As the NHL enters the home stretch for the 2022-23 season, the Connor Bedard Watch is in full swing, with many worthy contenders for the coveted first overall pick in this summer’s draft. Speaking of the draft lottery, Commissioner Gary Bettman assures everyone that no team is tanking to improve their chances of nabbing Bedard. But there was a time, the 1983-84 season, when two teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils famously tanked on purpose to win that year’s prize, the legendary Mario Lemieux. However, one Pittsburgh player declined: Mike Bullard.
Early years as a penguin
Bullard finished ninth overall in the first round of the 1980 draft, joining a mediocre team that included Rick Kehoe and Randy Carlyle. Bullard played just 15 regular-season games in 1980-81, recording just one goal and two assists, but he made a splash in the playoffs with three goals and six points in four games. As a rookie the following season, he scored 36 goals from just 148 shots, a rookie team record that has since been surpassed by Lemieux, Warren Young and Sidney Crosby. Bullard then added a goal and an assist in five playoff games, but it was his final trip to the postseason for some time as the Penguins began to fall in standings the next season.
Mike Bullard, Pittsburgh Penguins (Photo by Graig Abel Collection/Getty Images)
The Penguins won 18 games and finished the Whalers in 1983 with a league-worst 45 points and Bullard managed a respectable 22 goals and 44 points in just 57 games, but the following season proved even worse. While all eyes were on Lemieux, who was averaging four points per game in the QMJHL, the Penguins won just 16 games with 38 points, beating the Devils by three points for the first pick.
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For his part, Bullard served as team captain and took his new leadership role to heart, scoring well despite the team’s losses. He had 51 goals, 41 assists and 92 points, all team-bests, and also appeared in his only All-Star Game that season. It was the only time a player scored 50 goals or more in the league’s worst team. He played well in two more full seasons with the Penguins as a Lemieux teammate, scoring 73 goals and 146 points in 145 games, but due to the team’s exhausted defense he accumulated minus 60 over those two years. After 14 games in the 1986/86 season In 87 he was traded to the Calgary Flames for Dan Quinn.
Mid-career with the Flames, Blues and Flyers
In Calgary, Bullard not only played with a Super Mario, but with a roster of talented players like Joe Mullen, Håkan Loob and Al MacInnis. During his first and only full season with the team in 1987–88, Bullard enjoyed a career year with 48 goals and 103 points.
Playing in Calgary also meant playoff appearances with a legitimate cup contender. However, the Winnipeg Jets upset the Flames four games to two in the first round of the 1987 playoffs, although Bullard performed well, recording four goals and three assists in those six games. During the 1988 playoffs, he was bitten by a snake and collected just two assists in six games as the Flames were swept aside in the second round in four games by the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers.
Bullard’s time in Calgary ended in September 1988 when he was shipped to St. Louis as part of the package that brought Doug Gilmour and eventually the Stanley Cup to Calgary.
Doug Gilmour of the Calgary Flames on the ice during a game against the New York Islanders, November 1990. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
In St. Louis, Bullard struggled for ice age with Bernie Federko and Cliff Ronning, resulting in him scoring just four goals and 16 points in 20 games. Consequently, he was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers for Peter Zezel. With the Flyers, who played with wingers like Rick Tocchet and Brian Propp, his tally improved to 23 goals and 49 points in 54 games.
Overall, his regular season was a bit disappointing, but in the playoffs the Flyers went on a run before being eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in the Conference Finals. Despite playing well in the first two series, Bullard was held back from scoring against Montreal. He finished the deepest playoff run of his career with three goals and nine assists in 19 games. Unfortunately, it was also his last trip into the postseason as the aging, battered Flyers entered a rebuilding phase the next season.
Late career with Maple Leafs and in Europe
Bullard chose to play for HC Ambrì-Piotta in Switzerland in the 1990/91 season, where he finished fifth in the league with 78 points in 40 games. He then returned to the NHL, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1991-92 season. However, Toronto was in the midst of a rebuild and Bullard’s performance had declined significantly to just 14 goals and 28 points in 65 games. His NHL career ended there on a respectable 329 goals, 345 assists and 674 points in 727 games, but he returned to Europe for the rest of his career, posting solid numbers and even leading his team in every season from 1994-99. His playing career ended after the 2002/03 season before he coached Schwenninger in Germany in the 2003/04 season.
As of this writing, Columbus currently sits last in the league overall, although no player has scored as many goals as Bullard did in 1984. Although he has never won a trophy or been ranked among the NHL’s elite, he has been a solid goalscorer and a good team player that will be Some will forever remember those 51 goals scored as management tore down the team. Mike Bullard, the penguin who wouldn’t refuel.
Source: thehockeywriters.com
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