Nicholas Evlampios Fotiu (born May 25, 1952) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

forward. He played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

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

(WHA) with the

New England Whalers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in the 1974–75 season. Two years later, he signed with his hometown

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

of the

(NHL), where his role as an

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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 game play. 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 The 1980–81 NHL season was the 64th season of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders were the top regular season team and the top playoff team, winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup by defeating the Minnesota North Stars in ...

, where he remained for five seasons. He was traded to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in 1986 and helped them get to their first Stanley Cup finals appearance. Fotiu also played for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

and briefly with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

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 The Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame mission is "to recognize those individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Staten Island sports history, and by virtue of their accomplishments, service, or force of character, have enriched tha ...

. He is the first native of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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

References

External links

* 1952 births Living people American men's ice hockey left wingers American people of Greek descent American people of Italian descent Calgary Flames players ECHL coaches Edmonton Oilers players Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey players from New York (state) Johnstown Chiefs coaches New England Whalers players New Haven Nighthawks players New Jersey Rockin' Rollers players New York Rangers players New York Rangers scouts Philadelphia Flyers players Sportspeople from Staten Island Undrafted National Hockey League players {{US-icehockey-winger-stub