Mike Bossy

At 67 years old, Mike Bossy has this physical status:

Michael Dean Bossy (born January 22, 1957) is a former ice hockey player who played for the New York Islanders for his entire career and was a central part of the team's four-year reign as Stanley Cup champions in the early 1980s.

Among other notable performances, he was the first player in NHL history to score consecutive Stanley Cup victories (1982-1983) and the first player to post four game-winning goals in a single series (1983 Conference Final).

He is the NHL's all-time average goals scored in a regular season game and the third highest all-time average points scored per game, and he is one of only five players to reach 50 goals in 50 games.

Bossy was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in 2017 in a 'Best NHL Players' list in history.

Early life

Bossy was the fifth son of ten children, and he grew up in a Detroit Red Wings fanhood in Saint-Alphonse, Quebec's Ahuntsic-Cartierville neighborhood. Bossy attended St. Pius X Comprehensive High School and then Laval Catholic High School. Dorothy Borden, an English and French-Canadian, and his father Borden, who ran a backyard ice rink at their apartment building, was Ukrainian. Bossy suffered a kneecap while training in a long jump at school, and later suffered with persistent knee injuries during his hockey career. Bossy participated in the 1969 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Montreal as a youth. At the age of 15, he began his junior career with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Laval National. Despite scoring 319 goals in five seasons, he was deemed "not strong enough" and defensively weak by NHL scouts. His 532 points is still a QMJHL record, while his 309 goals are the most for a major junior. The Acadie–Bathurst Titan, the most recent iteration of the former Laval brand, has Bossy's #17.

Personal life and death

When Bossy was 14 years old, she was working the snack bar at a rink where he was playing; they were married on July 23, 1977. Josiane and Tanya's two children, as well as two grandchildren, were present in Bossy and his wife's household.

Bossy confirmed he had been diagnosed with lung cancer on October 19, 2021. He died in Rosemère on April 15, 2022, at the age of 65. Guy Lafleur died of lung cancer a week after Bossy's death (he and Bossy smoked heavily during their playing days); both Bossy and Lafleur, Quebec natives whose current careers as star right-wingers were often compared.

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Playing career

In the 1977 NHL amateur draft, Bossy, who had scored 77 goals per season in junior with Laval, was defeated by twelve teams, including the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs, who each passed over him twice. According to Bossy, Toronto expected him to wait for more than they wanted to pay, while the Rangers selected highly ranked Lucien DeBlois and Ron Duduay. Other franchises were suspended for various reasons: the Buffalo Sabres hired Ric Seiling, preferring his checking skills, while the Cleveland Barons, who had the fifth overall pick, lost when Bossy's agent Pierre Lacroix gave the Barons inflated salary requirements, causing them to draft Mike Crombeen instead. The Montreal Canadiens' coach, Scotty Bowman, regretted that Montreal had passed on Bossy; Bowman and his assistant Claude Ruel had both been impressed with Bossy's play, and scoring, but the Canadiens picked Mark Napier instead;

With the 15th overall pick, the New York Islanders selected Bossy for his 15th pick. Bill Torn was first to be disqualified between taking Bossy and Dwight Foster. Bossy was known as a scorer who couldn't check, while Foster, who had led the Ontario Hockey Association with 143 points, had a defensive role in his game. Various accounts exist about who persuaded Torrey to choose Bossy. Coach Al Arbour is credited with one of the many interesting tales. It's likely that a scorer would be able to tell someone how to check. Harry Saraceno, the islanders' scout, is credited with another, while another cites both Arbour and Saraceno.

Bossy replaced Billy Harris on the Islanders' top line with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies, creating a new combination that would be referred to as The Trio Grande. In his first game, Don Edwards of the Buffalo Sabres, he scored, a 3–2 loss to Buffalo on October 13, 1977, and 11 goals were still available by mid-November. In a 6–1 victory over the Washington Capitals on February 4, 1978, Bossy scored his first hat trick in his career. Bossy scored his 45th goal of the season on February 25, beating Rick Martin's previous rookie record of 44 goals. Bossy had boldly told Bill Torrey that he would score 50 goals before the season and ended up with a total of 53, a rookie record that hadn't been broken by Teemu Selanne in 1993. Bossy also led the league with 25 powerplay goals. In 1978, he won the 1977–78 Calder Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year and was named as a Second Team All-Star, as well as a starting right wing for the Campbell Conference.

