Bruins Legend Reflects On Being Traded For Phil Esposito

Brad Park enjoyed a sensational seven-plus seasons with the Boston Bruins as an impactful defenseman.

But the Hockey Hall of Famer wasn’t exactly keen on joining the Bruins when the New York Rangers traded Park along with Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi for the legendary Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais early in the 1975-76 season.

Park explained on NESN’s “Hockey Hub” podcast that he had to not only get over the shock of being in an exchange for Esposito, but also get acclimated to a Bruins team that was a fierce rival to the Rangers — where Park played from 1968-75.

“Well, it wasn’t the first night, I’ll tell you that,” Park said. “The last place that I really wanted to go was Boston because when I was with the Rangers I got such animosity in my fan mail that the FBI used to walk me on the ice and off the ice in the Boston Garden because of the threats I would get. I wasn’t too happy when I first heard about it.

“And then you kind of get a reality check because you just start to get mad that the team you belonged to didn’t want you anymore. That was the attitude I took. I got a little mad and went to the Bruins and realized it was going to be a shock for them when I walk in the dressing room as well as Jean Ratelle.”

It didn’t look like Park had any trouble fitting in with the Bruins. He amassed 83 goals, 267 assists and 350 points in 501 games with the Black and Gold.

And he credited that an encounter with a Bruins icon helped him get over being traded.

“But when we got to the rink, the first guy that came out of the dressing room to meet me out under the stands was Bobby Orr,” Park said. “And that kind of softened the entrance.”

Park is one of six former athletes, joining Rob Gronkowski, Terry Francona, Dara Torres, Scott Hamilton and Dee Brown, to be honored by “The Tradition” at TD Garden later this month.

You can catch what else Park had to say about being traded to the Bruins along with his entire conversation on the “Hockey Hub” podcast, which can be found on YouTube and Spotify.