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Canadian ice-hockey legend Esposito eyes Moscow trip to receive his Friendship Award

The two-time Stanley Cup champion vowed to come to Moscow and receive the award personally from the Russian president

MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Canadian hockey legend Phil Esposito told TASS that he wants to come to Russia one last time to collect his much-coveted Order of Friendship award.

In 2022, Russian ex-hockey player Alexander Yakushev, the top scorer for the Soviets at the 1972 Super Series that Esposito also played in, announced to TASS that in March 2020 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to award the Canadian the Order of Friendship.

"I still haven't been able to get that award, even though I was told they'd send it to Washington at the Embassy, but I said, wait, because I want to get back to Russia," Esposito, 83, told TASS.

Thus, the two-time Stanley Cup champion vowed to come to Moscow and receive the award personally from the Russian president.

The 1972 Super Series was an eight-match hockey showcase that took place in Canada and the Soviet Union. Running from September 2-28 of that year, Canada emerged victorious in what turned out to be a very tough battle between the two squads (4-3-1). It was the very first encounter between the USSR and Canada, which was loaded with NHL players at that time.

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