THE NEW YORK POST – Islanders legend Mike Bossy, whose scoring touch helped drive the franchise to four straight championships, died Friday after a battle with terminal lung cancer. He was 65.
Bossy’s diagnosis became public last October, when he stepped away from his job as an NHL analyst for the French language network TVA Sports to deal with his health.
Bossy wrote at the time in French, in an open letter.
“The battle I am about to wage will not be easy,”
“Know that I will give 100 percent, nothing less, with the objective of meeting you again soon, after a very eventful hockey game. You will never be very far in my thoughts. On the contrary, you will occupy a privileged place and you will be one of my motivations to get better.”
“Bossy was a loud opponent of fighting in hockey, saying he would never take part in a fight.”
Renaud Lavoie, a former colleague of Bossy’s at TVA, was the first to report the news of his passing.
Bossy played the entirety of his 10-year career on Long Island, earning a place as both a franchise great and one of the best goal scorers the sport has ever seen, before retiring with a chronic back injury.
He finished his career with 573 goals, scoring over 50 in nine straight seasons, an all-time record. Famously, he scored 50 goals in 50 games during the 1980-81 season, matching Maurice “Rocket” Richard’s record.
Of his scoring, former teammate Chico Resch told Sports Illustrated in 1981 that Bossy “scores goals as naturally as you and I wake up in the morning and brush our teeth.”
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, with a list of accolades that includes eight All-Star appearances, three Lady Byng Trophies, the 1981-82 Conn Smythe Trophy and the 1977-78 Calder Trophy.
“He was, needless to say, a slender hockey player,” former teammate Bob Nystrom told The Post … read more
