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| Nick Fotiu | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1952-05-25)May 25, 1952 (age 73) Staten Island,New York, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | New England Whalers New York Rangers Hartford Whalers Calgary Flames Philadelphia Flyers Edmonton Oilers | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1973–1990 | ||
Nicholas Evlampios Fotiu (born May 25, 1952) is an American former professionalice hockey forward. He played in theWorld Hockey Association andNational Hockey League between 1974 and 1988.
Fotiu's father was of Greek descent, while his mother was of Italian descent.[1] A left winger, Fotiu began his career in theWorld Hockey Association (WHA) with theNew England Whalers in the 1974–75 season. Two years later, he signed with his hometownNew York Rangers of theNational Hockey League (NHL), where his role as anenforcer endeared him to Ranger fans. He was loved for his fighting style, which he picked up as a golden-gloves boxer, and he was the first New York City-born Ranger.[2] Fotiu's popularity as a Ranger was enhanced by his willingness to throw pucks up into theMadison Square Garden "blue seats" after pre-game warmups, where previously he sat as a young fan. These seats were the least expensive and farthest seats from the action, far beyond where pucks would normally land during gameplay. Fotiu played with the Rangers until 1979, when he was claimed by the renamed Hartford Whalers in the1979 NHL Expansion Draft.
Fotiu's second tour with the Whalers ended when he was traded back to the Rangers during the middle of the1980–81 NHL season, where he remained for five seasons. He was traded to theCalgary Flames in 1986 and helped them get to their first Stanley Cup finals appearance. Fotiu also played for thePhiladelphia Flyers and briefly with theEdmonton Oilers before retiring from professional play in 1990.
After retiring, Fotiu moved into coaching and was most recently an assistant coach of theHartford Wolf Pack. Fotiu runs a construction business and a charitable foundation, in addition to doing public relations for the Rangers.[citation needed]
Nick Fotiu has been inducted into theStaten Island Sports Hall of Fame. He is the first native ofNew York City to play for the New York Rangers.
In the 2009 book100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Fotiu at No. 100 all-time of the901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first82 seasons.[1]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1971–72 | New Hyde Park Arrows | NYJHL | 32 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 135 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | ||
| 1972–73 | New Hyde Park Arrows | NYJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Cape Cod Cubs | NAHL | 72 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 371 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 80 | ||
| 1974–75 | New England Whalers | WHA | 61 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 144 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 27 | ||
| 1974–75 | Cape Codders | NAHL | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | New England Whalers | WHA | 49 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 94 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 57 | ||
| 1975–76 | Cape Codders | NAHL | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 174 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Rangers | NHL | 59 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 105 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1977–78 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | New York Rangers | NHL | 71 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 190 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1979–80 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 74 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 107 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1980–81 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 42 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | New York Rangers | NHL | 27 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 91 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1981–82 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 151 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1982–83 | New York Rangers | NHL | 72 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 90 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1983–84 | New York Rangers | NHL | 40 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 115 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | New York Rangers | NHL | 46 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | ||
| 1986–87 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 42 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 145 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 31 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| WHA totals | 110 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 238 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 84 | ||||
| NHL totals | 646 | 60 | 77 | 137 | 1362 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 67 | ||||
| Preceded by | Head coaches of the Johnstown Chiefs 1995-1997 | Succeeded by |