Bossy was 'home run hitter' for Islanders during Stanley Cup dynasty

"Mike Bossy scored goals as naturally as you and I wake up in the morning." -- Glenn Resch

Longtime New York Islanders teammate
Glenn "Chico" Resch
was a goalie in a position to judge the artistry of the inimitable goal machine that was
Mike Bossy
.
Having seen the prolific
Maurice "The Rocket" Richard
as well as Bossy, my view is that each ranked among the greatest, most natural goal-scorers in NHL history.
Bossy died Friday at the age of 65 from lung cancer, leaving behind an incredible hockey legacy.
RELATED: [Islanders legend Bossy dies at 65 | Bossy's 50-in-50 chase thrilled Rocket Richard]
The Rocket was more explosive and more temperamental. Bossy's goals were just as laser-like, but there was more finesse to his style.
"I couldn't possibly prepare for his moves," former Quebec Nordiques and Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Michel Dion said. "All I could think to myself was, 'Which one of his 150 moves is Mike going to use this time?'"
Over the years, seasoned analysts tried to define the Bossy style or to identify precisely how he'd pick a corner or roof a backhand. No matter how the question was phrased, Bossy had the simple explanation.
"I hardly ever look when I take a shot," he said.
Speaking of looks, the Islanders didn't look as if they would become the team that would select Bossy in the 1977 NHL Draft.
"We were slated for the 15th spot [in the first round] and we knew the [New York] Rangers had two picks ahead of us, not to mention other teams," former Islanders general manager Bill Torrey said.
Jim Devellano, an Islanders executive at the time, said there were doubts Bossy was tough enough to play in the NHL. Bossy took plenty of abuse in juniors but didn't believe in fighting. Some Islanders scouts were urging Torrey to pick rugged forward Dwight Foster instead.
Former Islanders coach Al Arbour helped make the final decision.
"When Bill told me that Bossy was a 'home run hitter,'" Arbour recalled, "I said, 'Let's go for the home run hitter.'"
Once Bossy arrived at training camp in September 1977, Arbour put him on a line with Bryan Trottier at center and Clark Gillies on left wing.
"They clicked almost from the get-go," Arbour said. "'Trots' was the playmaker and scorer; 'Clarkie' worked the corners and Mike scored the goals."
Bossy's goals came so fast that just before the December holidays in 1977, then-Washington Capitals coach Tom McVie joked, "What I want for Christmas is a Mike Bossy doll. Wind it up and he scores 60 goals."
Close enough. Bossy scored 53 goals in 73 games his first season and won the Calder Trophy, voted as NHL rookie of the year.
The Bossy-Trottier-Gillies line was nicknamed "Trio Grande" and became a permanent fixture, though John Tonelli was sometimes inserted for Gillies.
"Trots and I became best friends from start to finish," Bossy said. "Bryan was very helpful to me at my first camp, [he] even invited me to his house until I found a place of my own."
Bossy grew with the team and suffered setbacks along the way too. Despite a sensational 1977-78 regular season, the Islanders were considered to be Stanley Cup contenders but were eliminated in seven games by the tough Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Quarterfinals.
Not surprisingly, Bossy was a constant target. At one point, burly Toronto forward Jerry Butler crunched Bossy into the boards. Bossy went down hard and left Maple Leaf Gardens on a stretcher with what appeared to be a serious injury.
He recovered, but the Islanders did not. They were eliminated in overtime of Game 7, and almost immediately were labeled "chokers."
Bossy scored an NHL career-high 69 goals in 1978-79, but he and his teammates lost in six games to the underdog Rangers in the best-of-7 NHL Semifinals.

