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Jerome Gerald "Topper" Toppazzini (July 29, 1931 – April 21, 2012) was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Boston Bruins. A skilled defensive specialist and penalty killer, he set the then-NHL record for shorthanded goals in a season in 1958 with seven.〔() Hockey Hall of Fame website〕 ==Playing career== Toppazzini was born in Copper Cliff, Ontario. played his junior league hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association, most notably with the Barrie Flyers. In his final season with Barrie - 1951-52 - he led the team with 40 goals and 90 points in 54 games, going on to add 34 points in 23 playoff games to spearhead the Flyers to its first Memorial Cup championship. Signing with the Boston Bruins, he spent the following season with their American Hockey League farm team, the Hershey Bears, playing with his younger brother Teddy and helping the Bears to a division title with 20 goals and 45 points in 54 games. In the subsequent 1953 season, Toppazzini made his NHL debut with the Bruins, scoring 23 points in 69 games. The following season, splitting time between Hershey and the major league club, he was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks for center Gus Bodnar, and was subsequently dealt to the Detroit Red Wings in an eight-man multiplayer deal - at the time, the largest transaction in league history. He was traded back to the Bruins in 1956 for center Murray Costello and left wing Lorne Ferguson. Toppazzini made an immediate impact, as the Bruins - in last place at the time - made a run for the playoffs, missing at the end by a single win.〔Coleman, C., ''Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. III'', p. 282, Progressive Publications (1976)〕 Wearing #21, Toppazzini remained with Boston for the next nine seasons, blossoming into a skilled two-way player while playing on a line with smooth center Don McKenney and hard charging left wing Fleming Mackell; the trio was Boston's best line as they surged to the Stanley Cup finals in 1957, knocking off the heavily favored former Cup champion Detroit Red Wings en route.〔Coleman, C., ''Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. III'', p. 315, Progressive Publications (1976)〕 His best seasons statistically were 1958, when he scored a career high 25 goals in the regular season and added nine goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs (with a hat trick against the New York Rangers and three game-winning goals) in leading the Bruins to the Cup finals, as Boston would mount a serious challenge to the dynastic Montreal Canadiens for NHL supremacy and 1962, when he scored 19 goals en route to a career high 50 points.〔Coleman, C., ''Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. III'', p. 348, Progressive Publications (1976)〕 Always a fan favorite, he won the Elizabeth C Dufresne Trophy twice in a row, in 1956-57 and 1957–58, as the best performing and most popular Boston Bruin at home games. He was noted in his time with the Bruins for his "crazy chatter" in the locker room. According to teammate Bronco Horvath: "Topper was always giving everybody the business, keeping up a competitive atmosphere. Drove me nuts."〔McGourty, J., "Celebrating Willie O'Ree," NHL.com, January 16, 2008〕 Boston traded the fading Toppazzini in the 1964 offseason, and he played the remaining four seasons of his professional career in the minor leagues, spending the 1965 season with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL. His rights were then acquired by the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League in the 1965 Reverse Draft; he initially held out before joining the Blades for the 1966 and 1967 seasons.〔"Toppazzini Holds Out as Blades Prep for Seals," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 6, 1965〕 〔Park, C., "Toppazzini And Deschamps Debut With Blades Friday," ''Los Angeles Times'', December 8, 1965〕 He finished his playing career in 1968 as the player-coach of the Port Huron Flags of the International Hockey League. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jerry Toppazzini」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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