Nick Fotiu

Nicholas Evlampios Fotiu (born May 25, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey League between 1974 and 1988.

Playing career

Fotiu's father was of Greek descent, while his mother was of Italian descent. A left winger, Fotiu began his career in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the New England Whalers in the 1974–75 season. Two years later, he signed with his hometown New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), where his role as an enforcer endeared him to Ranger fans. He was loved for his fighting style, which he picked up as a golden-gloves boxer, and he was the first New York City-born Ranger. Fotiu's popularity as a Ranger was enhanced by his willingness to throw pucks up into the Madison Square Garden "blue seats" after pre-game warmups, where previously he sat as a young fan. These seats were the least expensive and farthest seats from the action, far beyond where pucks would normally land during gameplay. Fotiu played with the Rangers until 1979, when he was claimed by the renamed Hartford Whalers in the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft.

Fotiu's second tour with the Whalers ended when he was traded back to the Rangers during the middle of the 1980–81 NHL season, where he remained for five seasons. He was traded to the Calgary Flames in 1986 and helped them get to their first Stanley Cup final appearance. Fotiu also played for the Philadelphia Flyers and briefly with the Edmonton Oilers before retiring from professional play in 1990.

Post-playing career After retiring, Fotiu moved into coaching and was most recently an assistant coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Fotiu runs a construction business and a charitable foundation, in addition to doing public relations for the Rangers.

Nick Fotiu has been inducted into the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame. He is the first native of New York City to play for the New York Rangers.

Legacy In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Fotiu at No. 100 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1971–72 New Hyde Park Arrows NYJHL 32 6 17 23 135 5 4 4 8 14 1972–73 New Hyde Park Arrows NYJHL — — — — — — — — — — 1973–74 Cape Cod Cubs NAHL 72 12 24 36 371 13 4 7 11 80 1974–75 New England Whalers WHA 61 2 2 4 144 4 2 0 2 27 1974–75 Cape Codders NAHL 5 2 1 3 13 — — — — — 1975–76 New England Whalers WHA 49 3 2 5 94 16 3 2 5 57 1975–76 Cape Codders NAHL 6 2 1 3 15 — — — — — 1976–77 New York Rangers NHL 70 4 8 12 174 — — — — — 1977–78 New York Rangers NHL 59 2 7 9 105 3 0 0 0 5 1977–78 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 5 1 1 2 9 — — — — — 1978–79 New York Rangers NHL 71 3 5 8 190 4 0 0 0 6 1979–80 Hartford Whalers NHL 74 10 8 18 107 3 0 0 0 6 1980–81 Hartford Whalers NHL 42 4 3 7 79 — — — — — 1980–81 New York Rangers NHL 27 5 6 11 91 2 0 0 0 4 1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 70 8 10 18 151 10 0 2 2 6 1982–83 New York Rangers NHL 72 8 13 21 90 5 0 1 1 6 1983–84 New York Rangers NHL 40 7 6 13 115 — — — — — 1984–85 New York Rangers NHL 46 4 7 11 54 — — — — — 1985–86 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 9 4 2 6 21 — — — — — 1985–86 Calgary Flames NHL 9 0 1 1 21 11 0 1 1 34 1986–87 Calgary Flames NHL 42 5 3 8 145 — — — — — 1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 23 0 0 0 40 — — — — — 1988–89 Edmonton Oilers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1989–90 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 31 0 3 3 40 — — — — — WHA totals 110 5 4 9 238 20 5 2 7 84 NHL totals 646 60 77 137 1362 38 0 4 4 67