Brad Park remembers well when he became a Bostonian.
Oh sure, technically it was Nov. 7, 1975, when Bruins general manager Harry Sinden pulled the trigger on the trade heard ‘round the hockey world, bringing Park, Jean Ratelle, and Joe Zanussi to town and sending Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to the Rangers.
It wasn’t until about a week later, however, that reality sunk in for Park. And credit Bobby Orr with a primary assist.
“What helped was that Bobby and I played 10 games together and we lost the first one in Vancouver, and then we went on a tear, and we were dominating,” said Park, recalling details as if they happened 50 minutes ago instead of nearly 50 years ago.
In his first game at venerable Boston Garden, the Bruins were running roughshod over the North Stars, with the Orr-Park-driven power play connecting for four goals, when Park received a message from the heavens.
“There was a lull in the action and this guy yells out of the balcony, ‘Hey Pahk, welcome to Bahstin!’ And I said, ‘OK, I think I got them on the right side,’ ” Park said with a chuckle.
Park will be at the new Garden Nov. 20, when he will be honored with the Hockey Legacy Award at The Tradition, the annual sports award program run by The Sports Museum.
That Park could ever be embraced in New England was once thought to be blasphemy.
“I was hated in Boston,” Park said from his home in Maine. “I had written a book that wasn’t very flattering to the Bruins or to the Boston Garden, and the FBI used to have to walk me through to the ice and from the ice because of the death threats I’d get.”
Throw in the fact that his acquisition led to the departure of Esposito, a beloved figure in the city and the locker room, and at the time, a love affair seemed unlikely.
Park managed it, however, as he helped soften the blow of losing Orr, who never played for the Bruins again after those magical 10 games.
Park recalled the trade that changed the course of his Hall of Fame career.
“I got a phone call. I was in Oakland at the Edgewater Inn — I don’t remember what room I was in — when I got a phone call at 7:30 in the morning from the coach, Ron Stewart,” said Park. “He asked me to come to his room, and when I hung the phone up, I said to my roommate, Steve Vickers, ‘I just got traded.’ They don’t call you at 7:30 in the morning to talk strategy.”
The trade sent shockwaves throughout the NHL and even prompted Bruins forward Wayne Cashman to “redecorate” his hotel in Vancouver when he found out his pal, Espo, was gone.
Park was stunned.
“I was a captain of the Rangers. I was 27. I was in my prime. I was actually the highest-paid guy on the Rangers at that time,” he said. “To a certain degree you would think you might be indispensable, but we got off to a slower start and we were trying to right the ship.”
Park, who had helped the Rangers beat the Canucks a couple nights before, headed back to Vancouver to join his new team.
Other than some All-Star Game interactions with Orr and Cashman, Park didn’t have relationships with any of the Bruins.
Park and Ratelle got to the team hotel and met with longtime Bruins PR man Nate Greenberg for dinner. They picked their numbers — Park wore No. 22 and Ratelle No. 10 — and went to bed.
“We heard about Cash destroying his room, but there were no players around,” said Park. “The first time we met any of the guys was when we got on the bus to go to the game.”
Park and Orr played together on the power play or in late-game situations, whether it was protecting a lead or trying to get an equalizer.
“Bobby was a phenomenal player. He did a lot of things that I wasn’t capable of,” said Park. “And there were a number of things that maybe I might’ve been a little bit better at than him, but we both had one thing in common: We both wanted to control the game. So, whenever we had the puck, we made sure that it went in the right direction at the right time.”
They were the preeminent defensemen of their time and are credited with revolutionizing the position and the game.
Orr went on an unprecedented run of winning eight straight Norris Trophies (1967-68 through 1974-75) as the NHL’s best defenseman. Park finished second in the Norris voting four times to Orr and six times overall.
“I think what revolutionized the defense position was that Bobby and I, neither one of us was afraid to jump into the rush,” said Park. “So, if you had a three-on-two or a three-on-three going through the neutral zone, if you could jump in and make it a four-on-three or a four-on-two, that just added to the number of scoring chances you’re going to get. So, in that sense, I think that we did revolutionize the game because we were not afraid to jump into the offense, whether we’re asked or not.”
