Brad Park – Stone texture – Corrugation texture Manufacturer
Playing career
Park was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round (2nd 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 quickly became the Rangers’ best defenceman and drew comparisons with the great Bobby Orr, as both were credited with revolutionizing the “offensive” defenceman. Park’s offensive skill, stickhandling and pugnacity attracted much attention from fans. Park and Orr occasionally fought each other on ice, and fans and sportswriters fueled the rivalry by making frequent comparisons, not least as the Rangers and Boston Bruins were bitter opponents. 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 defenseman 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 number two to such a super superstar.”
Park was made the alternate captain of the Rangers and briefly served as their captain. In 1972, despite the loss of leading team scorer Jean Ratelle with a broken ankle, Park led his team to defeat the defending champions Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. The Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals where they lost to Orr and the Boston Bruins, and Park finished runner-up for the Norris Trophy. 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.
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 the MVP of the deciding Game Eight and named Best Defenceman of the series.
In 197576, the Rangers got off to their worst start in ten years and the team began getting rid of their high-priced veterans. On November 7, 1975, one of the biggest trades of the era was made. Park, star centre Jean Ratelle and minor-leaguer Joe Zanussi were traded to Boston for superstar scoring champion Phil Esposito and defenceman Carol Vadnais. 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 comparisons to the New York Islanders’ Denis Potvin.
Boston Bruins
While Esposito and Vadnais remained effective players for the Rangers, that team remained mirred 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.
Taking over the mantle of leadership from Orr, whose career was threatened by injury and who would soon leave the team, Park continued his great success under coach Don Cherry. Park had previously been an end-to-end rushing player attempting to imitate Orr, but with the Bruins he was told by Cherry to concentrate on defence. Getting over his unpopularity in Boston when he was a member of the arch-rival Rangers, Park settled in well with the Bruins, even hitch-hiking a ride from two teenagers at 1 am in the morning after his car ran out of gas, and Park later rewarded them with free tickets to the next Boston home game.
From 1977-79, Cherry’s “lunch-pail gang” 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. 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. His last hurrah with Boston was in the 1983 playoffs, when he scored a long-remembered overtime goal to beat the Buffalo Sabres in the seventh game of their playoff series.
Detroit Red Wings
The following season Park signed with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent and won the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance that same year, having set a record for assists by a Red Wings’ defenceman. After the 1985 season, still an effective player but hobbled by repeated knee injuries, he announced his retirement. The next year he briefly served as Detroit’s coach.
Retirement and Personal Life
In 1988 Park was elected in his first year of eligibility to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his hometown of Toronto.
Park has resided on the North Shore of Massachusetts for almost 30 years, with his wife Gerry. He has five children and four grandchildren.
Honors and achievements
Named to the First All-Star Team in 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1978.
Named to the Second All-Star Team in 1971 and 1973.
Runner up in Norris Trophy voting in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1978
Received both the most First Team All-Star nominations (other than Earl Seibert, who retired before the trophy was awarded) and was runner-up for the Norris more times without winning the Norris than any other defenceman in NHL history.
Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978.
Retired as the leading defence scorer in Rangers’ history and the second leading defence scorer in Bruins’ (and NHL) history to Bobby Orr.
At the time of his retirement, had played the most seasons in league history for a player never missing the playoffs.
Currently 13th all-time in NHL history in defence scoring.
Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, in this first year of eligibility.
Along with Butch Goring, one of the last two active players who had played in the 1960s.
In 1998, he was ranked number 49 on The Hockey News’ list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
Ranked No. 11 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Season
Team
League
GP
G
A
Pts
PIM
GP
G
A
Pts
PIM
196869
New York Rangers
NHL
54
3
23
26
70
4
0
2
2
7
196970
New York Rangers
NHL
60
11
26
37
98
5
1
2
3
11
197071
New York Rangers
NHL
68
7
37
44
114
13
0
4
4
42
197172
New York Rangers
NHL
75
24
49
73
130
16
4
7
11
21
197273
New York Rangers
NHL
52
10
43
53
51
10
2
5
7
8
197374
New York Rangers
NHL
78
25
57
82
148
13
4
8
12
38
197475
New York Rangers
NHL
65
13
44
57
104
3
1
4
5
2
197576
New York Rangers
NHL
13
2
4
6
23
197576
Boston Bruins
NHL
43
16
37
53
95
11
3
8
11
14
197677
Boston Bruins
NHL
77
12
55
67
67
14
2
10
12
4
197778
Boston Bruins
NHL
80
22
57
79
79
15
9
11
20
14
197879
Boston Bruins
NHL
40
7
32
39
10
11
1
4
5
8
197980
Boston Bruins
NHL
32
5
16
21
27
10
3
6
9
4
198081
Boston Bruins
NHL
78
14
52
66
111
3
1
3
4
11
198182
Boston Bruins
NHL
75
14
42
56
82
11
1
4
5
4
198283
Boston Bruins
NHL
76
10
26
36
82
16
3
9
12
18
198384
Detroit Red Wings
NHL
80
5
53
58
85
3
0
3
3
0
198485
Detroit Red Wings
NHL
67
13
30
43
53
3
0
0
0
11
18 seasons
NHL total
1113
213
683
896
1429
161
35
90
125
217
See also
List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
List of NHL players with 1000 games played
Captain (ice hockey)
References
^ a b
^
^ a b
^
^
^
Brad Park’s biography at Legends of Hockey
Brad Park’s career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
Awards
Preceded by
Lanny McDonald
Bill Masterton Trophy winner
1984
Succeeded by
Anders Hedberg
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Vic Hadfield
New York Rangers captains
197475
Succeeded by
Phil Esposito
Preceded by
Harry Neale
Detroit Red Wings head coach
198586
Succeeded by
Jacques Demers
v d e
New York Rangers first-round draft picks
Osborne Graham Veilleux Park Dickson Dupont Jarry Gratton Vickers Durbano Blanchard MacMillan Middleton Maloney Dillon Murdoch DeBlois Duguay Sulliman Malone Patrick Kontos Gagner Carkner Dahlen Leetch More Rice Stewart Kovalev Ferraro Sundstrom Cloutier Brown Cherneski Malhotra Brendl Lundmark Blackburn Jessiman Montoya Korpikoski Staal Sanguinetti Cherepanov Del Zotto Kreider
v d e
Detroit Red Wings head coaches
Duncan Keats Adams Ivan Skinner Abel Gadsby Harkness Barkley J. Wilson Garvin Delvecchio L. Wilson Kromm Lindsay Maxner Dea Polano Neale Park Demers Murray Bowman Lewis Babcock
v d e
NHL on CTV
Related programs
NHL on TSN LNH RDS NHL on Global
Related articles
Carling O’Keefe
Commentators
Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals Stanley Cup Finals
Key figures
Dan Kelly Dan Matheson Brad Park Ron Reusch
Stanley Cup Finals
1972 (Hockey Night in Canada moved all playoff coverage from CBC to CTV to avoid conflict with the lengthy NABET strike against the CBC) 1985 (Games 3-5) 1986 (Games 1, 2)
Categories: 1948 births | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners | Boston Bruins players | Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players | Canadian ice hockey defencemen | Detroit Red Wings coaches | Detroit Red Wings players | Hockey Hall of Fame inductees | Ice hockey personnel from Ontario | Living people | National Hockey League All-Stars | National Hockey League first round draft picks | New York Rangers draft picks | New York Rangers players | People from Toronto | Toronto Marlboros alumni
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