Deserved to be No. 1

Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Brad Park was often in the shadow of the legendary Bobby Orr. In any other era, Park would have been the best defenseman of his generation. Amazingly, he and Orr might have been Bruins teammates for many years if Boston had used its No. 1 overall pick on Park i n1966. He was clearly the top player available in that draft and expected to be taken first. However, as Park explained in his autobiography, the Bruins organization ignored the advice of its own scouts to use their No. 1 choice on Barry Gibbs, who was playing on a junior team sponsored by the Bruins. That team policy of favoring Boston-affiliated junior players cost the Bruins a chance to have Park and Orr together in their prime. The Bruins eventually made up for the mistake in a the major trade that brough Park to Boston in November 1975, but his time as Orr's teammate was limited to the 1975-76 season, when Orr missed most of the year with injuries. Although he wasn' playing with Orr, Park went on to enjoy eight outstanding seasons with Boston.

Career Vitals

Career NHL Statistics

Teams: N.Y. Rangers, Boston, Detroit.
Years: 1968-1985. Playoffs: 1969-1985

NHL Awards and Honors

Team Awards and Honors

Milestones

Team Records

Career Highlights

Won Memorial Cup with Toronto in 1967. ... Named to OHA All-Star First Team with Toronto in 1967-68. ... Named Rangers alternate captain 1971-72 and held role until he was named team captain. ... Became first Rangers defenseman to score a hat trick when he did it in a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 12, 1971. ... Scored second career hat trick in 8-3 road win at Pittsburgh on Feb. 12, 1972. ... Set Rangers single-season records (since broken) for goals (24), assists (49), and points (73) by a defenseman in 1971-72. ... Set Rangers record (since broken) for points by a defenseman in one playoff year with 11 in 1972. ... Became NHL's highest-paid player in 1972 when he signed with the Rangers for $200,000 per season. ... Set Rangers single-season records (since broken) for goals (25), assists (57), and points (82) by a defenseman in 1973-74. Set Rangers record (since broken) for points by a defenseman in one playoff year with 12 in 1974. ... Became first defenseman to lead entire Rangers team in scoring with 82 points in 1973-74. ... Named Rangers captain in June 1974. ... Left Rangers in 1975 as team's all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 95 goals, 283 assists, and 378 points as well as defensemen playoff career records of 12 goals, 32 assists, and 44 points (records all since broken). ... Was one of 11 20-goal scorers for Boston in 1977-78, a team record. ... Tied NHL and Boston Bruins playoff records (since broken) for goals in one playoff year by a defenseman with nine in 1978. ... Set NHL record (since broken) for most assists in one period with four vs. Chicago on March 17, 1979. ... Missed first 46 games of 1979-80 season with bone spurs in right knee, an injury that required surgeries on Sept. 22, 1979, and Nov. 27, 1979. ... Became only 16th player in NHL history to reach 100 career playoff points during 1980 playoffs. ... Became only second defenseman in NHL history (after Bobby Orr) and the 23rd player overall to reach 500 career assists on Dec. 11, 1980. ... Was on the ice for 78 of 87 Boston power-play goals in 1980-81. ... Scored at 1:52 of overtime to give Boston 3-2 win over Buffalo in Game 7 of 1983 Adams Division Finals at Boston on April 24, 1983. ... Set NHL record (since broken) for career assists by a defenseman when he notched his 646th career assist to pass Bobby Orr in Detroit's March 3, 1984, game vs. Winnipeg.  ... Tied Jean Beliveau's NHL record for consecutive playoff appearances with his 16th in 1984. ... Set Detroit record (since broken) for assists in one season by a defenseman with 53 in 1983-84. ... Led all Detroit players with 53 assists in 1983-84. ... Set NHL record (since broken) for consecutive playoff appearances with his 17th and final trip to playoffs in 1985.

1972 Summit Series

Park made hockey history as a member of Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series vs. the Soviet Union. Park, then 24, had a goal and four assists for five points to earn Best Defenseman honors. He played in all eight games of the series won by the Canadians in Moscow. For being part of Team Canada, Mahovlich was honored with induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame alongside his Summit Series teammates in 2005..

Career Transactions

Nov. 7, 1975 -- Traded by New York Rangers with Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi to Boston in exchange for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais. Aug. 9, 1983 -- Signed with Detroit as an unrestricted free agent.

Free-Agency Controversy

On Aug. 9, 1983, Park left Boston as an unrestricted free agent and signed a two-year contract with Detroit. Boston disputed his free agency status, claiming he still had contractual obligations to the Bruins, but Park noted that his previous contract with Boston had run out on June 1, 1983, and he was free to sign anywhere since his name had been taken off the Boston reserve list. The issue was that Park had agreed to a personal services deal in Boston that would guarantee him employment with the team after he retired as a Bruin, and Boston felt that deal was still in effect. The Bruins were prepared to go to court to fight for some compensation from the Red Wings, but the league ruled that Park was, in fact, unrestricted. One of the reasons he reportedly opted to join Detroit was that Wings owner Mike Ilitch would grant him ownership of two Little Caesars pizza franchises in the Boston area as part of the deal. The contract itself paid Park $350,000 for each of his two seasons.

Significant Injuries

Suffered from chronic knee problems that dated back to his years in junior hockey. Over the course of his career, he would undergo five major knee surgeries and four arthroscopic procedures.. ... Missed part of 1965-66 with torn cartilage in left knee. ... Missed part of 1966-67 with kidney injury. ... Missed 16 games of 1969-70 season with broken right ankle, an injury suffered in February 1970. ... Missed part of 1970-71 season with injured left knee. ... Missed 26 games in 1972-73 season with strained knee. ... Missed part of 1974-75 season with strained left knee. ... Missed final 21 games of the 1975-76 regular season with torn cartilage in left knee, an injury that required surgery on March 5, 1976. He did not reutrn until the playoffs. ... Missed half of 1978-79 season with torn cartilage in right knee, an injury that required two surgeries.

Other Key Facts

Full Name: Douglas Bradford Park
Nickname: "Parkie"

Other Post-Draft Teams: Toronto (OHA); Toronto (OHA Sr.); Buffalo (AHL).

Broadcasting Career: Worked as Hockey Night in Canada color commentator in late 1980s.

NHLPA Activity: Served as a vice-president of the NHLPA for 12 seasons during his playing career. ... Was an outspoken critic of disgraced former NHLPA executive R. Alan Eagleson and asked to be taken out of the Hockey Hall of Fame if Eagleson wasn't removed after his criminal conviction related to abuse of his power in his years with the NHLPA. Eagleson was forced to resign from the Hall not long after Park and others spoke up against his membership.

Book Controversy: Co-wrote Play the Man with Stan Fischler in 1971. The tell-all book caused friction around the league since the "behind-the-scenes" look at his life took some critical shots at other NHL players, including Boston Bruins superstars Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr.

Community Work: Took part in numerous events to help aid cerebral palsy patients during playing days.

Non-Playing Career

Miscellaneous:

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