One of the biggest trades in NHL history took place on this day, as two fierce rivals swapped star players. Additionally, some of Detroit’s best skaters had big moments on Nov. 7, with multiple defensemen having big nights on the scoresheet. The THW time machine is activated and ready to take us back in time and relive all the wonderful memories.
esposito opens on broadway
On November 7, 1975, the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers completed one of the largest trades in NHL history. The Bruins traded elite center Phil Esposito and guard Carol Vadnais for center Jean Ratelle, guard Brad Park and minor league guard Joe Zanussi.
It’s no secret that Esposito wasn’t happy about being traded to one of his most hated rivals. In fact, back in 2013, he made it clear that he wasn’t moving on yet.
I didn’t choose to leave Boston. I signed a contract in Boston for less than what I would have gotten for attending the World Health Assembly. I could have made millions of dollars doing this. Do you know how they repaid me? Three weeks later, they traded me to the (New York Rangers).
Excerpted from “Esposito brothers divided over meaning of Boston-Chicago final” by Steve Simmons – Toronto Sun, June 11, 2013
He didn’t let his feelings affect his game as Esposito wore a Rangers uniform later that night. He scored two goals and provided an assist in the Rangers’ 7-5 victory over the Oakland Seals.
All-time great goalkeepers add to legends
Hall of Fame goaltenders Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall had a close connection throughout their long careers. They were rivals for years, eventually spending two seasons as teammates with the St. Louis Blues. Both network administrators have many memories of the day.
On November 7, 1957, Plant completed his 27th career shutout in the Montreal Canadiens’ 6-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Maurice Richard and Claude Provost each had a goal and two assists to lead the offense.
Two years later, on November 7, 1959, Plant wore a mask and started for the Canadiens for the first time in his NHL career, six days later in a 2-2 draw with Hall and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Hall scored 38 pointsth On November 7, 1961, Bill Hay ended his career with four assists in the Blackhawks’ 6-0 victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
Related – Top 5 NHL Goaltenders of the 1950s
A year later, on November 7, 1962, Hall made his 502ND Made consecutive starts in a 3-3 tie with the Bruins. He had played every minute of his previous 501 games, but that streak came to an end when a back injury forced him to miss games and Denis DeJordi replaced him.
On November 6, 1965, Hall scored another game-winner in a 9-0 victory over Toronto. Bobby Hull was the star of the night with 15 pointsth Career hat trick and added 3 assists. In the 1965-66 season, he scored 54 league goals, a league record.
Finally, on November 7, 1968, Plant completed his 65th career shutout in the Blues’ 8-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. St. Louis center Red Berenson scored six goals and added one assist, becoming the first player to score six goals in an NHL game since Red Wings player Sid Howe in 1944.
Red Wings legend shines
On November 7, 1951, rookie Alex Delvecchio scored the first two goals of his NHL career and provided an assist in the Red Wings’ 4-4 draw with the Rangers. Twenty-two years later, on November 7, 1973, the Red Wings fired head coach Ted Garvin and appointed Delvecchio to replace him. However, he hadn’t retired yet, so Gavin coached his final game that night. DelVecchio officially retired and began coaching two days later.
On November 7, 1954, Ted Lindsay became the first player in franchise history and the fifth player in the NHL to score 250 goals. Goaltender Terry Sawchuk scored 48 pointsth 1-0 career win against the Rangers.
Nov. 7, 1968 Gordie Howe gets assist in 1,600 gamesth A point in his remarkable career. The landmark assist came on DelVecchio’s goal in the first period of the team’s 5-2 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.
An important date for the defensemen
Jon Van Boxmeer had a big night in the Buffalo Sabres’ 6-2 road win over the New York Islanders on Nov. 7, 1981. He scored a hat trick and dished out two assists, setting a team record for most points scored by a defensive player in a single game.
On November 7, 1990, the New Jersey Devils lost 6-3 to the Islanders, and Bruce Driver became the all-time leading scorer among New Jersey Devils defensemen. He has since been surpassed by two Hall of Famers, Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens.
On November 7, 1992, defender Doug Crossman scored his first career hat trick, including the game-winning goal in overtime. He also had three assists, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 6-5 victory over the Islanders, giving Terry Crisp his 150th NHL victory.
On November 7, 2002, Brian Leach scored in overtime to lead the Rangers to a 1-0 victory over the Calgary Flames. With this goal, he became the first defender in league history to score seven goals in overtime during the regular season.
