In the schoolyard in 1986, Mike Bossy’s hockey card was worth a lot. At least 10 community cards.
Posted at 10:00 a.m.
” Ten ?
– Well, have you seen his stats back? »
On the back of his O-Pee-Chee card, the goals column was unreal: 53-69-51-68-64-60-51-58-61. Nine consecutive seasons of more than 50 goals. His first nine, too. How many other players in the history of the National Hockey League have accomplished this feat?
No.
PHOTO DENIS COURVILLE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Michael Bossy and John Tonelli during a New York Islanders game against the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum, March 22, 1979
No one, either, has managed more goals per game than him. However, Bossy remained in the shadow of the other great mavericks.
Why ? Because it shone before the proliferation of sports channels. Before editing on YouTube. Before the spectacular goals went viral on social media.
At the time, we “knew” he was good. His O-Pee-Chee card proved it. But we didn’t “see” him as often on television as Guy Lafleur, Peter Stastny or Michel Goulet. Two or three times a season, if you followed the Canadiens or the Nordiques. Four to six times, if you followed both clubs. More playoffs. Plus a handful of international matches.
Each time was a privilege. Because Mike Bossy never disappointed hockey fans.
The bigger the stage, the more the Quebec forward surpassed himself. At the 1981 Canada Cup, he scored in all but one game. In 1984, he scored four goals on a rare visit to the Montreal Forum. In 129 playoff games, he scored 85 goals. It’s a better ratio than Guy Lafleur. Than Wayne Gretzky. Than Maurice Richard.
PHOTO PIERRE MCCANN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Michael Bossy in a Team Canada uniform at the Montreal Forum, August 17, 1981
Playoff goals per game*
Mario Lemieux 0.71
Mike Bossy 0.66
Barry Pederson 0.65
Maurice Richard 0.62
Cam Neely 0.61
Wayne Gretzky 0.59
* At least 20 goals
Mike Bossy is the most difficult player to face in the entire NHL, has already declared the former defender of the Canadian Rick Green. I remember that Wayne Gretzky was playing at the same time. “When I think of [Bossy], said Guy Lafleur in 1986, I am thinking of a calm, composed guy, a gentleman… who unfortunately has just scored two or three goals against my team! »
No wonder everyone in the alley dreamed of being Mike Bossy.
PHOTO JEAN GOUPIL, PRESS ARCHIVES
John Ogrodnick, Rick Green, Patrick Roy and Adam Oates, November 22, 1986
Except that Mike Bossy’s star life was not always dreamed of.
Mike Bossy came from a humble background. He grew up in a four and a half, in Montreal, with nine brothers and sisters. It was in the courtyard of the family residence that he developed his lightning throw, shooting thousands of pucks on a wooden board.
In the junior, he clearly stood out from the others. Unfortunately, it was at the time of the Broad Street Bullies and of Slapshot. Too often, talent was suppressed through violence and intimidation. He suffered from it. Greatly.
In a letter he wrote at 60 to the fragile boy he had been at 14, he said he was marked by repeated attacks from his opponents.
“People will resent you for being a counter. Teams will target you, big time. You will be attacked from behind. You will receive vicious blows. You will be knocked out completely. by checks in your blind spot. In the future, these blows will become a serious injury. A concussion. You don’t know it yet, but you will suffer many. »
Your nose will be broken. Your ribs will be cracked. These abuses will also leave traces on your soul. Psychologically, you’ll struggle with getting on the bus and knowing that the next game will be violent. During long journeys, you will ask yourself: why am I doing this? What’s the point ?
Mike Bossy
His aversion to violence in hockey – a fight he would wage all his life – deprived him of a career with the Montreal Canadiens. According to Habs scout Ronald Caron, Bossy was unable to play in robust games. “Go see him play in Sherbrooke,” he said to a colleague dazzled by the star of the National de Laval. At 10and rank, the Canadian therefore preferred Mark Napier. Five picks later, the New York Islanders had just found their future star.
At his first training camp, Bossy promised his bosses to score 50 goals in his first season. A bold bet; only three NHL players had reached that milestone the previous year. And not the least: Steve Shutt, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne. But Bossy kept his word. He scored 53. The following season, aged just 21, he finished top of the league with 69.
As much as Bossy was shy outside, on the ice he was explosive. The trio he formed with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies was long considered the most threatening in the world.
“It’s the best line I’ve faced,” admitted center Ryan Walter of the Canadiens at the end of his career. “Trottier and Gillies were strong and tough. Bossy could kill us with his goals. »
After 10 seasons in the NHL, Mike Bossy had already won the Frank Calder trophy. The Conn Smythe. The Lady Byng, three times. The Stanley Cup, four times. He had also been named to the first team of all stars five times. He had everything to break the goal record in NHL history. Everything, except the essential – health.
PHOTO MIKE BLAKE, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Mike Bossy wins his third Lady Byng trophy, June 10, 1986
.
Back pain, which he attributed to a knee injury suffered in his teens, brought his career to an abrupt end. He was only 30 years old. He tried to hang on. He took a year off to heal. In vain.
Unlike many Quebec hockey players of the 1980s who stayed in the United States after their career, Mike Bossy chose to come back and settle here.
TQS recruited him as an analyst. Again, he faced adversity. A conflict with a colleague prompted him to resign. A big story, which had fed the chronicle for weeks.
CKOI gave him a second chance, on his morning show, alongside Normand Brathwaite. A perfect match. Bossy revealed his sweet icing side, which made him very popular with the general public. In recent years, his interventions as an analyst at TVA Sports have always been tinged with humor. Relevant. Punched. Bossy had retained a sense of showmanship. Like the time he beat Steve Penney and Doug Soetart four times in Montreal.
Unforgettable performances.
Rest in peace, gentleman counter.