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Bobby Clarke

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Template:Infobox retired NHL player Robert Earle "Bobby" Clarke OC (born August 13, 1949 in Flin Flon, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player and is currently the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Playing career

Clarke played in hockey leagues since the age of eight. He learned he had diabetes when he was twelve or thirteen years old. Although he was a highly-touted prospect as a junior, playing with his hometown Flin Flon Bombers, some NHL teams hesitated to draft him because of his diabetes. However, the Philadelphia Flyers organization made enquires of a diabetic specialist and were told that as long as he took care of himself, Clarke would be fine. Thus assured, the Flyers drafted Clarke with their second pick, 17th overall, in the 1969 Entry Draft. (His diet antics would later become famous: he would drink two cans of soda and take three spoons of sugar before a game, add two bottles of orange juice during intermissions and pack chocolate bars and glucose gum hidden in his uniform's pockets, to prevent his sugar from going down from all the physical activity during the sixty minute games.)

Clarke played for fifteen seasons in the NHL, from 1969 to 1984, and was one of the great stars of the sport during his playing days, notable for a ferocious will, tenacious defense play and scoring prowess. He was the ultimate proto-type team player, recognized by both his peers and fans alike. In 1974 and 1975, after being named the Flyers' captain, he led his team -- nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies" for their penalty-filled intimidating style -- to back-to-back Stanley Cups, the first expansion squad to win a Cup. Despite his diabetes and hard-nosed play, Clarke proved remarkably durable, playing fewer than 70 games only one season in his career. He also helped save the honor of North American hockey by leading the Flyers to victory in the final game of the 1975-76 USSR Red Army tour in North America.

Clarke retired after the 1983-84 NHL season, having scored 358 goals and 852 assists for 1210 points and 1453 penalty minutes in 1144 games. At the time of his retirement, he was 4th all-time in assists and 10th in points.

Wayne Gretzky has remarked that it was Clarke's play "from behind the net" that inspired him to improve that area of his game. Most regard Gretzky as the best ever from that position on the ice.

Retirement

Having a taste of management during his playing career, when he served as a player-assistant coach between 1979-1982, Clarke was named general manager in 1984. He served as such until a dispute with team higher management in 1990, and spent the next two seasons as the general manager for the Minnesota North Stars, guiding the team to a Stanley Cup final appearance in 1991.

After a brief return to Philadelphia as a Senior Vice President in 1992-93, Clarke was named the Florida Panthers' first general manager in 1993, which set league records for wins and points by an expansion team. He left that post after a single season to return to Philadelphia, and has served as the Flyers' general manager ever since. Between the two stints, the Flyers have reached the Stanley Cup finals three times in Clarke's tenure as general manager.

In 1998 Clarke, as general manager, put together the first Canadian Olympic hockey team to feature a full squad of the NHL's best, which came up short of the medals and finished a disappointing fourth in Nagano.

He is now the general manager of the Flyers, and oversaw the Flyers organization's historic 2004-05 season where both teams in the Flyers' farm system, the Trenton Titans and Philadelphia Phantoms, won their respective championships.

Bobby Clarke also owns a mens athletic club located in Cherry Hill, NJ on Kings Highway.

Awards

Clarke played in the NHL All-Star Game eight times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978).

Along with the hockey trophies he won during his career, two trophies bear his name. One, the Bob Clarke Trophy, is awarded annually to the top scorer in the Western Hockey League. The second, the Bobby Clarke Trophy, is awarded annually to the Team MVP of the Philadelphia Flyers. He was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981.

Records

Holds the following Philadelphia Flyers records:

  • Most games played (1144), most assists (852), and most points (1210) in franchise history
  • Most assists in a season, 89 in 1974-75 and 1975-76

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1967-68 Flin Flon Bombers WCJHL 59 51 117 168 148 15 4 10 14 2
1968-69 Flin Flon Bombers WCHL 58 51 86 137 123 18 9 16 25 0
1969-70 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 15 31 46 68 - - - - -
1970-71 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 27 36 63 78 4 0 0 0 2
1971-72 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 35 46 81 87 - - - - -
1972-73 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 37 67 104 80 11 2 6 8 6
1973-74 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 35 52 87 113 17 5 11 16 42
1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 27 89 116 125 17 4 12 16 16
1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 30 89 119 136 16 2 14 16 28
1976-77 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 27 63 90 71 10 5 5 10 8
1977-78 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 21 68 89 83 12 4 7 11 8
1978-79 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 16 57 73 68 8 2 4 6 8
1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 12 57 69 65 19 8 12 20 16
1980-81 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 19 46 65 140 12 3 3 6 6
1981-82 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 62 17 46 63 154 4 4 2 6 4
1982-83 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 23 62 85 115 3 1 0 1 2
1983-84 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 17 43 60 70 3 2 1 3 6
NHL Totals 1144 358 852 1210 1453 136 42 77 119 152

International play

Played for Canada in:

Played for NHL All-Stars in:

He is often remembered for his slash on Valeri Kharlamov in the sixth game of the Summit Series. Clarke came up behind Kharlamov, wound up his stick and swung it, as he would a golf club, across the ankle of the Russian. This broke Kharlamov's ankle, thereby sidelining the Soviets' best player for the next game of the series. (Canada went on to win in eight games.) Years later, John Ferguson, Sr., an assistant coach with Team Canada, was quoted as saying "I called Clarke over to the bench, looked over at Kharlamov and said, 'I think he needs a tap on the ankle.'"

International statistics

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1972 Canada Summit-72 8 2 4 6 18
1976 Canada Can-Cup 6 1 2 3 0
1979 NHL All-Stars Ch-Cup 3 0 1 1 0
1982 Canada WC 9 0 1 1 6

See also

References

Preceded by Philadelphia Flyers captains
1973-79
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Hart Trophy
1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Hart Trophy
1975, 1976
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy
1983
Succeeded by
Preceded by Philadelphia Flyers captains
1982-84
Succeeded by
Preceded by Philadelphia Flyers General Managers
1984-1990
Succeeded by
Preceded by Philadelphia Flyers General Managers
1995-Present
Succeeded by
incumbent