Dick Redmond

Dick Redmond was a confident, almost cocky, defenseman blessed with all the tools - great skater, good vision, and a blistering shot which made him a good power play quarterback. He was not exactly noted for his defensive game, which may have only been average at best, but that was not why he was in the lineup..

Redmond was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. The son of former minor league player Ed Redmond, Dick and older brother Mickey would play hockey for hours on end after school and on the weekends. It paid off as both made it to the National Hockey Leagues and were both upper-echelon players of the 1970s. They were as competitive against each other on NHL ice as they were on the frozen ponds back home.

His 771 game career over parts of 14 NHL seasons were well travelled, but he was best known as a Chicago Blackhawk. He helped the Hawks reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1973. He had his best season personally in '73-74 with 17 goals and 59 points. Three years later he lit the lamp 22 times and accumulated 47 points.

Drafted by Minnesota, Redmond got his first real chance to play while with the California Golden Seals for a couple of seasons. A trade to Chicago proved beneficial for both player and team. For the next 5 seasons Redmond put in yeoman's work with Chicago. He would move on to play with St. Louis, Atlanta and Boston, too.

Though he was a top 10 scorer amongst defensemen in the 1970s, Redmond was never considered to be on the top level with the likes of Larry Robinson, Brad Park, Denis Potvin or of course Bobby Orr. Instead, Redmond was one of those players who had a real nice skill set but something prevented him from taking that next step. What that something was exactly frustrated fans and coaches alike. Instead he was a level or two below the best - a serviceable offensive blue liner who seemed to wear out his welcome eventually.

In 771 NHL games Dick Redmond scored a respectable 133 goals, 312 assists and 445 points.