BillsSabresB.C.T. Fan
02-02-2008, 10:19 PM
This was big. No, make that big!
In the seven previous seasons, Esposito had won the scoring title five times and twice finished second to Bobby Orr, including the previous season. Park was considered the best defenseman in the NHL next to Orr and Ratelle was one of the League's top playmaking centers. Yep, big stuff.
"We both got off to lousy starts," Francis recalled. "In those days, Montreal, New York and Boston didn't deal with each other because we were fighting for the top spot against each other and you don't deal with your enemies.
"But the press really turned on us and the players. We'd had the good years, but we didn't win the Stanley Cup. We were getting older and we knew we had to shake things up.
"Eddie Giacomin had a bad knee and I tried to trade him several times. I got John Davidson that summer because I knew Eddie's time was limited and John was only 22. Every time I used him the crowd chanted, 'Eddie, Eddie'. So, I put Eddie on waivers and Detroit claimed him; and who did we play next in Madison Square Garden? Detroit. It was 55 minutes of 'Eddie, Eddie' until the last five when it turned to 'Kill the Cat, Kill the Cat.' I came off the bench and I had 10 security guys surround me.
"So, I made the initial call and we were discussing this guy and that guy and I said; 'Harry, there's no point talking twos and threes. If we're going to shake these teams up, let's talk about the better players.' I said I'd talk about Brad Park. He asked who I wanted to talk about and I said Orr. This went on for about a month and I flew in there a couple of times.
"Then, about a week before the trade, we looked really bad in Philly and I put the whole team on waivers. I did. I told them I was going to do it. Then Harry asked about Ratelle and I said I needed Espo, but those names didn't come up the first three weeks."
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=351849
In the seven previous seasons, Esposito had won the scoring title five times and twice finished second to Bobby Orr, including the previous season. Park was considered the best defenseman in the NHL next to Orr and Ratelle was one of the League's top playmaking centers. Yep, big stuff.
"We both got off to lousy starts," Francis recalled. "In those days, Montreal, New York and Boston didn't deal with each other because we were fighting for the top spot against each other and you don't deal with your enemies.
"But the press really turned on us and the players. We'd had the good years, but we didn't win the Stanley Cup. We were getting older and we knew we had to shake things up.
"Eddie Giacomin had a bad knee and I tried to trade him several times. I got John Davidson that summer because I knew Eddie's time was limited and John was only 22. Every time I used him the crowd chanted, 'Eddie, Eddie'. So, I put Eddie on waivers and Detroit claimed him; and who did we play next in Madison Square Garden? Detroit. It was 55 minutes of 'Eddie, Eddie' until the last five when it turned to 'Kill the Cat, Kill the Cat.' I came off the bench and I had 10 security guys surround me.
"So, I made the initial call and we were discussing this guy and that guy and I said; 'Harry, there's no point talking twos and threes. If we're going to shake these teams up, let's talk about the better players.' I said I'd talk about Brad Park. He asked who I wanted to talk about and I said Orr. This went on for about a month and I flew in there a couple of times.
"Then, about a week before the trade, we looked really bad in Philly and I put the whole team on waivers. I did. I told them I was going to do it. Then Harry asked about Ratelle and I said I needed Espo, but those names didn't come up the first three weeks."
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=351849