Phil Esposito on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

[incrudo1]

Fucking idiot. Piece of shit. I hope that stinkin' canadian will never come Russia. Do you think somebody wants see this pig?. No one wants. Trust me.

[mylesbiss13]

id love to meet him he seems like a great guy

[72gibson]

1) Orr made Esposito. He would have had half the stats (and name) without Orr setting him up, and opposing teams distracted by Orr's threat.

2) Espo's recent comments Tampa Bay vs Boston were so ignorant,

and damage fan psyche in regard to being honoring a player.

His commitment to Tampa Bay as a team founder and public voice/broadcaster are understandable, but he didn't have to turn like a dog.

[beatleboy9020001]

the bruins were not a good team when phil got there, espos first year in boston was the first year the bruins made the playoffs since 59

[TheTzdope]

this guy ran the rangers into the ground!

he acquired an ancient marcel dionne and declared "were going for the cup"

[raffaele1111]

GUAPPO means this...

Find it by english wikipedia if you want know it...

[44sox44]

@raffaele1111 its not "guappo" which means handsome....he was call "whoppo" as in "whop" a derogatory name towards Italians but "whoppo" was in fun!!

[raffaele1111]

Anyway at minute 05:15 he said a word from Naples,but he made a mistake.It's not Uappo but GUAPPO.Anyway is not a very nice compliment to be called

Guappo...

[raffaele1111]

I'm from Italy

Phil Esposito(Esposito is a tipical surname from Naples.centuries ago kids abandoned by poor woman was called ESPOSITO as surname because they were "esposti","showed" near a church ) is very funny.

[hadnight]

i am the friend of the son of carey selivanov esposito and her man alexander selivanov

their kids play hockey in the team KEV

tgeir names are roco(7)

Niko(11)

Dylan(16)

[mayblob]

Phil, the NHL GM who signed a lady goalie from Quebec, just to send a message to his little brother. Why else!

[Vulturefood]

@mayblob ? what....explain

[myssissippy]

go Tampa bay lightning

[barandsail]

He was damn cute too

[nick0mac]

@stilleavy if what u are saying is true,that wouldnt be the russians fault,,they can't predict or influence biased officiating,especially in our country , that would be like saying Woods wouldn't play a hole untill he had the wind at his back. The refs had to make the calls ,its their job,why have them if they dont make calls. I see what you are saying but we were alot dirtier in that series hands down,and deserved to be more penalized.I bleed canaidian hockey it was just my unbiased look @ it

[19cohen]

MAnnnn its a shame to make an interview of Phil Esposito for 12 minutes ..WTF is this.he deserves at lest 40 mins

[kenfoye]

Tretiak was still pretty young when they played the 1972 Summit Series.  If you watch film of that series, and then compare it to games he played in years later, I think it's easy to see that he had improved.

[kieranccc]

pause at 1:22 thats a big fuckin russian

[huckhockey]

yea , he's big but it's a bit of an optical illusion that the camera has created as well. it happens. What a great series

[nick0mac]

only being 27 and just buying and watching the dvd set of the summit series, i almost feel the russians won, the cheap two hander to break russias best player s ankle was dispicable and I found to tarnish our image. Also the russians were going to shake our hands after game one and we skated away like sore losers. And as pro canadian hockey as i am we litterally looked outclassed both in skating and sportsmanship, this is why i believe the 72 team was booed at home,not for the losses themselves

[Vulturefood]

@nick0mac their was no reason to boo the team.....like Esposito said ,most of them were out of shape and thought it was gonna be like an all star game having fun etc... but the russian coach had something up his weasel slimy sleeves all along..do or cheat at all costs...you saw it when they went to russia...bullshit ref,army patrol, no red light when scored on russia etc etc etc...a fuckin embarrassment for russia if you think about it.

[Sergei91]

I mean even if the guy could beat Tretiak, ofcourse not blindfolded, not even 4 times out of 10...i'd give him a 2 out of 10....but you don't diss your colleges like that, they are both hockey legends in their countries and their opposition countries, and they were a part of the BEST series in history.....to be dissing like this? he's immature. and then he was crying like a baby that the fans weren't friendly and supporting him when he wasn't on his A game....foolishness.

[Sergei91]

Tretiak is the worst goalie? blind folded? blame the reff???? i thought this guy was a intellectual, but he's a ZERO....even his own team mates have shaky knees when they see number 20 in the net...

[dzanier]

That's a ridiculous comment for him to make and I don't think he was serious, but still that's remarkable disrespect.

[Sergei91]

It is disrespect, i mean if you and me have our differences that is understandable, we settle it, but in the end if we are real men, we will say the truth, and the truth is Esposito is a legendary hockey player and a great goal scorer, and Tretiak is voted by some as the Best goalie the game has ever seen, and by others just One of the greatest the game has ever seen, and both diserve their titles and respect. Tretiak by the way hosted lots of Canadians in his house as guests and payed respect.

[orangeleviathan]

This guy was a buffoon. He was a large presence and had people like Cashman and Hodge feeding him the puck. We wept when they traded for this idiot over Ratelle.

As far as his hockey knowledge, look at his tenure with the Rangers. Complete and utter moron.