Odds and outcomes
On November 7, 1979, Darryl Sittler sent an assist and became the third player in Maple Leafs history to score 700 points. Defenseman Borje Salmin had four assists as Toronto won 7-4 in St. Louis.
On November 7, 1980, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. He only played in 92 gamesND Wayne Gretzky scores 100 career pointsth Assistance in his early career.
On November 7, 1981, the Washington Capitals retired the first number in franchise history, sending Yvon Labre’s No. 7 to the rafters. The defender has 12 goals, 96 points and 756 penalty minutes in 334 games.
On November 7, 1982, Gilbert Perreault became the first player in Sabres’ history to score 400 goals as a member of the team. Buffalo achieved this milestone with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
On November 7, 1987, the Kings defeated the Rangers 5-4, and Bernie Nichols became the fifth player to score 200 goals in a Kings uniform. In the same game, former Kings great Marcel Dionne scored two goals and added an assist in the loss, becoming the third player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career assists. He joins Howe and Gretzky in the 1,000-assist club. There are currently 13 players who have reached this platform.
Bobby Holik scores 5,000 pointsth On November 7, 2001, he scored the goals in Devils history. He scored two goals and provided one assist, leading New Jersey to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Atlanta Thrashers.
On November 7, 2007, Mike Modano scored two goals in the first quarter, becoming the highest-scoring player born in the United States in NHL history. In a 3-1 road win over the San Jose Sharks, he scored 1,233 points, passing Phil Housley.
Jaromir Jagr in his 1,925 skatesth On November 7, 2017, he totaled the total games played during the regular season and playoffs. He surpassed Howe and ranked second on the league’s all-time games played list. He ended his career with just 51 games total, trailing Mark Messier for the most ever.
That same night, Roberto Luongo completed his 972ND Surpassing Sawchuk and becoming the third-highest player in NHL history. He made 45 saves, but it wasn’t enough as his Florida Panthers lost 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes. He retired in 2019 with 1,044 appearances, second only to Martin Broad.
On this day in 2021, Islanders Casey Cizikas and Ryan Pulock set some game milestones by playing their 600th and 300th NHL games respectively. David Perron also tied Bobby Plager with his 616th game to become the 10th most capped player in Blues history, and Craig Berube coached his 200th game, becoming the eighth Blues coach to reach that peak. Finally, Danny DeKeyser capped off the night by playing his 500th NHL game for the Red Wings.
On November 7, 2022, Connor McDavid played his 500th NHL game. In those 500 games, he scored 252 goals and scored 724 points.
Artemi Panarin’s goal on November 7, 2023 raised his total to 7 goals and 20 points (Grand Prix) in 12 games for the 2023-24 season. He became the eighth player in Rangers history to score 20 points in a season in 12 games or fewer, joining Pavel Bure (11 games in 2001-02), Carey Wilson (1988) -11 Grands Prix in 1989), Walter Podubny (11 Grands Prix in 1986-87), Rod Gilbert (11 Grands Prix in 1972-73), Jaromir Jagr (2006-07) 12 Grand Prix in 1929), Frank Boucher (12 Grand Prix in 1929-30) and Bill Cook (12 Grand Prix in 1929-30).
That night, Martin Necas scored his ninth career overtime goal at 1:30 of overtime, which was the second-most goals in team history, second only to Sebastian Aho (10 goals) who assisted Necas’s winning goal. He also became the third player in NHL history to score nine overtime goals before his 300th career game. Others: Nels Stewart and Frank Finnegan (both nine).
On November 7, 2023, Noah Dobson scored his 34th career goal, surpassing Thomas Jonsson and becoming the only Islanders defender with the second most goals before the age of 24, second only to Dennis Potvin.
On November 7, 2023, the Sharks defeated the Flyers 2-1 and finally won the first game of the 2023-24 season. Mackenzie Blackwood made 38 saves in the win, the second-most saves by a goaltender in his first career win (debut or otherwise) with the club, trailing only Troy Grosenick (45 saves on Nov. 16, 2014).
Happy birthday to you
November 7th is the birthday of 19 players who have played at least one game in the NHL. The most notable players in this group were Ernie Hicke (78), Mike Commodore (46), Pascal Leclaire (43), as well as the late Metro Prystai and Hall of Famer Rusty Crawford.
*Originally built by Greg Boysen
