Brad Park
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1988
Park in the 1970s
Born (1948-07-06) July 6, 1948
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defenceman
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
Boston Bruins
Detroit Red Wings
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 1966
New York Rangers
Playing career 1968–1985

Douglas Bradford "Brad" Park (born July 6, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A defenceman, Park played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. Considered to be one of the best defencemen of his era, he was named to an All-Star team seven times. The most productive years of his career were overshadowed by superstar Bobby Orr, with whom he played with for a brief time. Unlike Orr's, however, his teams never hoisted the Stanley Cup. Park was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. In 2017, he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[1]

Playing career

As a youth, Park played in the 1960 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Scarboro Lions[2] and 1965–1966 with the Toronto Westclairs and Toronto Marlboros (until 1968). He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round (second overall) in the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft and, after a brief stint with the minor-league Buffalo Bisons of the AHL, began playing for the Rangers in 1968.

New York Rangers

Park developed into the best Rangers defenceman, whose offensive skill, stickhandling and pugnacity made him popular with local fans and media. He even drew occasional comparisons with the Boston Bruins superstar Bobby Orr, universally acclaimed to be the greatest at his position in hockey history. Years afterward, Park remarked, "I saw no reason to be upset because I was rated second to Bobby Orr. After all, Orr not only was the top defenceman in the game but he was considered the best player ever to put on a pair of skates. There was nothing insulting about being rated No. 2 to such a super superstar."[3]

Park was made the alternate captain of the Rangers and briefly served as their captain. In 1972, after the team's top scorer, Jean Ratelle, was lost due to a broken ankle, he led the Rangers past the defending Stanley Cup-champion Montreal Canadiens in the first round and the West Division champion Chicago Black Hawks in the semifinals of the playoffs. The Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals where they fell to the Boston Bruins in six games. After the Rangers staved off elimination in Game 5 at Boston, Bruins assistant captain Phil Esposito said famously, "If the Rangers think they're going to beat us in the next two games, they're full of 'Park' spelled backwards," Sure enough, the Bruins put them away in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. Park finished a distant second to Orr in the Norris Trophy vote.

When the upstart World Hockey Association tried to lure Park away, the Rangers re-signed him to a $200,000-a-year contract that made him, briefly, the highest-paid player in the NHL.[4]

In the 1972 Summit Series, with Orr unable to play due to injury, Park emerged as a key contributor to Team Canada's series over the Soviets, being named Best Defenceman of the series.

After opening the 1975–76 season with their worst start in ten years, the Rangers began to unload its high-priced veterans. Park, along with Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi, was traded to the Boston Bruins in a November 7 blockbuster deal that also sent Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to the Rangers, one that shocked everyone.[5][6] The New York press and public had felt that Park, 27 at the time, was overweight, overpaid and over the hill, as he was facing unfavorable comparisons to Denis Potvin.[4][7]

Boston Bruins

While Esposito and Vadnais were effective players for the Rangers, the team remained mired at the bottom of the division after "the trade", and Rangers general manager Emile Francis was eventually fired. Contrary to expectations that the Rangers had gotten the better end of the trade, the struggling Bruins were instantly rejuvenated and soon again became one of the NHL's best teams, despite the departures of Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr.[4]

Taking over the mantle of leadership from Orr, whose career was threatened by injury and who would soon leave the team, Park continued his success under coach Don Cherry. Park had previously been an end-to-end puck carrier, but with the Bruins, he was told by Cherry to concentrate on defence.[4] Getting over his unpopularity in Boston when he was a member of the arch-rival Rangers, Park made a relatively smooth transition to his new team,[8] even hitch-hiking a ride from two teenagers at 1 am after his car ran out of gas, and Park later rewarded them with free tickets to the next Boston home game.[4]

From 1977-79, Cherry's "Lunch Pail A.C." captured three division titles for the Bruins. Park earned two first All-Star team selections, while coming in second in the Norris Trophy race twice in a Bruins' uniform, with 1977-78 being considered one of his finest seasons.[3] In 1977 and 1978, Park was a key contributor to Boston's back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens both times.[9] His last highlight with Boston came in Game 7 of the Adams Division finals against the Buffalo Sabres in the 1983 playoffs, when Park scored the game-winning goal in overtime and help Boston advance in to the conference finals[10] — Park's career overlapped with the first four years of the emerging superstar defenceman of the Bruins, Raymond Bourque, from 1979 to 1983.

