Mike Bossy 1957-2022

[GHT120]

 

Perhaps the greatest pure scorer I ever saw

 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

I can't think of a better pure goal scorer.  Gone way too soon.  Not too shabby for a 15th overall pick. 

[DON]

Pretty slick shooter for sure and always seemed a classy player. Pretty darn consistent career and too bad a bad back caused him to retire early with 75pts in 63gms in his last season.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Simply a scoring machine.

 

Should have been a Hab.

[DON]

10 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Simply a scoring machine.

 

Should have been a Hab.

Maybe seemed to 'soft' or nonchalant for those days, when drafted? He was taken 15th, Habs picked last at 18..what if they got Bossy instead of Norm Dupont? A string of 6 cups in a row? 

[hab29RETIRED]

1 hour ago, DON said:

Maybe seemed to 'soft' or nonchalant for those days, when drafted? He was taken 15th, Habs picked last at 18..what if they got Bossy instead of Norm Dupont? A string of 6 cups in a row? 

Didn’t they take Napier instead of him? Imagine if they had picked Bossy and than Denis Savard instead of Wickeneiser. A couple more cups for us and doubt if Isles have a dynasty.

[Helmethead]

RIP to an absolute gentleman. 
 

Lady Byng could easily be renamed in his honor. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

6 hours ago, DON said:

Maybe seemed to 'soft' or nonchalant for those days, when drafted? He was taken 15th, Habs picked last at 18..what if they got Bossy instead of Norm Dupont? A string of 6 cups in a row? 

 

I think the idea was he was soft and couldn’t play defence. 🙄 The story goes that Bill Toerry’s scouts were worried about that, and Torrey responded that you can teach a guy to play defence, but you can’t teach a guy how to score.

 

53 goals in his rookie year. 

 

Yeah, Bossy on the Habs might well have yielded at least one more Cup…he would have slotted in perfectly during The Flower’s decline. It’s a little known fact that the Habs’ scouting dropped off during the final years of Pollock’s rein.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

14 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

53 goals in his rookie year. 

 

 

That's amazing. He scored 573 goals in only 10 seasons. Remarkable. If he had stayed healthy Ovechkin would  be chasing him. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

1 minute ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

That's amazing. He scored 573 goals in only 10 seasons. Remarkable. If he had stayed healthy Ovechkin would  be chasing him. 

 

His stats are absolutely insane. Even in his injury-compromised final year, he was still almost at a 50-goal pace. Literally a scoring machine. I think you’re right.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

2 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

His stats are absolutely insane. Even in his injury-compromised final year, he was still almost at a 50-goal pace. Literally a scoring machine. I think you’re right.

 

They are insane, 573 goals in 752 games, that's 62.5 goals per 82 games.  I don't think anybody else is close. 

[Commandant]

The best pure goal scorer the league ever saw? Possibly 

[xXx..CK..xXx]

2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

They are insane, 573 goals in 752 games, that's 62.5 goals per 82 games.  I don't think anybody else is close. 

Mario Lemieux was next with 61.8 goals over an 82 game span.

 

After that it drops down to 52.3 goals per 82 for anyone who played in the 20th and 21st century by Auston Matthews.

 

rip Mike Bossy

[Sir_Boagalott]

On 4/15/2022 at 11:46 PM, Commandant said:

The best pure goal scorer the league ever saw? Possibly 

 

Apparently, its a fact that he was.  During the 1 game they showed some career scoring stats, and it was list of scorers with over 500 goals.  Bossy's Goal scoring average was 0.76 goals per game.  Lemieux was 2nd on the list with 0.74.  No other players were anywhere close to them. 

 

I forget who else was on the list, or what % they had; but no one else over 0.70.  3rd was significantly behind them.   OV was on the list too and even he is slightly higher than Gretzky.  For some reason that list made me think of Lafontaine, who I always considered a great scorer too.  I was surprised that he wasnt on it so I had to look his stats up.  He never hit 500 goals (485), and his average was over 0.50/game but was less than Gretzky. 

 

I always hated the early 80's Islanders, and I was never big fan Gretzky either, but I was always a fan of Bossy. 

 

I find it funny that numerous posters ponder that the Habs might have won 1 more Cup had they drafted Bossy.  Honestly, I think the Habs probably would have won 2 if not 3 more Cups if they had Bossy.  i.e. the Islanders were a good defensive team before they got Bossy, but they didnt score enough.  It was his scoring that won them those Cups. 

 

 

 

 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

A lot of teams regretted not taking Bossy, Montreal did take Napier at #10 which was a pretty good pick as there were some slugs taken before him.  They also took Langway at 36 which was a great pick so not a bad draft for the Habs. Obviously though, Bossy was by far the best player taken from that draft. 

[Commandant]

33 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

Apparently, its a fact that he was.  During the 1 game they showed some career scoring stats, and it was list of scorers with over 500 goals.  Bossy's Goal scoring average was 0.76 goals per game.  Lemieux was 2nd on the list with 0.74.  No other players were anywhere close to them. 

 

I forget who else was on the list, or what % they had; but no one else over 0.70.  3rd was significantly behind them.   OV was on the list too and even he is slightly higher than Gretzky.  For some reason that list made me think of Lafontaine, who I always considered a great scorer too.  I was surprised that he wasnt on it so I had to look his stats up.  He never hit 500 goals (485), and his average was over 0.50/game but was less than Gretzky. 

