Andy Bathgate
| Andy Bathgate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1978 | |||
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| Born |
August 28, 1932 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
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| Died | February 26, 2016 (aged 83) Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
NHL New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings Pittsburgh Penguins WHA Vancouver Blazers WHL Vancouver Canucks AHL Cleveland Barons Pittsburgh Hornets Nat-A Ambrì-Piotta |
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| Playing career | 1952–1975 | ||
Andrew James "Andy" Bathgate (August 28, 1932 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. On January 1, 2017, in a ceremony prior to the Centennial Classic, Bathgate was part of the first group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Andy Bathgate was a popular star player of the New York Rangers and also held the honour of being declared the Most Valuable Player of both the NHL and Western Hockey League (WHL). He started his professional career with the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League (AHL) in the 1952–53 season. He bounced between the Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers for two seasons before settling with the Rangers in 1954–55. He played 10 full seasons with the Rangers, where he became a popular player in New York as well as a top-tiered player in the NHL.
In 1961–62, Bathgate and Bobby Hull led the league in points, but Bathgate lost the Art Ross Trophy to Bobby Hull because Hull had more goals.
Bathgate's career was frustrated by the mediocre play of the Rangers and a nagging knee problem. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1963–64 season, where he immediately helped Toronto to a Stanley Cup championship, and later was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings, where he helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1965–66. Bathgate was chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft scoring the first goal in their team's history. However after one season, he returned to the Canucks where he would help lead the team to two consecutive Lester Patrick Cup victories, in 1969 and 1970. His best professional year was with them, where he scored 108 points in 1969–70. That performance gave him the George Leader Cup, the top player award in the WHL. Bathgate's final NHL year was with the Penguins in 1971; 1971–1972 he was playing coach for HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland. He came briefly out of retirement three seasons later to play for the Vancouver Blazers of the World Hockey Association (WHA), which he had coached the previous season, but retired for good after 11 games.
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