success often comes 00:21:22.410 --> 00:21:25.829 down to identifying your own unique slot. Finding 00:21:25.829 --> 00:21:28.130 that specific place where your distinct set of 00:21:28.130 --> 00:21:31.329 skills yields the highest possible reward. It's 00:21:31.329 --> 00:21:34.019 about knowing your strengths. But as Esposito's 00:21:34.019 --> 00:21:36.400 biography clearly demonstrates, finding that 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:39.380 slot is only half the battle. You have to be 00:21:39.380 --> 00:21:41.160 willing to stand your ground once you get there, 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:43.759 even if it requires taking a few metaphorical 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:45.900 crosschecks to the back along the way. You have 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:48.240 to be willing to endure the friction to get the 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:50.680 results. Precisely. And I think there is one 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:53.480 final larger thought worth mulling over here 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:55.720 based on the arc of his entire career. What's 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:57.759 that? We discussed how Esposito had to create 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:00.000 a charitable foundation to help his peers get 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.200 basic financial assistance because... Proper 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:04.140 pensions simply weren't established when they 00:22:04.140 --> 00:22:07.440 played. Right. Yet the same man who fought for 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.480 Scraps in the 60s and 70s went on to found a 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:12.720 multimillion dollar franchise and navigate the 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.740 high stakes world of international team ownership. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.970 The contrast is crazy. Think about how drastically 00:22:17.970 --> 00:22:20.509 the power dynamics between athletes and team 00:22:20.509 --> 00:22:22.930 owners have shifted over the last half century. 00:22:23.309 --> 00:22:25.970 What exactly happens to the business of a sport 00:22:25.970 --> 00:22:29.269 when the trailblazers who literally bled for 00:22:29.269 --> 00:22:31.849 the game on the ice finally get the leverage 00:22:31.849 --> 00:22:34.809 to demand the keys to the owner's suite? It completely 00:22:34.809 --> 00:22:37.109 changes the DNA of the game. It really does. 00:22:37.329 --> 00:22:39.930 It's a massive shift in leverage and a fascinating 00:22:39.930 --> 00:22:42.589 evolution from the frozen ponds of an Ontario 00:22:42.589 --> 00:22:45.150 steel town to the owner's suite in a Florida 00:22:45.150 --> 00:22:47.799 arena. Thank you so much for joining us on this 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:49.960 deep dive into the legendary life and career 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:52.220 of Phil Esposito. Keep finding your slot out 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:53.579 there and we'll catch you next time.