Park experienced a flood of emotions when he returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time wearing Black and Gold.
“I went back there as a Bruin and I got booed, which was fine,” said Park. “But I thought back to when I got traded, I kind of broke down and cried. And then I got mad because there was now a team that didn’t want me. And I think Jean Ratelle and I felt the same way, that over the next few years, whenever we played the Rangers, we were going to beat them, and I think it took them three years before they may have gotten a win [against us].”
While Orr’s signature moment forever will be his soaring Stanley Cup-winning overtime goal in 1970, Park’s most memorable was also a playoff dandy.
Park drilled an OT winner against the Sabres in Game 7 of the Adams Division finals in 1983.
Park said that goal is the one Bruins fans most ask him about.
“We had to win Game 6 in Buffalo to force Game 7. So, we forced the Game 7, and we were down, 2-0,” he said. “And I always ask people when they talk about the goal that I scored, I say, ‘Well, who got the tying goal?’ It’s always, ‘Well, I don’t know. I don’t know.’ And then I tell them, ‘I did.’ ”
Park finished his 17-year NHL career with 213 goals and 896 points, and a case could be made that his numbers should be hanging from the rafters at TD Garden (No. 22) and Madison Square (No. 2). They are retired already, (Willie O’Ree in Boston and Brian Leetch in New York), but it wouldn’t be unprecedented to double up. The Rangers have retired No. 9 twice (Andy Bathgate and Adam Graves) and No. 11 twice (Mark Messier and Vic Hadfield). Coincidentally, Leetch went from No. 2 with the Rangers to No. 22 with the Bruins, just like Park.
In addition to Park, five others will be honored with Legacy Awards: former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, former Celtic Dee Brown, Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton, and 12-time Olympic swimming medalist Dara Torres.
For tickets, visit www.sportsmuseum.org.
THE SCIENCE GUY
Montgomery’s goal is peak condition
When the Bruins woke up Wednesday, coach Jim Montgomery suggested many of his players skip the traditional morning skate before the game against the Avalanche in Denver.
There was a method to Montgomery’s madness.
“There’s sports science [that factors into] the things we do. And I encouraged most guys not to go on the ice this morning because we’ve been on the ice. We haven’t had a day off since we started,” he said. “And then tonight you’ve got to have short shifts because you don’t want to extend yourself and then all of a sudden you can’t find your lungs.”
Montgomery and associate head coach Joe Sacco are uniquely qualified for preparing and executing a game plan (i.e. short shifts) in the Mile High City. Montgomery coached the University of Denver and Sacco was once the Avalanche’s bench boss.
Montgomery said consulting with the club’s sport science staffers has been “very helpful” when it comes to getting his players in peak physical condition.
“I consult with them daily about how long they think practice should be, and I take that into consideration. Sometimes I go five minutes longer, sometimes I’ll go five minutes less,” said Montgomery. “And the battle level of how hard we want to push them so that lactic acid versus aerobic versus anaerobic conditioning, all those things come into factor, and I think it helps us prepare to give our players the best chance to be at their best at night in games.”
Montgomery said it was “extremely” helpful to have Sacco’s input on pregame planning and in-game execution.
“I lean on him heavily in all situations, so I mean not just in that, but him having coached here, he knows that’s tremendously important,” said the coach.
ETC.
You’ve got to hand it to Marchand
Athletes are superstitious by nature, following game-day procedures precisely for fear of messing with the mojo.
Brad Marchand is not so much superstitious as he is a creature of habit. To wit: The Bruins captain despises breaking in new gloves.
While some players go through myriad mitts during a season, Marchand will use the same ones for seasons on end.
“I don’t go through any,” Marchand said when asked how many pairs he runs through over an 82-game season. “It’ll be years before I change them.”
Marchand said his current gloves are in their second or third season, but “I’ve had gloves for like six, seven years [in the past].”
He will repalm them about once a season.
“But I hate that, too, so I try to push it,” he said. “It’s the way they feel. They’re too stiff. I don’t like how stiff they are.”
Marchand is often described as having “filthy mitts,” and while that’s true, there’s no stink factor along with that filth, as he frequently has his gloves washed.
