“The best goalscorer” – New York Islanders pay tribute to Hall of Famer Mike Bossy on Tuesday night

New York Islanders honoured the legendary ice hockey player, Mike Bossy on Tuesday night before their game against the Florida Panthers. Bossy was one of the greatest players in franchise history. Last week he breathed for the last time at the age of 65 after fighting a tough battle with lung cancer. Tuesday was Islanders’ first game after Bossy’s death. Both the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadians honoured him with a pre-game ceremony in Montreal last week.

Mike Bossy won the All-Star 8 times and Stanley Cup Championship 4 times, but this is only an example piece of his long legacy. He will forever be remembered as one of the greatest and purest goalscorers of all time with 573 goals, and 1,126 points in his 752 career games. He was a key part of the Islanders’ 1980s dynasty and still holds the all-time record for goals per game. Bossy topped the 50-goal mark in his 9 of 10 NHL seasons.

Also Read| “Been exciting but a little nerve-wracking” – Cory Schneider gets first NHL win for Islanders since 2020

New York Islanders honours Mike Bossy

Florida Panthers coach, Andrew Brunette agrees with the sentiment that,

“He was the best goal scorer I’ve ever seen”. Though he played only 9 seasons with the team considering the injuries he sustained while playing. Brunette added,

“If you pictured a sniper, and I don’t even know if that term existed in hockey before he played, he epitomizes it,” 

“He was the poster boy of what a sniper is. His goal-scoring was off the charts and it was too bad his career was cut short and he left us way too early.”

Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers said for Mike Bossy,

“For me, the goals come to mind,”

“He’s one of the names you always remember, I was born after he retired, so I did not see him too much growing up, but he’s one of the legends of the game and he is obviously gone way too soon.”

As noted on floridahockeynow.com, New York Islanders coach, Barry Trotz spoke to NYI Hockey Now,

I would hope that [the emotions] are extremely high,” 

“They should be. He is an Islander legend. These are his people. And I would expect an emotional arena today. He’s meant a lot to the franchise, to the fans, had personal relationships with some of the older players that we have, and the players that have stuck around and live in that community. So I would hope it is a very emotional arena. today. And I know it will be.”

Also Read| “Organization mourns the loss of Mike Bossy” New York Islanders legendary goal-scorer, Mike Bossy dies at 65