Feb 16--Darcy Rota

Darcy Rota

Selected by Chicago Blackhawks round 1 #13 overall 1973 NHL Amateur Draft
Selected by Houston Aeros round 1 #9 overall 1973 WHA Amateur Draft.

In the early years with the Hawks, he was tossed onto a line with Stan Mikita and Cliff Koroll. In such company, Rota became a steady scorer from day one. Several seasons later, he jumped to a line with Dale Tallon and Chico Maki where he continued to be a consistent performer.

In 1979, however, the Hawks couldn't resist the opportunity to get their hands on Tom Lysiak of the Atlanta Flames. The two clubs cooked up a blockbuster trade that swept Rota down to Georgia along with Phil Russell and Ivan Boldriev.

Rota's career with the Flames lasted little more than a season before he was traded to the Vancouver Cancuks in 1980. On the West Coast, he turned his offensive game up to his personal-best level, netting 81 points during the 1982-83 campaign. The following season, however, he suffered a serious spinal injury that raised talk of wheelchairs and retirement. But after neck surgery, the wheelchair was ruled out while retirement was ushered in.

 

CAREER NHL STATISTICS Years Teams GP G A TP PIM 1973-1984 Chicago, Atlanta, Vancouver 794 256 239 495 973

CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS Years Teams GP G A TP PIM 1974-1984 Chicago, Atlanta, Vancouver 60 14 7 21 147

Received these blue ink signed cards TTM.