Rick Middleton

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CanadaCanada  Rick Middleton Ice hockey player
Rick Middleton
Date of birth 4th December 1953
place of birth Toronto , Ontario , Canada
Nickname Nifty
size 180 cm
Weight 79 kg
position Right wing
number # 16
Shot hand Right
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft 1973 , 1st lap, 14th position
New York Rangers
WHA Amateur Draft 1973 , 2nd round, 21st position
Minnesota Fighting Saints
Career stations
1970-1971 Toronto Young Nationals
1971-1973 Oshawa Generals
1973-1974 Providence Reds
1974-1976 New York Rangers
1976-1988 Boston Bruins
1988-1989 EHC Bülach

Richard David "Rick" Middleton (born December 4, 1953 in Toronto , Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player . The right winger played over 1000 games in the National Hockey League between 1974 and 1988 and scored almost as many points . He began his career with the New York Rangers before moving to the Boston Bruins after two seasons and spent a total of twelve years there, during which he established himself as one of the best attackers in the league and at the same time stood out for his fair play, so that he was in 1982 was honored with the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy . For the Bruins, he also include three years (along with Ray Bourque ) as captain led his jersey number is 16 since 2018 locked . In addition, Middleton took part with the Canadian national team in the Canada Cups in 1981 and 1984 and won a gold and silver medal with the team.

Career

As a junior he played for the Oshawa Generals in the OHA and was the league's top scorer in 1973. So it was no surprise when him, the New York Rangers in the NHL Amateur Draft in 1973 chose in the first round as 14th. He was also drafted in the WHA. Here the Minnesota Fighting Saints tried to secure his rights in the second round as 21st. After a year with the Providence Reds in the AHL , he played from the 1974/75 season for the Rangers in the NHL.

After two decent years in New York, he moved to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Ken Hodge . While Hodge ended his career after a year in New York, Middleton became a star in Boston. He managed a hat trick in his first game. He had his best time between 1979 and 1984, when he reached over 90 points scorer five times in a row. But his strengths were not only on the offensive, he was one of the few attackers who belonged to the absolute elite of the league both offensively and defensively. Coach Don Cherry encouraged Middleton's defensive work early on in his career. In 1981, 1982 and 1984 he played in the NHL All-Star Game . And also for the Canadian national ice hockey team , he became the Canada Cup in 1981 and 1984 nominated. Here he played in 1984 in a storm series with Wayne Gretzky and Michel Goulet . From 1985 he was team captain of the Bruins together with Ray Bourque . After the 1987/88 season he ended his NHL career with over 1,000 games and just a few points.

He played in Switzerland for EHC Bülach and in 1998 played three more games for the Toronto Tornados roller hockey team .

Today he works as a commentator and Bruins expert for the New England Sports Network (NESN).

Achievements and Awards

International

NHL records

Career statistics

Regular season Play-offs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1971/72 Oshawa Generals OHA 53 36 34 70 24 12 5 5 10 2
1972/73 Oshawa Generals OHA 62 67 70 137 14th - - - - -
1973/74 Providence Reds AHL 63 36 48 84 14th 15th 9 6th 15th 2
1974/75 New York Rangers NHL 47 22nd 18th 40 19th 3 0 0 0 2
1975/76 New York Rangers NHL 77 24 26th 50 14th - - - - -
1976/77 Boston Bruins NHL 72 20th 22nd 42 2 13 5 4th 9 0
1977/78 Boston Bruins NHL 79 25th 35 60 8th 15th 5 2 7th 0
1978/79 Boston Bruins NHL 71 38 48 86 7th 11 4th 8th 12 0
1979/80 Boston Bruins NHL 80 40 52 92 24 10 4th 2 6th 5
1980/81 Boston Bruins NHL 80 44 59 103 16 3 0 1 1 2
1981/82 Boston Bruins NHL 75 51 43 94 12 11 6th 9 15th 0
1982/83 Boston Bruins NHL 80 49 47 96 8th 17th 11 22nd 33 6th
1983/84 Boston Bruins NHL 80 47 58 105 14th 3 0 0 0 0
1984/85 Boston Bruins NHL 80 30th 46 76 6th 5 3 0 3 0
1985/86 Boston Bruins NHL 49 14th 30th 44 10 - - - - -
1986/87 Boston Bruins NHL 76 31 37 68 6th 4th 2 2 4th 0
1987/88 Boston Bruins NHL 59 13 19th 32 11 19th 5 5 10 4th
1988/89 EHC Bülach NLB 17th 11 14th 25th 18th - - - - -
OHA total 115 103 104 207 38 12 5 5 10 2
NHL overall 1005 448 540 988 157 114 45 55 100 19th

International

Represented Canada to:

year team event result Sp T V Pt SM
1981 Canada Canada Cup 2nd place 7th 1 2 3 0
1984 Canada Canada Cup 1st place, gold 7th 4th 4th 8th 0
Men overall 14th 5 6th 11 0

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Middleton, Rick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Middleton, Richard David (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH 4th December 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Toronto , Ontario , Canada