In the quarterfinals of the 1978 Playoffs, Bossy scored two goals and two assists against Toronto, a hard-fought competition in which the Trio Grande was somewhat neutralized by Toronto's toughness. Bossy was struck from behind by Toronto's Jerry Butler in game 6 and rushed to the hospital with a neck sprain, triggering a seventh game. Bossy returned for game 7, but was held scoreless as Toronto defeated the game – and the series – in overtime.

Bossy was named a Second Team All-Star in the 1978-1979 NHL season after leading the league with 69 goals, the second-highest single season total. In a 9–4 win over the Rangers on December 23, 1978, the Trio Grande's members scored 17 points, including a hat trick and three assists for Bossy; Gillies had four assists, while Trottier scored five times and picked up three assists; Bossy had three assists; and the Rangers had five assists. Bossy scored his 100th goal in his 129th game on February 19, 1979, the most goals in a player's first two seasons. In the 1979 Challenge Cup against the Soviet Union, Bossy appeared in the NHL All-Stars, scoring against Vladislav Tretiak in the first game of the three-game series. In a 1979 quarterfinal match against the Chicago Black Hawks, Bossy tied a single-game point record. The Islanders thrashed Chicago in four games, and Bossy set another team playoff record by scoring five goals over the series, including the overtime champion in Game 2. In six games, the Islanders were defeated by the Rangers, who had "honest checking" on the Trio Grande and barred Bossy from scoring until the final game.

Bossy has signed a new two-year deal with the Islanders worth $500,000. The Islanders got off to a slow start in six years, and they were out of a playoff spot in early December, winning just 6 of their first 21 games. Al Arbour split up the Trio Grande by swapping Gillies, but Bossy and Trottier still scored the bulk of the team's goals, but the remaining lines were ineffective. In a 5–2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Bossy and Trottier scored the only Islander goals, while Bossy and Trottier scored, and Bossy lost in their second game, this time to Buffalo. Arbour returned to Chicago on October 27, with Trottier's hat trick on the line, and Brottier, Gillies, and Bossy all scored in a 5–4 Islanders victory, beating Chicago. Despite that, the Islanders were delivering goals quicker than they could – they lost 6–3 to the St. Louis Blues in November, when Bossy, Gillies, and Trottier were the only Islanders to put the puck in the net. The Islanders didn't win anything until their 41st game, and after acquiring Butch Goring on March 10, the Islanders went unbeaten for the remainder of the season and finished second in the Patrick Division. Goring's departure made splitting up the Trio Grande more efficient, as Gillies and Guillery rode him, while Bossy and Trottier were joined on the second line by Bob Bourne, and the Islanders' attack became more balanced. Bossy's goal output dropped to 51, prompting him to joke that it was a "poor season." Bossy appeared in the Campbell Conference's all-star game.

Bossy scored one goal in two games against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round and missed the first three games of the quarterfinals against the Boston Bruins due to a hand injury, but scored twice when he returned in game 4. As the Islanders advanced to the final round in the semifinals against the Sabres Bossy, they scored three goals and three assists. In the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals, with the Islanders up three games to two against the Philadelphia Flyers, Bossy scored a power play goal in game two, giving New York a 3–2 lead at the time. The Islanders won the game – and the Cup – on an overtime goal by Bobby Nystrom after the Flyers tied the game at 4 p.m. in the third period. With 11 points and finished second to teammate Trottier in scoring with 23 points, Bossy led all scorers in the Finals, while the Islanders captured their first Stanley Cup victory.

Bossy and Charlie Simmer of the Kings were the first to score 50 goals in 50 games since Maurice Richard 36 years ago. Both Bossy and Simmer played their 50th games on January 24, while Simmer's hat trick saw him fall just shy of 49. In the final five minutes, Bossy scored twice against the Quebec Nordiques, including the second goal with 89 seconds remaining, becoming the second to reach 50 in 50. Richard sent Bossy a congratulatory telegram. Bossy's season saw a record 9 hat tricks, finished with 68 goals, and he had the highest goals per game average in NHL history in 785. Bossy was a starter for the 1981 All-Star Game, and he was named a First Team All-Star at the end of the season.

With ten points per game, Bossy and Trottier tied for the team lead in the first round of the 1981 Playoffs. In six games, the Islanders defeated the Edmonton Oilers, Bossy led all scorers with 11 points, and his 21 total points tied him with Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky for the playoff lead. Bossy scored two powerplay goals in the final game of a four-game sweep sweep and ended the series with five goals. The Islanders won their second Stanley Cup championships after defeating the Minnesota North Stars (335), power-play goals (9) and most goals combining regular season and playoffs (85; 68 regular season plus 17 playoff).

