Rick Middleton

[double5son10]

With just a Lady Byng as hardware, he might have to pay admission.

2nd Team All-Star & two Canada Cup appearances as well (meh in '81, great in '84). Also finished fourth for the Hart in '84.

From '79-84 Nifty was one of the top 5 scoring wingers in the game. I find the talk of his defensive game a bit overrated, and my memory is of Bob Gainey making Middleton disappear down a black hole in their hey days, but I sure wouldn't object to his induction. He was very good; certainly passes the eye test.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

2nd Team All-Star & two Canada Cup appearances as well (meh in '81, great in '84). Also finished fourth for the Hart in '84.

From '79-84 Nifty was one of the top 5 scoring wingers in the game. I find the talk of his defensive game a bit overrated, and my memory is of Bob Gainey making Middleton disappear down a black hole in their hey days, but I sure wouldn't object to his induction. He was very good; certainly passes the eye test.

Middleton was that good defensively, unless you saw him in his first 3 seasons.

Game 7 in Montreal 1979 playoffs too many men on the ice game, Middleton scored 2 goals from his black hole.

 

[double5son10]

Middleton was that good defensively, unless you saw him in his first 3 seasons.

Game 7 in Montreal 1979 playoffs too many men on the ice game, Middleton scored 2 goals from his black hole.

I said "a bit". As in, he was good but not one of the very best. Dangerous on the PK. Still only one top 5 finish in Selke voting. For a comparison of contemporary two-way scoring line wingers I would take Kurri or Tonelli over Middleton.

Two assists as well for a 4 pt night. And 13pts. in 31 other playoff games against Montreal.

 

[rfournier103]

Middleton was that good defensively, unless you saw him in his first 3 seasons.

Game 7 in Montreal 1979 playoffs too many men on the ice game, Middleton scored 2 goals from his black hole.

Would have been nice if he had three.

 

[Fenway]

Rick Middleton honed his skills on the streets in Ontario - The Boston Globe

Rick Middleton, one of the most talented players ever to pull on a Bruins sweater, is convinced street hockey helped make his dream a reality. Not only street hockey, of course, because it is never just one thing. Talent and will and commitment have many origins.

For Middleton, though, a key ingredient was growing up at 80 Gilroy Drive in Scarborough, Ontario, just a few miles northeast of downtown Toronto. The Maple Leafs were the hottest team in Canada, with four Stanley Cup title in the 1960s. Middleton was an impressionable 13-year-old, six years before his draft year of 1973, when his hometown heroes clinched the last (and still most recent) of those four titles.

“Our part of Toronto was just expanding at that time,” Middleton recalled the other day. “It was a new suburb and everyone seemed to be the same age. We had tons of kids who played street hockey. And the street light was right in front of our house, so of course that’s where we played.”

 

[Killion]

Rick Middleton honed his skills on the streets in Ontario - The Boston Globe

Rick Middleton, one of the most talented players ever to pull on a Bruins sweater, is convinced street hockey helped make his dream a reality. Not only street hockey, of course, because it is never just one thing. Talent and will and commitment have many origins.

For Middleton, though, a key ingredient was growing up at 80 Gilroy Drive in Scarborough, Ontario, just a few miles northeast of downtown Toronto. The Maple Leafs were the hottest team in Canada, with four Stanley Cup title in the 1960s. Middleton was an impressionable 13-year-old, six years before his draft year of 1973, when his hometown heroes clinched the last (and still most recent) of those four titles.

“Our part of Toronto was just expanding at that time,” Middleton recalled the other day. “It was a new suburb and everyone seemed to be the same age. We had tons of kids who played street hockey. And the street light was right in front of our house, so of course that’s where we played.”

Yeah, Scarborough all farm lands mainly until the early 50's, massive development, factories & warehouses, suburban sprawl, mainly blue collar. During its peak late 50's through the 70's in terms of hockey, the Scarborough Hockey League (be about Single A level of play) had upwards of 14,000 kids registered annually. That would be House League & Rep Teams playing in the SHA and.... entries in the THL (City Wide - which became the MTHL, now called the GTHL) with teams entered in AAA, AA, A. Changing demographics however saw the SHA wither away to next to nothing, teams folding, league with maybe 800 Registered gone by around 2010....

