No one scored goals the way Mike Bossy did, and only a chronic back condition could slow him down. During a career that lasted only ten years, Bossy scored at least 50 goals every season except the last, when he played only 63 games and had 38 goals. In all, he scored 573 goals in just 752 career games. Bossy's scoring was the stuff of legend even when he was a kid. He once scored 23 goals in a game, and by the time he got to junior hockey at age 14, his reputation preceded his arrival. He played four full seasons in Laval of the Quebec junior league (1973-77), averaging better than a goal a game. The New York Islanders claimed him with the 15th choice overall in the summer of 1977, and Bossy was off to a career in the NHL. Bossy played alongside centre Bryan Trottier, and the two developed a rare chemistry that enabled Trottier to make blind passes, knowing Bossy would be there. Bossy, with the quickest release in the game, rifled the puck with a speed and accuracy that flummoxed goalies throughout the league. Bossy scored 53 goals as a rookie, an NHL record, and won the Calder Trophy. The next year he improved to 69 goals, a career high. His greatest personal exploit came during the 1981-82 season when he matched Maurice Richard's record from 1944-45 of scoring 50 goals in 50 games, a feat he accomplished by scoring twice late in his 50th game. In addition to his scoring, Bossy contributed to the Islanders' four-year dynasty, winning the Stanley Cup from 1980-83. He was named Conn Smythe Trophy winner for his outstanding playoffs in 1982 when he had 17 goals in 19 games. Bossy's back injury was the result of accumulated cross-checks to that area of his body. As a star, he was closely checked by opponents, and that meant dirty play as well as legal physical contact. He was a three-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy and was a proponent of clean and fair play at all levels of hockey. He was also a fierce promoter of sportsmanship at the grassroots level. Not only a great scorer, Bossy proved that in an era of tough guys and fights, a player could keep his gloves on and still be a threat.