Bossy has signed a new six-year deal with the Islanders, marking his 1981–82 NHL career. Bossy set records for right-wingers in the season, with 83 assists and 147 points, and the season was +69. Bossy scored twice in the 1982 NHL All-Star Game, his fourth appearance, to help the Wales Conference win by 4–2 and was named the game's MVP. Bossy's mobility in the Islanders' Patrick Division semifinal against the Pittsburgh Penguins was limited due to his late-season knee injury, but he did score goals in the first two games. The Islanders then met the Rangers in the Patrick Division final, against whom Bossy had scored six goals with nine assists in eight regular season games. Bossy's knee throbbed him in the first four games of the series, but the Islanders won in six games. In the Wales Conference Final against the Nordiques, Bossy scored twice in game 2, including the game-winner and twice more in game 3, raising the total score to eight points in the series as the Islanders swept. The Vancouver Canucks' Daniel Williams, who pushed Bossy back to the 1978 playoffs with Toronto, told reporters that the Canucks wanted to check Bossy hard. Bossy had a hat trick in the first game, including tieing the game with under five minutes left, and then intercepted a Harold Snepsts clear attempt to score the winner in overtime. In game 2 on the power play, Bossy scored again as the Islanders took a 6–4 lead. In a 3–0 Islanders victory, the second acrobatic backhand goal resulting from a hit by either Williams or Lars Lindgren was the second. In game 4, Bossy's two powerplay goals included the winner, as New York swept the series for their third Stanley Cup victory. Bossy scored 27 points and a league-leading 17 playoff goals despite lingering knee injuries. In the Finals, Bossy scored seven times, tying him with Jean Beliveau for the most goals, as well as the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP.

In 1982-83, Bossy was the first to score at least 60 goals in three seasons in a row. He earned 118 points. Bossy was also named a First Team All-Star for the third time at the end of the season, winning the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for "gentlemanly" play for a season in which he received only 17 penalty minutes. Bossy, along with Trottier and Anders Kallur, accounted for 17 Islander goals on the Islanders top line in 1983. Bossy scored a hat trick in game 4, as the Islanders won the Patrick Division semifinal against the Washington Capitals 6–3. Bossy scored nine times in the Wales Conference Finals against the Boston Bruins, including an NHL-record four game-winning goals, as the Islanders advanced to the Finals for the fourth year in a row. The nine goals tied for the most in a playoff series, while the 27th powerplay goal of his playoffs career tied for another Jean Beliveau record. The Islanders won their fourth straight Stanley Cup by sweeping the Oilers in the 1983 Stanley Cup Finals. Bossy scored the winning goal in game four on May 17, becoming the second player to score Stanley Cup-winning goals in a row since joining Jack Darragh in 1920 and 1921.

Bossy scored in the first three games of the season before being forced to miss six games due to a hip injury. Bossy put together a 15-game point streak that came to an end in early December. He started a 19-game streak that lasted until mid-January. Bossy scored his 400th regular season goals in his 4th game in a 5–2 victory over the Rangers on January 15, the first to reach that milestone. Bossy had been expected to attend his sixth straight All-Star Game, but Rick Middleton took his place in the starting lineup after crashing with Detroit's Dwight Foster; Bossy was forced to miss six games due to his injury. Bossy had 51 goals in his seventh straight season at least 50 goals at the end of the season, for his seventh straight season with at least 50 goals. Bossy was named a First Team All-Star for the fourth year in a row and then won the Lady Byng Trophy; the Lady Byng Trophy was awarded to Bossy by Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau.

Bossy scored four times combined in the first four rounds against the Capitals and Rangers in the 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs, but equaled that number against the Canadiens in the championship final, with three game-winners. Bossy suffered with tonsillitis in game 1 of the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals, a rematch against the Oilers. Bossy, who had scored 17 goals in each of the previous three seasons, was unable to score in two of the games, and the Oilers lost their first Stanley Cup when he returned, winning their first Stanley Cup.

