Was this one of the best trades in Boston Bruins history?
46 years ago, the Boston Bruins made one of the best trades in franchise history.
Yesterday marked the anniversary of the trade that brought Rick Middleton to the Bruins on May 26th, 1976. Middleton was acquired from the New York Rangers in exchange for Bs legend Ken Hodge.
Of course, what Hodge did for the Bruins can never go unnoticed, as he was a vital piece of the core that won two Stanley Cup championships in 1970 and 1972. In nine seasons with Boston, Hodge collected 289 goals and 385 assists for 674 points in 652 games. He also had 34 goals and 47 assists in 86 postseason games with the Bruins.
Hodge's offensive production was negatively impacted when Phil Esposito was traded to the New York Rangers in November of 1975, and his remaining time with the Bruins was spent in head coach Don Cherry's doghouse. He was eventually reunited with Esposito, and with the Rangers, he would only play two seasons and amassed 23 goals and 45 assists in 96 games played.
At the time of the trade, 32-year-old Hodge was traded for Rick Middleton, who was 10 years younger and a much faster skater. His first 124 games were played as a Ranger, where he would collect 46 goals and 44 assists. Middleton would go on to play with the Bruins for the next 12 seasons of his career. In 881 games, he would score 402 goals and 496 assists for 898 points. He would also amass 45 goals and 55 assists in 111 playoff games with the Bs.
Middleton scored 25 shorthanded goals for Boston, which was a Bruins franchise record that was surpassed by Brad Marchand in 2018–19. In the 1982 quarterfinals against the Buffalo Sabres, he set the record for the most points in a single playoff series with 19. On November 29, 2018, the Boston Bruins retired Middleton's number 16.
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