Jim Corsi

The Edmonton Oilers have had some great goaltenders in their existence - Grant Fuhr, Andy Moog, Bill Ranford and Curtis Joseph. Jim Corsi was not a great NHL goalie, but he was one of the Oilers' first goalies.

Jim played 26 games in the Oilers inaugural NHL campaign in 1979-80 Jim shared duties with Ron Low and Dave Dryden. Jim, a Montreal native, won 8 games while losing 14 and tying 3. He let in 83 goals for a goals-against-average of 3.65. He also spent 28 games in the Central Hockey League with the Houston Apollos/Oklahoma City Stars. It was his last season of pro hockey in North America. Jim also spent time with the Maine Nordiques of the NAHL and later the Quebec Nordiques of the WHA.

While Jim wasn't the greatest goalie in the NHL, he was one of the most interesting. Jim attended Concordia University where he studied engineering he graduated magna cum laude.

Prior to his stint in the NHL, Jim showed off his athletic ability by playing with the Montreal Olympics of the North American Soccer League. He played a few games in the late 1970s.

Jim's greatest accomplishments in hockey came in Italy. He moved Italy the summer after playing in the NHL to become one of the greatest goalies in Italian hockey history. He represented Italy in 8 World Championships from 1981-1990. He was named the top goalie (B Pool) in 1986 and was a two time IIHF tournament all star. In all Jim appeared in 147 international matches for Italy.

Jim played for HC Cortina and HC Varese in the Italian hockey league.

In the new millenium Corsi became a goaltender coach for the Buffalo Sabres. He also became famous among hockey statistics geeks for creating "Corsi Numbers." Essentially it was a way to measure team defense, by monitoring shot differential while a player was on the ice. Shots include goals, saves, blocked shots, goal posts - any shot whatsoever. Corsi believed it was a better indicator of a team's play or a line's play than simply goals for and against.

Here's much more on Corsi and Corsi numbers courtesy The Edmonton Journal.