Bossy started the 1984-85 NHL season strong, tying his own personal record by scoring in ten straight games, and leading the league by early November. He was scoring at a higher rate per game by early December, with 25 points in 23 games. Bossy, Brent Sutter, and John Tonelli rounded out the team's top line during the first five weeks of the season, with Trottier missing time due to injuries. Trottier returned to his hometown with Bossy and Greg Gilbert, but the Bossy-Sutter pairing would be resurrected later in the season when the team needed a boost. Bossy was having his best season so far, with 37 goals and 39 assists in that time, when he continued to carry the team. He was selected for the 1985 NHL All-Star Game for his seventh pick overall and the only unanimous choice that year. As the Islanders stumbled into the playoffs, Bossy finished the season with 58 goals, his eighth straight season of 50-goals plus, and second Team All-Star accolades. The Islanders barely advanced to Washington in the first round of the 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs, with Bossy assisting Brent Sutter's game-winning goal. The Philadelphia Flyers held Bossy scoreless in the first three games, taking a 3–0 series lead; when Bossy scored in a 6–2 Islanders game 4, it tied Maurice Richard's record for career playoff goals with 82. In game 5, a 1–0 shutout, Bossy was denied two shots on goal, leaving the Islanders out 1–0.

Bossy found himself on a bouncing line throughout the season after beginning with Trottier in 1985-1986. He had been partnered with Pat LaFontaine and rookie Ari Haanpaa by mid-October. Al Arbour would often juggle the lines to spark his team, with a Bossy hat trick in a 4–4 draw with Minnesota in November; Bossy reunited with Tonelli and Brent Sutter in a 5–4 tie with Minnesota in November; Bossy scored the winner in a 7–4 match against the Pittsburgh Penguins after being paired with Trottier and Mikko Makela. In February, Bossy and Trottier were playing alongside Tonelli in a 1–0 win over Vancouver, but this pair was still split up when Tonelli was traded to the Calgary Flames in March for Steve Konroyd and Richard Kromm. On the same day as the trade, the Islanders and Flames met together, and Bossy scored four goals while on a line with Kromm and Trottier.

During the season, Bossy achieved a string of milestones. Bossy scored twice in his 647th game, beating the Boston Bruins 7–5. In a 7–5 victory over Washington, Bossy scored his 1,000th regular season point by assisting on a Trottier goal; a goal in the same game moved Bossy to 10th place on the all-time scoring list. Bossy's four-goal game against Calgary on March 11 marked his 50th birthday of the year, making this his ninth straight season in which he had scored at least 50 goals. In the last game of the season against the New Jersey Devils, Bossy scored his 61st goal, his fourth game of the season, scoring at least 60 goals.

Bossy helped with Bryan Trottier's overtime game-winning goal in a 4–3 Wales Conference win in 1986. The Islanders did not make it into the first round of the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs because they were swept in three games by Washington, but Bossy did score a new all-time record by scoring his 83rd playoff goal. For the third time, Bossy was named as a First Team All-Star and she took the Lady Byng Trophy for the third time.

Bossy started suffering back pain, and after playing two difficult games in which he did not score, he was banned from playing for ten days. The hiatus lasted four games, after which Bossy returned to form, scoring 12 times in 12 games in comparison to only receiving 9 assists. Bossy had 22 goals by Christmas, but he was suffering from injuries and wasn't at his best level, and he was considering taking time off in February. Bossy scored twice against Minnesota on January 6, on a line with Gilbert and Trottier against Minnesota, and he was also on target for another 50-goal season. Bossy then missed seven games in a row as the back pain erupted, and doctors were unable to establish a diagnosis. It was thought that he was putting undue pressure on his back by skating in a way that relieved pressure from his right knee, which had needed surgery as a child; Bossy fractured the kneecap when he was twelve. In Rendez-vous '87, the 1987 replacement for the NHL All-Star Game, Bossy was selected to be the starting right wing representing the NHL against the Soviet Union, but he had to pull out of the series due to his back issues. Bossy had hoped to win their tenth straight 50-goal season, but it was still possible as of early February and had hit 32 by the end of the month. However, late March, it was clear to Bossy that he would not be achieving the milestone, as the pain increased, and he also became the object of abuses that exploited his illness. Bossy scored his 38th goal of the season, as he tied for the team lead with Pat LaFontaine in a game against New Jersey on March 14. Bossy returned to action in the Patrick Division semifinals against Washington after missing the last seven games of the season to recover his back for the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs. In game 2, he sustained a knee injury and died in his left leg on a hit from Lou Franceschetti, but skipped the rest of the series in which the Islanders came back from a three-games-to-one deficit and won the decisive seventh game in quadruple overtime. In game four of the Patrick Division final against Philadelphia, Bossy scored his 85th career playoffs goal in game 6, but the Islanders were beaten 5–1 loss in game 7.

