Mike Bossi, one of the top scorers in hockey and a star of the New York Islanders during their 1980 dynasty, has died after battling lung cancer. He was 65 years old.
The Islanders and TVA Sports, the French-language network in Canada where he worked as a hockey analyst, confirmed that Bossi died on Thursday night. A spokesman for the team said Bossi was in his hometown of Montreal.
Bossi revealed his diagnosis in October in a letter to TVA Sports.
“I have to withdraw from your screens with great sadness, for a necessary pause,” Bossi wrote in French. “I intend to fight with all the determination and fire you have seen me to show on the ice.”
This is the third loss since the Islanders’ era this year, after Hockey Hall of Fame colleague Clark Gilles died in January and Jean Potwin died in March.
“The New York Islanders are grieving the loss of Mike Bossi, an icon not only of Long Island but of the entire hockey world,” said Island Lamps, president and general manager of the Islanders. “His quest to be the best every time he stepped on the ice was unparalleled. Together with his teammates, he helped win four consecutive Stanley Cup titles, shaping the history of this franchise forever.”
Bossi helped the islanders win the Stanley Cup from 1980-83, winning the Cohn Smythe trophy as MVP in the playoffs in 1982. He scored goals for the Cup in 1982 and ’83.
Bossi was selected in the first round in 1977 and played his entire 10-year NHL career with New York. He won Calder’s Rookie of the Year trophy, won Lady Bing’s trophy for gentlemanly behavior three times and led the league in goals twice.
Bossi has scored 50 or more goals in each of his first nine seasons, the longest in the league. He and Wayne Gretzky are the only players in the history of hockey with nine seasons with 50 goals each.
Bossi is one of five players to score 50 goals in 50 games. He remains the all-time leader in goals in a regular-season game at 0.762, and only two players have scored more hat-tricks than Bossi’s 39.
He ranks third in points per game and seventh on the list of all time. They are all in the regular season, when Bossy presented some of the best numbers in the history of the game. In the playoffs, Bossi was even more restrained. He is the only player with four winners in the same playoff series and has scored three goals in the playoffs.
Led by Bossi, Gillis, Brian Trottier and defender Dennis Potwin, the Islanders inherited Scotty Bowman’s Montreal Canadiens from the 1970s as the next NHL dynasty, before Grecky’s Edmonton Oilers took over.
Bossi played eight times in the All Star and finished with 573 goals and 553 assists for 1,126 points in 752 games of the regular season. He was the fastest player to reach the 100-goal mark and is currently ranked 22nd on his career goals list. In the playoffs, Bossi had 160 points in 129 games.
Back and knee injuries eventually ended his career in 1987. He was limited to 38 goals in 63 games and could not return for the 11th season.
Bossi was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, and in 2017 was named one of the 100 Greatest Players in the NHL.
Before reaching the NHL, Bossi played five seasons in Quebec’s Grand Youth Hockey League with Laval National. He has 602 points in 298 QMJHL games. Bossi also represented Canada in the Canadian Cup in 1981 and 1984, long before NHL players began attending the Winter Olympics.
Outside the ice, Bossi was a leader in the hockey battle reduction movement. In 1979, he told the media that he would never fight on the ice.
He wrote about his anti-combat stance in a 2017 article for The Players Tribune entitled “Letter to My Younger Self.”
“You have to be prepared for the names that will be called. You have to be prepared for how people will look at you for making such a statement in 1979. For someone who is already unfairly labeled “shy,” it will be a big deal. Some people in the hockey world just won’t accept it. that someone who doesn’t fight can be a winner. “
In the same article, Bossi also told his 14-year-old that hockey players will take better care of their health in the future.
“The boys no longer smoke cigarettes or drink black coffee during the intermission. They drink smut and stretch, he writes.
Condolences erupted on Twitter on Friday morning when news of his death spread.
“It is very sad to hear about the death of the great Mike Bossi. I had the opportunity to meet him several times. He was such a nice person. My deepest condolences to his family and friends,” said Quebec Prime Minister Francois Lego. “# 22 was a great goal scorer: 573 goals in 10 seasons !!! He led the islanders to 4 Stanley Cup victories with Brian Trotty, Clark Gillis, Dennis Potwin and Billy Smith. He marked my generation!”
1/2 Very sad to learn of the death of the great Mike Bossi. I had the opportunity to meet him several times. He was so friendly. I express my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. 📷 NHL pic.twitter.com/aQWD2PJv0Q
– Francois Lego (@francoislegault) April 15, 2022
“The New York Islanders are deeply saddened to learn of the death of the greatest goal scorer, four-time Stanley Cup champion and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Mike Bossi,” the New York Islanders tweeted.
The New York Islanders are deeply saddened to learn of the deaths of the greatest goal scorer, four-time Stanley Cup champion and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Mike Bossi. https://t.co/hbyozJ4BUS
– New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 15, 2022
“It simply came to our notice then. Our thoughts and condolences are to his friends, family, former teammates and colleagues from TVA Sports, “tweeted the Montreal Canadiens.
We are saddened to learn of Mike Bossi’s death this morning. Our thoughts and condolences are to his friends, family, former teammates and colleagues from TVA Sports.
A legend of our game that will be much missed. pic.twitter.com/K5qLpt0NjC
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) April 15, 2022
– This Associated Press report was first published on April 15, 2022. With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News
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