[dzanier]

When he was Ranger GM I wondered why he was making trades left & right without understanding that the team could not gel if personnel is constantly changing. He made a good trade for Walt Poddubny, but the one trade he made as GM with us that hurt us that year and for years to come, was trading Mike Ridley, Kelly Miller & Bob Crawford to the Caps for Bobby Carpenter. That was Dec. of 86. Carpenter was traded to LA in March of 87. Ridley & Miller were already good players who became standouts.

[orangeleviathan]

Great Point - As far as Tretiak is convcerned, the reason we win the Olympics is the poor decision of Tikanov is pulling Tretiak. He (Tretiak) is and will always be a phenom and heads and tails above anything seen in the NHL. The man was the greatest goaltender the game will ever see and that is according to those in positions to make the call.

Phil Esposito was an opportunist in front of the net and because of his size benefitted from others hard work.

He's a douche.

[dzanier]

I've heard many say that Tikanov's pulling Tretiak was an absurd thing to do. But I think you're letting your personal dislike for Phil cloud your judgement. He was a great player. You can't score as much as he did without being a very good player. And he three times led the league in assists. So he could pass too.

[orangeleviathan]

Well, I cannot disagree as I am a long time Rangers fan and could stand the fact that we had to do away with Ratelle for this buffoon. That being said, his comments on Tretiak were absolutely the most ridiculous I have heard and it proves that aside from his skill on ice, his mind and hocky acumen had no right to be involved in the league subsequently.

[rushrules65]

LOL. Isn't this always the way. Put the best Canadian players on the ice, together to train and gel as a team and they would have destroyed the Russian teams. In fact, they did. What if Orr played in 72. What would it have been 6 or 7 -1 or 8-0. The problem with Canada is we alwaysselected players on "politics". Put Bernie in net. Orr on defense. Kick fucking communist ass.

[mtlott24]

I would say if you are unsure do your homework before you bring a guest on. It was an exhibition series which is why it was four here and four there. Even one click on any Team Canada 72 link would have shown that. Regardless, it was a decent interview but more because of Phil than George who actually usually pulls off the sports stuff.

[krank100]

Espo

[vonelk1234]

The great Espo he still could score!!

[mtlott24]

Why did it go eight games????? geesuz,,,what a stupid question...Wow, how do you not know that....

[Jordan8789]

it's actually a decent question its not like its a sport show. Most series this days are best of 7 so he might've just been wondering why play 8.

[Jordan8789]

it's actually a decent question its not like its a sport show. Most series this days are best of 7 so he might've just been wondering why play 8. Maybe he also thought that it was likea best of 7 where if you the first 5 games you didn't have to play the rest.

[orbitring]

How many times during a Bruin game can you remember, " Orr to Cashman behind the net ... over to Hodge ... Hodge back to Orr ... Orr to Esposito .... HE SCORES !!!

[jn829]

Esposito's great.

[WpgLwr007]

Good interview from Espo, despite Stroumboulopoulos' lousy interviewing skills. Obvious that he doesn't really know shit about hockey, especially regarding the '72 Series ("...why did it go eight games?") Gawd. what a moron!

The sad truth is that Stroumboulopoulos is equally as bad interviewing anyone -- he knows just enough about the guest, but nothing in detail at all -- his interview of Bryan Adams is another good example of how bad he is.

Time for CBC to do better and axe this idiot.

[bbso8cu9]

""why did it go eight games""

Seems to me he meant meaningful games.

[andrewmente]

What a dumb trade by Chicago to get rid of Espo.

[classyfilms]

Also interesting comments on Tretiak. But when you think about it, Espo's right. Tretiak always got smoked in international games. In the Summit Series, the 76 Canada Cup, and the 1980 Olympics. Great point Espo!

[classyfilms]

Esposito rocked in his prime time. He also played his best hockey in the 72 Summit Series.

[leafyutube]

Wow! This is a phenomenal interview!!! Gotta love Espo.

[bionicbigfoot]

Jesus Saves...and Espo Scores on the Rebound

[PeterMayer]

George strom-bou-pous-opilis...can I buy a vowel, please?

[outlaw1989]

Yeah your Phil Esposito Phil.Rent a goalie aired in LITTLE ITALY TORONTO.

[outlaw1989]

Espo if I were you I would of tuned up Howe. Howe was good but Bobby Hull was a real player also. F'n Howe would of payed for that comment.

[APSOC38]

"Tretiak was one of the worst goalies I ever faced." WHOA! Coming from Espo, that is certainly worth noting.

I wonder if Herb Brooks ever heard this from Espo back in 1980.

[outlaw1989]

If I was Espo I would of stuck the hockey stick up Howes ass! Howe playes a million years and accomplished average results. I would take Phil over geezer Howe!

[canadianhockey1924]

if esposito ever heard you say that he pretty much would kill you. howe was espos idol.

[jfq722]

Is this recent? I am from Philly, but I always liked Espo. Even in the middle of the Broad Street Bully days. He's ok.

[Gdawg00700]

one of thr really great characters in the game. I saw this interview on television, and they ran a clip of Phil on Rent-A-Goalie. It was hilarious.....wish it didnt get cut out of this posting. Anyone know where I can get it ?

[stevenaudet]

I love Phil and I love the Bruins!

Go Black N' Gold!

[donneric]

yes yes THEY ARE BACK!

[minikid96]

What did u say Whappo?!

[canadianstudmuffin]

Great interview! :)

[saundersa]

HAHAHHA Your effing Phil Esposito Phil