As for the future, Bruins fans can look forward to at least a few more seasons of Marchand.
“That’s a process to get new gloves,” he said. “I’m starting [to break in] my new gloves this year for 3-4 years down the road now. So, that’s how it goes.”
Tax laws could hamper Canadian teams
Interesting read from The Athletic’s Dan Robson on how Canadian tax laws could seriously hamper how teams in the Great White North compete for free agents.
At the center of the issue is just how much taxes John Tavares will wind up paying on the initial $15 million signing bonus he received as part of the seven-year $77 million deal he signed with the Maple Leafs in 2018.
According to Robson’s reporting, Tavares believed he would pay a lower tax rate on that $15 million bonus because of “a provision in the US-Canada tax treaty commonly used by professional athletes.”
The Canada Revenue Agency disagreed, and Tavares is looking at an $8 million tax bill.
Tavares has disputed the CRA’s assessment, and if he loses and is ordered to pay the $8 million, it could handicap Canadian teams’ pursuit of players.
Stay tuned.
Young captain Keller embracing role
Former Boston University standout Clayton Keller is thriving as the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural captain. Though just 26, Keller has embraced his role, according to coach Andre “The Bear” Tourigny.
“He’s a young captain. But you know what, I will say it was a few years in the working,” said Tourigny. “I think three years ago when he arrived, him and others, we started working on leadership and on stuff they had to improve on and be aware of, and to be [role] models down the road and to grow as leaders. And I think Kells really made strides in this maturity in the last three years. And I think last year we arrived at the point where we’re kind of, ‘OK, now we’re heading towards captaincy.’ "
Tourigny also has high praise for the Bruins.
“I think it’s probably the best culture in the NHL. That’s the way I look at that organization,” he said. “I think they do things right; they have great leaders and that goes from generation to generation. They have a great coach. Monty is an unbelievable coach. Great goaltending. So, they have a lot of championship pieces. Guys who have won championships on that team. So, they’re big as well, physically, really dominant. And they’re defensively every year really stingy. So, there’s a lot of challenges with them.”
Loose pucks
What in the wide, wide world of sports was Rasmus Dahlin thinking when he pummeled teammate Peyton Krebs at Sabres practice this past week? Coaches always want players to show some competitive fire, but there’s no excuse (or place for) teammates fighting. Making matters worse was that Dahlin, Buffalo’s captain, started the fight because Krebs accidentally caught him up high with a stick earlier in the session. Not a good look by Dahlin, who later told WIVB News 4 that he regretted his decision to start the fight . . . Quiz time: Alex Ovechkin registered his 700th assist this past week to join five other players in NHL history with at least 700 goals and 700 assists. Name the other five (and, as always, no Googling!) . . . If you haven’t seen videos of Matt Poitras “chipping” in from the fringe Thursday, do yourself a favor and find it. “Oh, that pelt he took was insane,” said Trent Frederic. “It looks like they were having fun. That’s hilarious, 18th hole to finish out.” . . . Every time I see Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard, I can’t help but think of Tommy Lee Jones (a.k.a. Samuel Gerard) ordering a “hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse” in search of Harrison Ford (a.k.a. Dr. Richard Kimble) in “The Fugitive” . . . The Bruins are playing their first-ever game in Utah Saturday night, but it’s a sort of homecoming for a couple of guys on the trip. Broadcast analysts — and former Bruins — Andy Brickley (NESN) and Bob Beers (The Sports Hub) won the Turner Cup in 1996 as members of the IHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Despite playing in just 36 games, left wing Brickley finished tied for second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 46 points. His roommate, defenseman Beers, had six goals and 36 points in 65 games. The Grizzlies, who were coached by ex-Bruin player and coach Butch Goring, won playoff series over Kansas City, Peoria, Las Vegas, and Orlando to win the International Hockey League crown . . . If we’re talking best third sweaters in the NHL, it’s the Avalanche throwbacks, which pay tribute to the original Colorado Rockies (man, Wilf Paiement was a terror) and the Wild throwbacks, which honor the North Stars (you’re a superstar, Brian Bellows) . . . Quiz answer: Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr, Gordie Howe, Marcel Dionne, and Phil Esposito.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.