Detroit Red Wings

The following season (1983–84), Park signed with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent.[11] He won the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance that same year, having set a record for assists by a Red Wings' defenceman (53). After the 1985 season, still an effective player but hobbled by repeated knee injuries, he announced his retirement.[12][13] The next year, he served as Detroit's head coach before he was fired on June 3, 1986.[14][15][16]

Retirement and personal life

Soon after his retirement and before he coached the Red Wings, he served as a color commentator and studio analyst for CTV and ESPN NHL broadcasts in between.[17][18]

In 1988, Park was elected in his first year of eligibility to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his hometown of Toronto.[19][20]

Park has resided on the North Shore of Massachusetts and on Sebago Lake in Maine for almost 40 years, with his wife Gerry.[21] He has five children and eight grandchildren. His autobiography, Straight Shooter: The Brad Park Story, was published in August, 2012.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1965–66 Toronto Marlboros OHA 330141448 1410138
1966–67 Toronto Marlboros OHA 284151973 843717
1967–68 Toronto Marlboros OHA 51103343120 506637
1968–69 New York Rangers NHL 543232670 40227
1968–69 Buffalo Bisons AHL 172121449 —————
1969–70 New York Rangers NHL 6011263798 512311
1970–71 New York Rangers NHL 6873744114 1304442
1971–72 New York Rangers NHL 75244973130 16471121
1972–73 New York Rangers NHL 5210435351 102578
1973–74 New York Rangers NHL 78255782148 13481238
1974–75 New York Rangers NHL 65134457104 31452
1975–76 New York Rangers NHL 1324623 —————
1975–76 Boston Bruins NHL 4316375395 11381114
1976–77 Boston Bruins NHL 7712556767 14210124
1977–78 Boston Bruins NHL 8022577979 159112014
1978–79 Boston Bruins NHL 407323910 111458
1979–80 Boston Bruins NHL 325162127 103694
1980–81 Boston Bruins NHL 78145266111 313411
1981–82 Boston Bruins NHL 7514425682 111454
1982–83 Boston Bruins NHL 7610263682 16391218
1983–84 Detroit Red Wings NHL 805535885 30330
1984–85 Detroit Red Wings NHL 6713304353 300011
NHL totals 1,1132136838961,429 1613590125217

International

Year Team Event GPGAPtsPIM
1972 Canada SS 81452
Senior totals 81452

Coaching statistics

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsFinishResult
Detroit Red Wings 1985–86 45934240 5th in Norris Missed playoffs

Honours and achievements

See also

References

  1. ↑ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  3. 1 2 "Legends of Hockey - Spotlight - Brad Park - the Pinnacle". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Kirshenbaum, Josh (December 6, 1976). "BOSTON'S FAVORITE PARK IS NOT FENWAY". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  5. ↑ "Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  6. ↑ Kreiser, John (November 6, 2020). "Nov. 7: Rangers acquire Esposito, Vadnais from Bruins for Park, Ratelle". NHL.com. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  7. ↑ Hackel, Stu (January 1, 2017). "Brad Park: 100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  8. ↑ "Legends of Hockey - Spotlight - One on One with Brad Park". Archived from the original on 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  9. ↑ Mulvoy, Mark (May 29, 1978). "AIMING TO SET UP AN UPSET". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  10. ↑ Moran, Malcolm (1983-04-28). "PLAYERS; For Park, a Perfect Moment (Published 1983)". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  11. ↑ "The Detroit Red Wings announced Tuesday the signing of Brad Park.... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  12. ↑ Reinmuth, Gary (1985-04-19). "THE DEFENSE RESTS: BRAD PARK RETIRES". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  13. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Brad Park Retires (Published 1985)". New York Times. 1985-04-20. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  14. ↑ Tripi, Bob (December 30, 1985). "The Detroit Red Wings fired Coach Harry Neale today..." United Press International. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  15. ↑ Tripi, Bob. "The burden now falls on Brad Park to do... - UPI Archives". United Press International. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  16. ↑ "Brad Park was fired Tuesday as coach and director... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  17. ↑ Sarni, Jim (October 10, 1985). "ESPN BREAKS THE ICE FOR SPORTS FANS WITH CAPS-RANGERS GAME THURSDAY". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  18. ↑ Archives, L. A. Times (September 20, 1985). "Stockton, Walker Get a Break as Big Call Goes Their Way". Los Angeles Times. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  19. ↑ Finn, Robin; Times, Special To the New York (1988-06-14). "N.H.L.; League Upholds Devils' Punishment". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  20. ↑ "Bruins Legend Brad Park keeps it humble while living in Maine". BOSTON BRUINS ALUMNI. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  21. ↑ "Bruins legend Brad Park keeps it humble while living in Maine". 13 November 2014.
  22. ↑ Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 190. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
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