Ed Westfall

Edwin Vernon Westfall (born September 19, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders from 1961 until 1978–79. Notable as a defensive specialist often tasked with defending against the star scorers of enemy teams, Westfall played most of his career as a right wing, although he played stints on defence in his earlier years and at centre in his later years. After his playing career ended, he became a color commentator on Islanders' broadcasts until 1998 when he retired from that position.
==Playing Career==
He played his junior hockey with the Barrie Flyers and Niagara Falls Flyers, and started his professional career with the Kingston Frontenacs. By 1961 he joined the Bruins, although he had stints the next two years with the Frontenacs and the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League (AHL). By 1966, he was firmly ensconced on Boston's checking line.
Westfall won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 1970 and 1972. He was on the ice on Bobby Orr's famous Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1970} and also scored the second of the three fastest goals in National Hockey League (NHL) history, when the Bruins scored three goals in 20 seconds in a 1971 game with the Vancouver Canucks. During those seasons he made his reputation as a preeminent penalty killer (generally paired with centre Derek Sanderson or winger Don Marcotte), enough so that he was named to play in the All-Star Game in 1971, 1973, 1974 and 1975. Westfall scored 18 shorthanded goals for Boston during the regular season and added six more in Stanley Cup play for the Bruins. The latter mark--which he shares with Sanderson--is still the club record.
Westfall was chosen by the New York Islanders in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft. He was subsequently made the first captain of the team, a position he held until the 1976–77 season. Westfall scored the first goal in franchise history in their first game against the Atlanta Flames on October 7, 1972. Westfall was the first player to represent the Islanders in the NHL All-Star Game. His best season statistically was 1974–75, when Westfall led the Islanders into their first playoffs and all the way into the Stanley Cup semifinals, exploding in the playoffs with five goals and ten assists to cap a 22-goal, 55-point regular season.
He remained an effective scorer through the 1976–77 season, in which he was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication, after which he relinquished the team captaincy to Clark Gillies. His scoring declined sharply in his final two seasons, during which he spent his time on checking lines and penalty killing.
==Retirement==
Westfall retired having played 1226 career NHL games, scoring 231 goals and 394 assists for 625 points.
After the end of his playing days, Westfall became the Islanders' color commentator for what was then known as SportsChannel New York. He was often dubbed "18" by his confidant and broadcasting partner Jiggs McDonald because during his playing career he wore that number. He was also known by that nickname by his former Islander teammates. Westfall continued in that position until he retired in 1998. Former NHL player Joe Micheletti took his spot in the broadcast booth. He made occasional appearances on Islanders' broadcasts for several seasons after that.
Westfall was part of CTV's broadcast team for the 1984 Canada Cup tournament. He provided reports and did interviews from ice level.
On November 19, 2011, Westfall was inducted into the New York Islanders Hall of Fame. The Islanders held "Ed Westfall Night" in his honor. He and his former partner in the booth "Jiggs" McDonald called the second period in the game that night between two of his former teams, the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins.
==Career Statistics==
===Regular Season and Playoffs===
 	 	 		Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season		Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1957–58 	Barrie Flyers 	OHA-Jr. 		51 	3 	10 	13 	60 		4 	0 	0 	0 	4
1958–59 	Barrie Flyers 	OHA-Jr. 		54 	4 	10 	14 	63 		6 	0 	4 	4 	2
1959–60 	Barrie Flyers 	OHA-Jr. 		48 	7 	28 	35 	63 		6 	0 	4 	4 	28
1959–60 	Kingston Frontenacs 	EPHL 		1 	0 	0 	0 	2 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1960–61 	Niagara Falls Flyers	OHA-Jr. 		48 	9 	45 	54 	72 		7 	2 	7 	9 	6
1960–61 	Kingston Frontenacs 	EPHL 		2 	0 	0 	0 	0 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1961–62 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		63 	2 	9 	11 	53 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1962–63 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		48 	1 	11 	12 	34 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1962–63 	Kingston Frontenacs 	EPHL 		21 	5 	16 	21 	14 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1963–64 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		55 	1 	5 	6 	35 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1963–64 	Providence Reds 	AHL 		13 	1 	3 	4 	8 		3 	0 	0 	0 	4
1964–65 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		68 	12 	15 	27 	65 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1965–66 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		59 	9 	21 	30 	42 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1966–67 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		70 	12 	24 	36 	26 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1967–68 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		73 	14 	22 	36 	38 		4 	2 	0 	2 	2
1968–69 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		70 	18 	24 	42 	22 		10 	3 	7 	10 	11
1969–70 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		72 	14 	22 	36 	28 		14 	3 	5 	8 	4
1970–71 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		78 	25 	34 	59 	48 		7 	1 	2 	3 	2
1971–72 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		77 	18 	26 	44 	19 		15 	4 	3 	7 	10
1972–73 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		67 	15 	31 	46 	25 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1973–74 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		68 	19 	23 	42 	28 		— 	— 	— 	— 	—
1974–75 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		73 	22 	33 	55 	28 		17 	5 	10 	15 	12
1975–76 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		80 	25 	31 	56 	27 		8 	2 	3 	5 	0
1976–77 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		79 	14 	33 	47 	8 		12 	1 	5 	6 	0
1977–78 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		71 	5 	19 	24 	14 		2 	0 	0 	0 	0
1978–79 	New York Islanders 	NHL 		55 	5 	11 	16 	4 		6 	1 	2 	3 	0
NHL totals	NHL totals 	NHL totals		1226 	231 	394 	625 	544 		95 	22 	37 	59 	41
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
 	 	 		 	 	 	 	 		 	 	 	 	
==Gallery==
1962-63_Bruins_defense.jpg|Bruins 1963-64 defense, Boivin, Green, Johnson, Awrey, Westfall and McCord.
12Dec1966-Westfall_Larose_Green_Cheevers.jpg|Ed Westfall, Claude Larose, Ted Green, Gerry Cheevers, December 28, 1966.
1968-Jan6-Westfall goal.gif|Ed Westfall scores, January 6, 1968.
14Dec1968-Orr_first_HT_w_Westfall.jpg|Bobby Orr after his first hat trick, all 3 goals assisted by Ed Westfall, December 14, 1968.
1968-69-Cheevers_Howe_Green_Westfall.jpg|Gerry Cheevers, Ted Green, Gordie Howe and Ed Westfall during the 1968-69 season.
20Apr1969-Westfall_scores.jpg|Ed Westfall scores the first goal of Semi-finals Game 4, April 20, 1969.
Westfall-Orr-5May1070.gif|Bobby Orr's shorthanded rush makes it 3-0 Boston, Game 2 of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals, May 5, 1970.
25Feb1971-Westfall_goal.jpg|Ed Westfall scores on Dunc Wilson, February 25, 1971.
Westfall-Orr_SH_Game5-13Apr1971.gif|Ed Westfall's short handed goal from Bobby Orr, Game 5 of the 1971 Quarter-finals, April 13, 1971.
Westfall_goal-20Apr1972.gif|Ed Westfall makes it 10-2 Bruins, Game 2 of the 1972 Semi-finals, April 20, 1972.
==External Links==
*
==See Also==
*List of NHL players with 1000 games played
==References==
Category:1940 births
Category:Living people
Category:Barrie Flyers players
Category:Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners
Category:Boston Bruins players
Category:Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Category:Ice hockey people from Ontario
Category:Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL) players
Category:National Hockey League broadcasters
Category:New York Islanders announcers
Category:New York Islanders players
Category:Niagara Falls Flyers players
Category:Stanley Cup champions