Terry O'Reilly

Terry O'Reilly
Position	Right Wing
Nickname(s)	Terry, Tazmanian Devil
Height Weight	6 ft 01 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
Teams	Boston Bruins
Nationality	} Canadian
Born	June 7,1951, Niagara Falls, Ontario
NHL Draft	Rnd 1, 14th overall, 1971 Bruins
Pro Career	1971 – 1985

Joseph James Terrence (Terry) O'Reilly (born June 7, 1951 in Niagara Falls, Ontario) is a retired right-winger.

Playing Career

O'Reilly was picked by the Boston Bruins in the 1st round as the 14th pick overall in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. O'Reilly spent his entire career in Boston, serving as the captain of the Bruins team during the 1983–84 and 1984–85 seasons before his retirement. The Bruins retired his playing number (#24) on October 24, 2002..

O'Reilly was known for being a tough player, racking up over 200 penalty minutes in five consecutive seasons, and earning for himself the nickname "Bloody O'Reilly" in the press. He was very protective of his teammates causing Ray Bourque to note, when the Bruins retired his number, that the banner "hangs next to mine, protecting me again. That's awesome."

On top of his physical presence, he also had a decent scoring touch for an enforcer, highlighted by his 29-goal, 90-point season in 1977–78. He added to that with a 77 point effort the following campaign. He had 211 and 205 minutes in penalties in those seasons respectively, displaying an excellent balance of grit and scoring that any hockey GM would cherish. He finished his 13 year career with 204 goals, 402 assists for 606 points, a +212 plus/minus (a tribute to his good defensive skills) and 2,095 minutes in penalties.

Terry O'Reilly going into stands after a fan.

In an infamous December 23, 1979 incident at Madison Square Garden, during a post-game scrum, a New York Rangers fan stole Stan Jonathan's stick and hit him with it. O'Reilly scaled the glass boards and charged into the stands. His teammates followed when other fans tried to intervene. O'Reilly was suspended eight games for his part in the brawl.

He became the replacement head coach of the Bruins during the 1986–87 NHL season and kept his job until 1989, when he left to care for, and spend more time with, his son who was seriously ill with liver disease. In that time, he took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988, where they were defeated by the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers. Terry also was an assistant coach for the Rangers for the two seasons prior to the lockout.

When the Boston Garden closed, O'Reilly received one of the penalty boxes. Former Canadien John Ferguson got the other one.

Career Statistics

                                            --- Regular Season ---  ---- Playoffs ----
Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1968-69  Oshawa Generals             OHA    46    5   15   20   87  --  --  --  --  --
1969-70  Oshawa Generals             OHA    54   13   36   49   60  --  --  --  --  --
1970-71  Oshawa Generals             OHA    54   23   42   65  151  --  --  --  --  --
1971-72  Boston Braves               AHL    60    9    8   17  134   9   2   2   4  31
1971-72  Boston Bruins               NHL     1    1    0    1    0  --  --  --  --  --
1972-73  Boston Bruins               NHL    72    5   22   27  109   5   0   0   0   2
1973-74  Boston Bruins               NHL    76   11   24   35   94  16   2   5   7  38
1974-75  Boston Bruins               NHL    68   15   20   35  146   3   0   0   0  17
1975-76  Boston Bruins               NHL    80   23   27   50  150  12   3   1   4  25
1976-77  Boston Bruins               NHL    79   14   41   55  147  14   5   6  11  28
1977-78  Boston Bruins               NHL    77   29   61   90  211  15   5  10  15  40
1978-79  Boston Bruins               NHL    80   26   51   77  205  11   0   6   6  25
1979-80  Boston Bruins               NHL    71   19   42   61  265  10   3   6   9  69
1980-81  Boston Bruins               NHL    77    8   35   43  223   3   1   2   3  12
1981-82  Boston Bruins               NHL    70   22   30   52  213  11   5   4   9  56
1982-83  Boston Bruins               NHL    19    6   14   20   40  --  --  --  --  --
1983-84  Boston Bruins               NHL    58   12   18   30  124   3   0   0   0  14
1984-85  Boston Bruins               NHL    63   13   17   30  168   5   1   2   3   9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         NHL Totals                        891  204  402  606 2095 108  25  42  67 335

Coaching Statistics

Season  Team             Lge Type            GP  W  L T OTL   Pct Result 
1986-87 Boston Bruins    NHL Head Coach      67 32 29 6   0 0.522 Lost in round 1 
1987-88 Boston Bruins    NHL Head Coach      80 44 30 6   0 0.588 Lost in Finals 
1988-89 Boston Bruins    NHL Head Coach      80 37 29 14  0 0.550 Lost in round 2 
2002-03 New York Rangers NHL Assistant Coach 
2003-04 New York Rangers NHL Assistant Coach 

Gallery

Terry O'Reilly played his rookie season in 1972-73.

External Links

• Terry O'Reilly's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Wayne Cashman	Boston Bruins captains 1983–85	Succeeded by Ray Bourque Rick Middleton
Preceded by Butch Goring	Head coaches of the Boston Bruins 1986–1989	Succeeded by Mike Milbury