Bossy respected and detested the Rangers. In his autobiography, "Boss -- The Mike Bossy Story," he devoted an entire chapter to the rivalry. It was titled, "Those Damned Rangers."
Chokers.
"There was no question that we had to erase that label," Bossy said. "And in 1980 we finally did."
By acquiring Butch Goring in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings for Billy Harris and Dave Lewis, the Islanders added a veteran center to relieve some of the two-way burden Trottier carried. That, in turn, freed Bossy during the playoffs.
On May 24, 1980, Bossy had a goal and an assist and the Islanders erased the "chokers" label, winning the first of four straight Stanley Cup championships when Bob Nystrom scored the series-clinching goal at 7:11 of overtime in Game 6 of the Final against the Philadelphia Flyers.
At training camp the next season, Bossy vowed that he'd tie Rocket Richard's record of 50 goals in 50 games. On Jan. 24, 1981, he spectacularly accomplished that feat at 18:31 of the third period in a 7-4 win against the Quebec Nordiques.
Bossy even obtained his revenge against the Rangers in "The Suburban Sweep" of the 1981 playoffs when the Islanders won four straight playoff games against the Rangers in the NHL Semifinals.
In Game 3, Bossy scored the first goal in a 5-1 victory, and in the clinching Game 4, he scored twice; with one flip of his backhand in the first period, Bossy set three NHL playoff marks simultaneously.
It was his eighth power-play goal of the 1981 postseason and the Islanders' 26th -- each a record -- as well as his 81st goal of the season -- regular season and playoffs combined -- topping Reggie Leach's five-year-old record of 80.
The Islanders won their second consecutive championship that season. In his autobiography, he conceded that defeating the Minnesota North Stars in five games "was the easiest Cup Final of the four that we won."
But in neither the first nor second championship run did Bossy win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. That would come in 1982 against the nasty Vancouver Canucks.
"They had [Dave] 'Tiger' Williams and he was as rough as they come," Bossy said. "Tiger was after me from the start of the series to the very end."
Having covered the first game of the 1982 Stanley Cup Final at Nassau Coliseum, I recall the Canucks had the champs on their heels. In fact, Vancouver led 5-4 before Bossy tied the game at 15:14 of the third period, and then won it on a brilliant goal at 19:58 of overtime for a 6-5 win.

"I had been at the right face-off circle and anticipated it [a pass by the Canucks]," Bossy explained. "I moved into the slot and the puck was there."
Canucks defenseman Lars Lindgren upended Bossy in Game 3 of the Final and while in mid-air, Bossy backhanded the puck over Canucks defenseman Colin Campbell and into the net, helping New York win 3-0 and grab a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
"Only Mike Bossy could score a goal like that," Campbell said.
Despite the three Cup titles and 1982 Conn Smythe Trophy, Bossy's excellence often was overshadowed by Edmonton Oilers superstar Wayne Gretzky.
Privately, Bossy once told me that he resented the fact he didn't receive the accolades he felt he deserved. But his excellence never diminished, and his personal revenge was obtained in June 1983 when the Islanders swept the Oilers in four games for their fourth straight Stanley Cup title.
Appropriately, Bossy scored in the final game, a 4-2 win.
"That one was as gratifying as any," he said.
There were no more Cup rings for Bossy, but his productive, efficient and clean play won him a hat trick of Lady Byng Trophies for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct (1983, 1984, 1986). A chronic back injury led to his retirement in 1988 after 573 goals in 10 NHL seasons. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
Following his retirement, Bossy became an analyst for MSG Network at occasional Islanders games and was impressive with his insights.
Prior to his illness, Mike was argus-eyed when it came to the NHL, with particular attention to sharpshooters such as Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews. In February 2021, Bossy told the Toronto Sun that Matthews would capture the Rocket Richard Trophy for leading the NHL in goals, which Matthews did last season and could do again this season.
Listening to Bossy discuss Matthews, it became apparent there was a feeling of great respect for the Maple Leafs ace.
"Watch Matthews," Bossy said. "He loves to score goals and he has that natural goal-scorer's instinct. He has the shot, or shall I say, shots.
"You can't explain scoring. It just happens."
Bossy, however, made a distinction between the contemporary game and the brand of hockey he played during the Islanders' four-Cup dynasty. He told the New York Post that cross-checking was more severe in the early 1980s than now.
"You don't see hooking and holding around the net," Bossy said. "And there's not much hitting around the net nor in front of the net. There's a lot of room out there that's not talked about."
We loved being around the guy because he was so good at what he did on the ice and so refreshing off it with brilliant and candid commentary. His every visit to the Coliseum was like a tonic for all of us. It's hard to believe we've lost such a brilliant performer and so grand a friend.
To the inimitable Mike Bossy, we say adieu, old pal, adieu!