During their Hay Days though, 50's through 80's, all kinds of guys produced by their AAA Wexford Lions & Raiders clubs, Rick Middleton as mentioned, Mark Napier etc... some of them jumping to the Toronto Marlboros or Nationals & so on but originally, Scarborough Boys, point of entry; House League, Rep in the SHA followed by AAA if good enough with the Wexford THL/MTHL AAA entries from Pee Wee to Juvenile at one point, Jr.B & Metro Jr.A.... others who played in the organization or SHA League itself & or for the Raiders in the AAA city-wide league included Brad Park, Adam Graves, Gary Leeman, John Anderson etc etc etc. I played against the organization growing up in the city wide league, remembering well Mark Napier & John Anderson in particular though there were others coming out of there that were also quite excellent... noticed the Wexford Raiders name revived with an entry this fall in the newly created Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League, playing out of the Scarborough Arena, former home of the Raiders.

 

[Big Phil]

Hi guys and gals

Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend here in the states and a good weekend to my hockey homettes and homies in other countries!

I wanted to learn a bit about Rick Middleton. The reason for it is kinda interesting. In one of my roller hockey games a few years ago the two referees during a stoppage in play brought up Middelton's name (in a context I can't recall) and had some chuckles with each other. I know Middleton played for the Bruins, what kind of player was he? Do you guys/gals like him? Does he have a landmark/great moment or a fall-on-your-face moment? Look forward to the knowledge/opinions! -Jim

They probably were referring to him as "Nifty" Middleton perhaps when they were addressing him? It is his well-known nickname.

Good player, at times a great player. I never understand the thing with him and Lanny McDonald. Both played exactly the same time but a year apart. Both played the same position, shot the same way, peaked the same, had a similar career arc and Middleton loses the Cup in his final game while McDonald wins his. McDonald is a first ballot HHOFer and Middleton is still out. How is that possible? And it can't just be because of Lanny's moustache. The big goal in the clinching game of the 1989 final and seeing him raise the Cup helped him get into the HHOF. I have no issue with him in there, I just don't get how Middleton never joined him. He was at least as good at his peak, had a better contribution to Boston in 1988 than McDonald to Calgary in 1989. Was better at the end of his career too, didn't have that sharp drop like McDonald. Was better defensively too, although McDonald was more physical.

I don't get it.

But yeah, Nifty was a superb puckhandler. Watch his highlight reels, they are fun. If there was ever a man who needed that Cup to get into the HHOF, it's him. He almost deked Serge Savard in overtime in Game 7 in 1979. 10 seconds later the Habs scored.

 

[Tarantula]

I just don't get how Middleton never joined him. He was at least as good at his peak, had a better contribution to Boston in 1988 than McDonald to Calgary in 1989. Was better at the end of his career too, didn't have that sharp drop like McDonald. Was better defensively too, although McDonald was more physical.

Agree, I think McDonald's career in Toronto and the profile it provided helped his cause. Sure seemed like the CBC made a big deal about Lanny winning the cup and of course many in SW Ont were cheering for him. I have to admit though, I had forgotten Nifty somewhat myself and he was a fav of mine on the Bruins back then.

Gotta check out his highlight reel.

 

[Big Phil]

Agree, I think McDonald's career in Toronto and the profile it provided helped his cause. Sure seemed like the CBC made a big deal about Lanny winning the cup and of course many in SW Ont were cheering for him. I have to admit though, I had forgotten Nifty somewhat myself and he was a fav of mine on the Bruins back then.

Gotta check out his highlight reel.

I don't know if being a Leaf helped him all that much. He is definitely thought to be more of a Flame. I think the image of him winning the Cup and scoring that goal (still wasn't the game winner even if people think it was) helped him at least be a first ballot. I am not saying McDonald wouldn't be that sort of player that we'd be debating to this day if he weren't in because he would be, I am just wondering how the heck two players like Middleton and McDonald can be so similar career-wise and one gets in immediately and the other is still waiting. That is just too big of a discrepancy for me.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I don't know if being a Leaf helped him all that much. He is definitely thought to be more of a Flame. I think the image of him winning the Cup and scoring that goal (still wasn't the game winner even if people think it was) helped him at least be a first ballot. I am not saying McDonald wouldn't be that sort of player that we'd be debating to this day if he weren't in because he would be, I am just wondering how the heck two players like Middleton and McDonald can be so similar career-wise and one gets in immediately and the other is still waiting. That is just too big of a discrepancy for me.

McDonald reached the then magic numbers of 500 goals and 1000 points. Middleton didn't.

 

[Big Phil]

McDonald reached the then magic numbers of 500 goals and 1000 points. Middleton didn't.

Fair enough, but there is a discrepancy in their PPG. Middleton was at 0.98 and McDonald 0.91. With McDonald he hung around just long enough to do it. His last 2-3 years were not good at all. Middleton didn't have this "hanging around" part of his career. I am not saying it lasted like Andreychuk or anyone like that who padded his stats even worse, but McDonald did get exactly 500 goals and 1006 points in a season where he had 18 points.