Phil Esposito on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

http://www.cbc.ca/thehour

Phil Esposito, undoubtedly one of hockey's all-time greats and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He's best known for grabbing rebounds and scoring goals - a lot of 'em. Until Gretzky came along he held the NHL record for most goals in one season with 76. Phil started his career with Chicago in the early '60s but the Blackhawks traded him to Boston in 1967. Big mistake. The Bruins already had a certain Mr. Bobby Orr and when Phil joined the team he kept on scoring, helping them to win the holy grail - twice. Phil was also a big part of Team Canada's win over Russia, in the 1972 'Summit Series', one of the most important sporting victories in Canadian history. Espo was team captain, he set up that winning goal and led the team in scoring. True to his outspoken nature, he also famously called out Canadian fans for booing their own players. In 1981, Phil retired from playing and got into coaching and managing. As GM of the New York Rangers, he was nicknamed 'Trader Phil' and in the early '90s founded the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning. These days Phil's got a daily XM satellite radio show about hockey and has appeared in a few TV shows, most recently playing himself on 'Rent-A-Goalie'.

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[saundersa]

HAHAHHA Your effing Phil Esposito Phil

[canadianstudmuffin]

Great interview! :)

[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"

[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.

[Vulturefood]

@mayblob ?  what....explain

[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!!