I'm comfortable with the room I have to manuever up front. However, I still want to get tougher and moe defensive minded. If I get into a grind it out series I want another player who can come in and handle those duties with limited playing time, strong defensive play, good leadership and a physical edge.
Cup winner and multiple time finalist,
LW Terry Crisp
From
LEGENDS OF HOCKEY
Quote:
Five years before Bobby Orr was born, the small town of Parry Sound, Ontario was the birthplace of Terry Crisp. Playing junior hockey, Crisp was a natural playmaker with a strong work ethic and close attention to defense, which made him a great all-round player.
In 1967-68, the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams. The Bruins left Crisp unprotected and he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues. He played in 73 games with the Blues that season, scoring 29 points and was a driving force in helping the club advance to the Stanley Cup finals, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens. In fact, the Blues and Crisp played in three-straight Stanley Cup finals, an extraordinary feat for an expansion team. The most famous game was on May 10, 1970 when Bobby Orr's overtime goal gave the Boston Bruins their first Cup in 29 years. The Blues, meanwhile, have never been back to the finals.
Crisp remained with the Blues until 1972 when the New York Islanders selected him in the Expansion Draft. He played just 54 games with the fledgling team before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Jean Potvin, where the majority of his playing fame was achieved as a member of the famed "Broad Street Bullies." In the 1974 Stanley Cup finals against Boston, it was Crisp's job to shut down the likes of Ken Hodge and Phil Esposito, which he carried out with amazing success. Of course, the stellar goaltending of Bernie Parent was the main reason for the upset victory, but it was a team effort nonetheless. On a team known for its rough, and ,at times, dirty play, Crisp was one of the few players with penalty minutes totalling lower than his weight. Crisp spent just 31 minutes in the box in 1974, and that was the most of his eleven-year career, equalled on one other occasion in St. Louis.
Following their stunning Cup upset win over the Bruins, the Flyers were poised to defend their title. In the 1975 finals, Crisp and the other defensive specialists on the Flyers were assigned to shut down the "French Connection" consisting of Gil Perreault, Rick Martin, and Rene Robert. What little got by Crisp and his fellow mates was turned back by goalie Bernie Parent, who won his second Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. The Flyers had now firmly entrenched themselves as a dynasty. They returned for a third consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup finals in 1976, but were turned aside by a powerful Montreal Canadiens team, which won the first of their four championships in a row.
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