Richard David "Nifty" Middleton (born December 4, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. Middleton played 14 years in the NHL, most prominently with the Bruins, serving as their captain alongside Ray Bourque from 1985 until his retirement in 1988.
Throughout his career, Middleton was known for his exceptional stickhandling and scoring ability, recording multiple 90-plus- and 100-plus-point seasons. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship in 1982. Internationally, Middleton represented Team Canada twice in the Canada Cup, winning a gold medal in 1984.
Following his retirement, Middleton served as the head coach of the United States 2002 Paralympic Sled Hockey team and coached them to their first gold medal at the 2002 Paralympic Olympics. He has since been inducted into both the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
He has also remained involved with the Bruins in commentary and ambassador roles.
Middleton was born in Toronto, Canada on Dec 4, 1953 to his parents Terry & Dick Middleton. He began skating at 4 years old when his dad froze a small rink in the backyard and the older boys would take him on the ice so they could skate. He would start playing organized hockey when he was 6 years old along with playing street hockey with his neighbors. As a youth, Middleton played in the 1966 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Wexford, Toronto. Middleton’s family were very supportive of his hockey pursuits; his father who was a printer by trade would print flags that would say "Go Wexford Go" for the parents to wave at games. Middleton continued to play for the team until he turned 13. When he received an invitation tryout with a new organization in the Toronto Hockey League with the Toronto Young Nationals. Middleton would make the team, spending the next 3 years with the team while greatly improving his play.
A right winger, during his final year with the Toronto Young Nationals in 1970–71, Middleton appeared in 42 games, scoring 39 goals and 34 assists. Following his stint with the Nationals, Middleton played two seasons with the Oshawa Generals. During his first year with the club, Middleton appeared in 53 games and scored 70 points (36 goals and 34 assists). However, it was during his second year with the Generals in 1972–73 that he led the OHL in scoring, finishing with 67 goals and 70 assists for 137 total points in 62 games. He was named to the league’s Second All-Star Team and was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as the league’s MVP.
Middleton was drafted in the first round, 14th overall, by the Rangers in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. He spent the 1973–74 season with the Rangers' farm team, the AHL Providence Reds, earning the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s Rookie of the Year with 36 goals and 48 assists in 63 games and was also named to the AHL's First All-Star Team. During the postseason, Middleton recorded 15 points in 15 games as he helped lead the Reds to the Calder Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Hershey Bears 4–1.
Middleton made the big club during the 1974–75 season and went on to score his first two NHL goals during his debut in a 6–3 Rangers victory over the Washington Capitals. Later in the year, during a game vs. the California Golden Seals, Middleton scored a career-best four goals as the Rangers won 10–0. During his rookie year, Middleton suffered multiple injuries that restricted him to 47 games; during that time, he scored 22 goals and 18 assists for 40 points. That year, he played in all three postseason games as the Rangers were eliminated 2–1 by the New York Islanders. The following year, in 1975–76, Middleton appeared in 77 games for the Rangers and recorded 24 goals and 26 assists. The Rangers missed the playoffs that year.
Middleton was traded to the Boston Bruins for Ken Hodge on May 26, 1976. Rangers head coach and general manager John Ferguson Sr. was confident that his team had enough young talent to justify making Middleton expendable. What the Bruins got was a player who was ten years younger and a swifter skater than Hodge. The transaction became even more one-sided in favor of the Bruins when head coach Don Cherry developed Middleton's defensive skills, making him a solid two-way player. Hodge played only one more season before his career ended, while Middleton became a star in Boston. Middleton made his debut for the Bruins on October 7, 1976, versus the Minnesota North Stars and scored a hat trick in a 6–2 Bruins victory. Middleton went on to appear in 72 games for the Bruins that year and scored 22 goals and 20 assists. During the postseason, Middleton appeared in 13 of the 14 games, scoring nine points (5 goals and 4 assists) and he and the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Final; however, they were swept by the Montreal Canadiens.
The following year, during the 1977–78 season, Middleton had one of his best single-game performances vs. the Cleveland Barons on March 21, 1978, when he scored two goals and three assists in a 5–3 Bruins win. He went on to appear in 79 regular-season games for the Bruins and scored 25 goals and 35 assists for 60 total points. That year, he appeared in all 15 postseason games, scoring seven points (5 goals and 2 assists), as the Bruins once again reached the Stanley Cup Final, but just like the previous year, they were defeated by the Canadiens 4–2.
The 1978–79 season saw Middleton have his first 30-plus-goal season as his numbers improved. In 79 games, he became a point-per-game player, scoring 38 goals and 48 assists. Middleton appeared in 11 postseason games that year and scored 12 points (4 goals and 8 assists). The Bruins defeated Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals but lost in heartbreaking fashion vs. the Canadiens in Game 7 of the semifinals. The following year, during the 1979–80 season, Middleton played in all 80 games for the first time in his career. He was once again a point-per-game player throughout the season, scoring both 40 goals and 50-plus assists for the first time, finishing the regular season with 92 total points. Middleton appeared in 10 postseason games, scoring 4 goals and 2 assists, as the Bruins were defeated by the New York Islanders 4–1 in the quarterfinals. During the offseason, Middleton signed a five-year contract extension with the Bruins.
The 1980–81 season saw the Bruins hire former goalie and Middleton’s teammate, Gerry Cheevers, as their new head coach. Cheevers started playing Middleton on the power play, penalty kill and first line, with Middleton now playing 20–30 minutes per game. That year, Middleton played all 80 games for a second straight season and with his newly extended playing time, he went on to have his first 100-plus-point season, scoring 44 goals and a career-best 59 assists. For his efforts, Middleton was selected to play in his first NHL All-Star Game. Despite his play, the Bruins were eliminated by Minnesota 3–0 in the first round.
Starting in the 1981 season, Middleton became one of the premier wingers in the league when rookie Barry Pederson was placed on his line at center. He and Pederson clicked immediately and had three of the best seasons together of any two linemates in NHL history. Together, from 1981–84, they posted over 200 points per season. One of Middleton’s best seasons came in 1981–82, during which he played in 75 games and scored a career-high 51 goals and 43 assists for 94 total points. During a game on January 7, 1982, vs. the Winnipeg Jets, he tied a single-game best with 5 points (2 goals and 3 assists). Middleton also won the Lady Byng Trophy for excellence and sportsmanship, finishing the year with just 12 penalty minutes. In addition, he finished seventh in league scoring, placed first among all NHL players in shooting percentage with a 25.2% and was named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team. The Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 3–1, but were defeated by Quebec, 4–3, in the quarterfinals. Middleton scored 6 goals and 9 assists in 11 playoff appearances.