Bossy had intended to attend training camp in 1987, but instead of doing a series of tests and x-rays on his back, he became chronic, and his illness kept him from walking to tie his own skates. Doctors eventually found that he had two discs in his lower back that were injured and could not be repaired by surgery, causing Bossy to miss the 1987-88 season in favour of therapy. Bill Torrey had offered Bossy to the Canadiens, so he'd be closer to home, but Bossy declined. The Los Angeles Kings acquired Wayne Gretzky in 1988, and general manager Rogie Valiant and owner Bruce McNall encouraged Bossy to join as a free agent; Bossy turned down this bid, fearing he would not have been able to achieve success. In October 1988, Bossy officially retired after playing his last game at the age of 30; he scored 573 goals and 553 assists in 722 NHL games, all with the Islanders.

No. 13 On Bossy's uniform number, no. Denis Potvin, a long-time teammate, was given the award on March 3, 1992.

Bossy had impressive numbers at the end of his playing career. In only 722 games, he scored 573 goals and 553 assists. He had eighty-five goals and seventy-five assists in 129 playoff games. He set the record for most goals per season average at 57.3 when he retired. Although he wanted to be known as a top overall performer, his best known for his scoring success. "About 90% of the time I don't aim: I just try to get my shot away as quickly as possible as a surprise element," Bossy says in Stan Fischler's The All-New Hockey's 100. I just try to get the puck on net." Bossy was also known for his clean play and has been named the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play three times: 1983, 1984, and 1986. He spoke out against hockey violence.

Bossy aspired to be the best player of his time but fell short of this award, including Guy Lafleur, Trottier, and Wayne Gretzky. Bossy is often compared to Lafleur because they were both considered the top right-wing snipers, although their styles contrasted as Lafleur was a trendy skater and Bossy was the more accurate shooter.

Although the Islanders won their fourth straight championship, Gretzky and his Oilers received the most attention in 1983. Bossy expressed some animosity toward Gretzky and the Oilers, claiming that the Islanders received no recognition for their dynasty relative to them or the Montreal Canadiens. Bossy wrote: "I do a lot of advertising for how [the Islanders] were doing... we never got one millionth of the respect we should have." We had a very low-key team. They didn't want guys to do too much because they were afraid the hockey would suffer if they were to suffer. In the first mention of great teams, people don't talk about us.

Post-playing career

Bossy was unable to play hockey or even work out because of his back and knee injuries. Bossy and his family reassemble in Laval, Laval. He joined Titan, a hockey stick manufacturer, as vice president and went into business with Pierre Lacroix, his handler, and became vice president. He was also a broadcaster for the Quebec Nordiques. He served Karhu, Titan's former parent company, and CUMIS, an insurance company, in public relations roles by 1992.

Bossy first went into radio in 1993, and by 1994, he was on the "Y'e trop d'heure" (It's too early) morning show on CKOI-FM, a French-language radio station in Montreal. Bossy first started reading the sports, but it wasn't until he left in 1996 that he became known for comedic leanings. Bossy was doing public relations for Humpty Dumpty and then became the company's Quebec sales manager in 2003. He has also worked with Bobby Orr and Cassie Campbell as ambassadors for Hockey Canada's Chevrolet Safe & Fun Hockey team.

He then recalled that he did not have a chance to work with an NHL team for more than a decade and a half. "I called the Canadiens at least three or three times [in the mid-1990s] because I felt I could help the organization in some way, not necessarily as a mentor, but also in some capacity that could be expanded," Bossy said in 2005. "They never called back." Bossy was sure Trottier would bring him on as a coach when he first started with New York Rangers coach Bryan Trottier in 2002. "I remember having umpteen conversations with Bryan while he worked for ten years, and I think we should do it our way," Bossy said. Since being fired in his first season, I've found out that he wasn't going to be allowed this opportunity."

Bossy had rejoined the Islanders on October 13, 2006, assisting with sponsorship and fan recruitment.

Bossy joined MSG Networks as a hockey analyst in September 2014, and as a color commentator in September 2015, he joined TVA Sports, a licensed French-language broadcaster of the NHL in Canada. At 5 p.m., Bossy appeared on the late night show Dave Morissette Live and TVA Sports.

Career statistics

Bold indicates led league

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