Esposito, Fired by Rangers, Gets Raked Over the Ice

Phil Esposito was voted into hockey Hall of Fame after a fine career with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, but according to Helene Elliott of Newsday, he was ill-suited to serve as a general manager.

Elliott had this to say about the Rangers’ fired GM:

“Phil Esposito leaves behind a legacy of chaos and bankruptcy in the Rangers’ organization. . . . He traded away chunks of the club’s future in the 43 deals he made, and his disastrous pursuit and dismissal of Coach Michel Bergeron was only one example of his appalling lack of judgment. Surrounding himself as he did with yes-men advisers who owed him their jobs may have boosted his ego, but it did nothing to bring the Stanley Cup nearer.

“When Esposito assumed the general manager job in July, 1986, the Rangers were coming off a season in which they had shocked the NHL by advancing to the playoff semifinals.

“Under Esposito’s reign, they exited in the first round in 1987, failed to qualify for the playoffs in 1988 and a month ago were ushered out of the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a four-game sweep that capped a complete collapse. His grandstand ploy of firing Bergeron with two games left in the regular season didn’t save the Rangers’ season or, ultimately, his own job.

“It’s unfortunate he wasn’t fired sooner.”

Trivia: The record for the highest winning percentage in the National Basketball Assn. playoffs is .923. Which team set it, and in what year?

Advice from an ex-coach: Rick Pitino, coach of the New York Knicks, has been offered the coaching job at Kentucky and is expected to make an announcement early next week.

Al McGuire, former Marquette coach, thinks Pitino should accept the offer even though Kentucky was recently put on probation.

“It would be the smartest move he ever made,” McGuire said. “He’ll have an extended honeymoon to settle in and get himself and his family adjusted. He’s not going to be able to really do anything for three or four years, so he can just work on getting his horses (players) in, build the program back up and get re-established.”

Costas roast-to-roast: Bob Costas, at a roast for NBC football commentator Paul Maguire, said: “As you know, Paul is not a svelte guy. Once he was standing on a street corner wearing a blue suit and a yellow hat and three people stopped to drop off film.”

And: “Paul has made a tremendous impact in broadcasting. He is to the broadcasting profession what Oprah Winfrey is to pole vaulting.”

Trivia answer: The Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.

Quotebook: Gordie Howe, asked if he ever broke his nose playing hockey: “No, but 11 other guys did.”