Rick Middleton: One More Boston Bruin Just Outside The HHOF

Rick Middleton excelled at all levels of hockey but despite three trips to the Stanley Cup finals was denied the ultimate prize. Middleton apprenticed for two years with the Oshawa Generals in the OHL and one year at the AHL level with the Providence Reds before an outstanding NHL career with the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.

Junior and Minor Pro

NHL Career

Hockey Card Collection

Rookie Card

Career Stats

Rick Middleton – Junior and Minor Pro

Rick Middleton played two years with the Oshawa Generals, 1971-72 and 1972-73. In his second year with the Gus Bodnar coached Generals, Rick proved his offensive abilities and his value as a potential pro hockey player.

Over 62 regular season games in 1972-73, Middleton scored 67 and assisted on 70 for 137 points. The Generals placed sixth in the ten team league and were swept in the opening round of the Robertson Cup playoffs by the Peterborough Petes. Along with Rick, there were a handful of future NHLers on the team, including Bill Lochead, Nelson Pyatt and Lee Fogolin.

Along with leading the Generals in goals, assists and points, Middleton led the OHL with his 67 goals. To this day, the Ontario Hockey League does not have an award for the highest goal scorer. Rick also finished seventh with his 70 assists and third in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy behind Blake Dunlop of the Ottawa 67’s and Dennis Ververgaert of the London Knights. Middleton was honoured with the Red Tilson Trophy as league MVP.

The following year, 1973-74, was his only year in the AHL or any other minor pro league. With the John Muckler coached Providence Reds, Middleton scored 36 goals and assisted on 48 for 84 points while playing 63 of Providence’s 76 regular season games. He led the Reds in goals, assists and points. In the American Hockey League, Rick tied for seventh in goals and tied for sixth in points.

In the Calder Cup playoffs, the Reds reached the finals before losing in five to the Hershey Bears. Providence was outscored 19-16 with all games decided by just one goal and three of the five games decided in overtime.

For his efforts, Middleton was honoured with the Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL rookie of the year.

Rick Middleton – NHL

The New York Rangers selected Rick Middleton 14th overall at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. He was also taken 21st overall in the second round of the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft by the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

Rick Middleton Collection

Between 1974-75 and 1987-88, Rick played 1,005 regular season games with the Rangers and Bruins, scoring 448 and assisting on 540 for 988 points. His first two years in the National Hockey League were spent with the Rangers before coming to the Bruins in exchange for Ken Hodge for the start of the 1976-77 season.

Over his NHL career, Middleton had two 100 points seasons. In 1980-81, he totalled 103 on 44 goals and 59 assists over 80 games playing for the Gerry Cheevers coached Bruins. He tied for tenth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with Jacques Richard of the Quebec Nordiques and Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders.

In 1983-84, he reached 105 points on 47 goals and 58 assists while once again playing the full 80 game schedule. He was second on the Bruins behind Barry Pederson and his 116 points while placed tenth overall in the NHL.

Between 1979-80 and 1983-84, Rick put together a string of 40+ goal seasons. In 1981-82, he reached a career high 51 goals, placing him seventh in the NHL.

However, one of his strongest offensive performances came during the 1982-83 Stanley Cup playoffs. Boston fell in the semi-finals to the New York Islanders. Rick did all he could for the team with 33 points over 17 playoff games.

Over his 1,005 games, Middleton totalled just 157 penalty minutes. In 1981-82, he was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy while sitting just 12 minutes over 75 games. In fact, his highest single season PIM total was in 1979-80 when he sat 24 minutes.

Rick made three appearances in the Stanley Cup finals without a victory. In 1976-77 and 1977-78, the Don Cherry coached Bruins fell to the mighty Montreal Canadiens. In his final year in the NHL, Middleton and the Bruins were swept in the finals by the Edmonton Oilers.

Middleton was team captain of the Boston Bruins for the final three years of his NHL career, 1985-86 to 1987-88. In both 1981 and 1984, Rick played a prominent role for Canada at the Canada Cup.

Rick Middleton – Rookie Card

The Rick Middleton rookie card appears as number 304 in the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee set. He is shown as a member of the New York Rangers and in an O-Pee-Chee rarity, he was given his first hockey card before playing a single NHL game. His first Topps card followed in 1975-76.

The Middleton RC is valued at ten times that of a common card. Rick was part of a pretty large and valuable rookie card class that year, joining Lanny McDonald, Borje Salming, Denis Potvin, Steve Shutt and Bob Gainey. That was also the year that top two rookie cards were actually of coaches Don Cherry of the Boston Bruins and Scotty Bowman of the Montreal Canadiens.

Rick Middleton Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1971-72	Oshawa Generals	OHA	53	36	34	70	24
1972-73	Oshawa Generals	OHA	62	67	70	137	14
1973-74	Providence Reds	AHL	63	36	48	84	14
1974-75	New York Rangers	NHL	47	22	18	40	19
1975-76	New York Rangers	NHL	77	24	26	50	14
1976-77	Boston Bruins	NHL	72	20	22	42	2
1977-78	Boston Bruins	NHL	79	25	35	60	8
1978-79	Boston Bruins	NHL	71	38	48	86	7
1979-80	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	40	52	92	24
1980-81	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	44	59	103	16
1981-82	Boston Bruins	NHL	75	51	43	94	12
1982-83	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	49	47	96	8
1983-84	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	47	58	105	14
1984-85	Boston Bruins	NHL	80	30	46	76	6
1985-86	Boston Bruins	NHL	49	14	30	44	10
1986-87	Boston Bruins	NHL	76	31	37	68	6
1987-88	Boston Bruins	NHL	59	13	19	32	11
	NHL Totals		1005	448	540	988	157