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) 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.

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. 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.

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

• 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

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Legends of Hockey entry on Tonelli
• John Tonelli's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Toronto Marlboro Major Junior "A" Hockey Club v Tonelli (1976), 11 OR (2d) 664 (HCJ)
• Toronto Marlboro Major Junior "A" Hockey Club v Tonelli (1977), 18 OR (2d) 21 (HCJ)
• Toronto Marlboro Major Junior "A" Hockey Club v Tonelli (1979), 23 OR (2d) 193, 96 DLR (3d) 135 (CA)