John Tonelli

John Tonelli

Born	(1957-03-23) March 23, 1957 Milton, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Houston Aeros New York Islanders Calgary Flames Los Angeles Kings Chicago Blackhawks Quebec Nordiques
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	33rd overall, 1977 New York Islanders
Playing career	1975–1992

John A. Tonelli (born March 23, 1957)^[1] is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He was a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the New York Islanders, and also played with the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League.

Early Life

John Tonelli was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario on March 23, 1957 to his parents Alex Jr. Tonelli and Joy Sclisizzi of Milton.^[2] John has a brother Raymond, who is five years older than him.^[3] Tonelli's mother Joy Sclisizzi is a relative of Enio Sclisizzi, who was Milton's first NHLer.^[4]

Tonelli was a mult-sport athlete in his youth, serving as pitcher for the Red Sox in the Milton Minor Baseball Association in 1966, when he hit a grand slam in the same game he served as pitcher.^[5]

Career

In 1982 and 1985, Tonelli was a second team All-Star left wing for the Islanders. He played in the Stanley Cup finals in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984 with the Islanders, winning four championships in the process, and made an additional appearance as runner-up in the Cup finals in 1986 with the Flames.

On May 24, 1980, Tonelli had the assist on Bob Nystrom's overtime Stanley Cup-winning goal against the Philadelphia Flyers, giving the Islanders their first of four straight Cups. In Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum, Lorne Henning stole the puck at center ice, passed to Tonelli, who then criss-crossed with Nystrom, feeding him the puck on Nystrom's backhand for the winning goal at 7:11 of overtime. It was a play the two had perfected during practice. On January 6, 1981, Tonelli scored five goals in a game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs

Tonelli was a gritty forward with a never-say-die attitude for The New York Islanders who won four straight Stanley Cups. Tonelli, who was affectionately dubbed "The Greasy Jet" by his teammates, is remembered for scoring important "clutch goals" in the Islanders' run of four straight Stanley Cups and five straight finals appearances, particularly during the 1981-82 season. During the playoffs that year, The Islanders were five minutes away from being eliminated by a much weaker Pittsburgh Penguin team, trailing 3-1 in the deciding game. Tonelli assisted on a Mike McEwen goal that closed the champions within one goal, and tied the game himself with 2:21 to play. For an encore, it was John Tonelli that scored in overtime to win the game for the Islanders, thus extending their long reign as Stanley Cup champions.

Tonelli also scored the winning goal in a February 20, 1982 game against the Colorado Rockies, beating former teammate Chico Resch with just 47 seconds to play to allow the Islanders to set an NHL record (since broken) with their fifteenth consecutive victory.

Tonelli was one of the first players to challenge the Ontario Hockey Association and the Toronto Marlies OHA team, with which he had signed a contract at age 16.^[6] As he reached age 18 the WHA's Houston team offered him a contract, but his contract with the Marlies tied him to the OHA team for three years plus and option. Tonelli refused to play for Toronto in the playoffs after he turned 18, so that it would not imperil his legal arguments. Tonelli's agent Gus Badali sued the Marlies and the OHA and eventually the Ontario Courts ruled that the contract was unenforceable because Tonelli had been under the age 18 when he signed it (and his parents had not signed it). Tonelli's teammate, future NHLer John Anderson followed this same lead, sitting out for a period, but eventually returned to lead Toronto in the Memorial Cup.^[7]

He was known for being virtually unbeatable in digging out the puck in the corners of the rink; however, Tonelli also had an excellent shot, was a good passer, and had excellent timing both offensively and defensively. Tonelli was also very versatile. During his eight seasons with the Islanders, coach Al Arbour used Tonelli on the famed "Banana Line" with Wayne Merrick and Bob Nystrom, on the top line with Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, and later he played flank for Brent Sutter and Patrick Flatley.

Although Tonelli played a key role in the four Cup victories the team won from 1980 to 1983, in some ways his career culminated in the fall of 1984 when he played for Canada in the Canada Cup, an invitation he almost turned down. He not only made the team, he had nine points, including a key assist on Mike Bossy's goal in overtime of the semifinal. Canada won the championship and Tonelli was named the tournament's best player, winning the 1984 Canada Cup MVP award.

He then rejoined the Islanders and had his best season ever, scoring 42 goals and 100 points in 1984-1985 before being traded to the Calgary Flames during the 85-86 season. The Flames, with Tonelli's experience, reached the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.

Tonelli finished his 1028-game NHL career with 325 goals and 511 assists for 836 points.

Other

The John Tonelli Arena in Milton, Ontario is named in his honour. He currently resides in Armonk, New York, working for Fidelity National Financial. His older brother Ray was also a hockey player. John has a daughter and two sons, Jennifer 38, Jordan, 14 and Zach, 13

Tonelli is the only player in history to score a regular season goal on an assist by Gordie Howe and another regular season goal on an assist by Wayne Gretzky.

Awards

Stanley Cup champion - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983
OMJHL First All-Star Team (1975)
Most valuable player of the 1984 Canada Cup tournament.
Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1982 and 1985

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1973–74	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	69	18	37	55	62	—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Toronto Marlboros	OMJHL	70	49	86	135	85	—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Houston Aeros	WHA	79	14	17	31	66	17	7	7	14	18
1976–77	Houston Aeros	WHA	80	24	31	55	109	11	3	4	7	12
1977–78	Houston Aeros	WHA	65	23	41	64	103	6	1	3	4	8
1978–79	New York Islanders	NHL	73	17	39	56	44	10	1	6	7	0
1979–80	New York Islanders	NHL	77	14	30	44	49	21	7	9	16	18
1980–81	New York Islanders	NHL	70	20	32	52	57	16	5	8	13	16
1981–82	New York Islanders	NHL	80	35	58	93	57	19	6	10	16	18
1982–83	New York Islanders	NHL	76	31	40	71	55	20	7	11	18	20
1983–84	New York Islanders	NHL	73	27	40	67	66	17	1	3	4	31
1984–85	New York Islanders	NHL	80	42	58	100	95	10	1	8	9	10
1985–86	New York Islanders	NHL	65	20	41	61	50	—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Calgary Flames	NHL	9	3	4	7	10	22	7	9	16	49
1986–87	Calgary Flames	NHL	78	20	31	51	72	3	0	0	0	4
1987–88	Calgary Flames	NHL	74	17	41	58	84	6	2	5	7	8
1988–89	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	71	31	33	64	110	6	0	0	0	8
1989–90	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	73	31	37	68	62	10	1	2	3	6
1990–91	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	71	14	16	30	49	12	2	4	6	12
1991–92	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	33	1	7	8	37	—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	19	2	4	6	14	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			1028	325	511	836	911	172	40	75	115	200

References

↑ Cole, Stephen (2006). The Canadian Hockey Atlas. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 978-0-385-66093-8.
↑ http://news.milton.halinet.on.ca/2496612/page/8
↑ http://news.milton.halinet.on.ca/2495603/page/10
↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestar/obituary.aspx?pid=162540206
↑ http://news.milton.halinet.on.ca/2497215/page/4?n=12&q=tonelli
↑ http://canlii.ca/en/on/onca/doc/1979/1979canlii1969/1979canlii1969.html
↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=170yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s-0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3634%2C469331

External links

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