 

I always hated the early 80's Islanders, and I was never big fan Gretzky either, but I was always a fan of Bossy. 

 

I find it funny that numerous posters ponder that the Habs might have won 1 more Cup had they drafted Bossy.  Honestly, I think the Habs probably would have won 2 if not 3 more Cups if they had Bossy.  i.e. the Islanders were a good defensive team before they got Bossy, but they didnt score enough.  It was his scoring that won them those Cups. 

 

 

 

 

 

Stats dont tell the whole story though.  Id say ovechkin is a better scorer personally cause of the goalies today being so much better than the 80s.

 

That said its certainly debateable.  But i don't think you can just compare 80s stats and current stats without context.

[Sir_Boagalott]

2 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

Stats dont tell the whole story though.  Id say ovechkin is a better scorer personally cause of the goalies today being so much better than the 80s.

 

That said its certainly debateable.  But i don't think you can just compare 80s stats and current stats without context.

 

That's a good point, but either way its surprising that Bossy has the highest career scoring average of all time.  That would be a great trivia question that the majority of fans would get wrong. 

 

OV's numbers are also surprising, because he is 0.01 point higher than Gretzky.  OV should be able to pass Gretzky in total goals, but will have taken more seasons to have done it.  That doesnt really make sense. 

[hab29RETIRED]

10 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

Stats dont tell the whole story though.  Id say ovechkin is a better scorer personally cause of the goalies today being so much better than the 80s.

 

That said its certainly debateable.  But i don't think you can just compare 80s stats and current stats without context.

I agree. Bossy was a great scorer and has the highest GPG. But he never actually played in the years that most players start to decline. Hell, if you were to look at Getzky and Bossy during the years that are the prime goal scoring years for both , Im pretty sure Gretzky would come out ahead.

 

what makes Ovechkin so amazing is not only the era he is playing in has much better goaltending, defence, and much less 50 goal scorers, but he is probably going to score 50 goal again at an age most goal scorers are considered old. Most players don’t maintain that high of a GPG rate into their 30’s. Players get hurt, or decline. He had a few years where he wasn’t at least a 40+ goal season, but for the most part he has been probably the most consistent goal scorer in history- in a period where goal scoring is at a premium, and 50 goal  scorers are much harder to come by. 
 

Just as he arguement is made that a bossy would probably had passed at least Howe’s totals if it weren’t for his injury shortened career, you could also that Ovechkin would have passed Howe by now, if it wasn’t for the lockout and Covid shortened seasons.

 

On another note I always thought a player like Bossy should have been head of the DOPS. Sick off seeing goons, meatheads, or guys that crossed the line on many occasions in their career in that role. 

 

 

[Commandant]

9 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said:

I agree. Bossy was a great scorer and has the highest GPG. But he never actually played in ton he years others start declining. Hell, if you were to look at Getzky and Bossy during the years that are the prime goal scoring years, I think Gretzky would come out ahead.

 

what makes Ovechkin so amazing is not only the era he is playing in has much better goaltending, defence, and much less 50 goal scorers, but he is probably going to get another 50 goal season Most players don’t maintain that high of a GPG rate into their 30’s. Players get hurt, or decline. He had a few years where he wasn’t at least a 40+ goal season, but for the most part he has been probably the most consistent goal scorer in history- in a period where goal scoring is at a premium, and 50 goal  scorers are much harder to come by. 
 

Just as he arguement is made that a bossy would probably had passed at least Howe’s totals if it weren’t for his injury shortened career., tue same arguement could be made that Ovechkin would have passed Howe by now if it wasn’t for the lockout and Covid shortened seasons.

 

On another note I always thought a player like Bossy should have been head of the DOPS. Sick off seeing goons, meatheads, or guys that crossed the line on many occasions in their career in that role. 

 

 

 

Absolutely.  Not playing his decline years is an excellent point.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Nine straight 50-goal seasons is an incredible feat in any era. But that’s not to take anything away from Ovi (let along Gretzky). You can’t really compare players across different eras - too many variables change, and people are inseparable from their own times. Bossy was like Ovi insofar as both are the most widely-feared goal-scorers, unrelenting goal-scorers of their era. (Ovi brings a formidable physical element Bossy completely lacked; in terms of style, Bossy was more like Brett Hull). Neither Ovi nor Bossy transcended their opponents in the way that only three players have ever done: Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, and Mario Lemieux. Those three were off the chart, so far ahead of their peers as to seem like they came from another planet; similar to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods in his prime in being completely on another level.

 

As for Habs29’s view that Bossy should have run the Department of Player Safety, I could not agree more. Not only would he actually have protected player safety - unlike the NHL’s bull-crap Orwellian version - but he would have been completely unmoved by “good old boy” NHL logics of favourites who mustn’t be punished because they’re “good” and “weasels” who deserve what they get. He never played by the NHL’s idiotic cultural rule book.

 

 

[GHT120]

9 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

... OV should be able to pass Gretzky in total goals, but will have taken more seasons to have done it ...

If/when it happens, I'll look more at games played than seasons.