NHL Hockey Trivia: Minnesota North Stars

The Minnesota North Stars were one of the six expansion teams that doubled the size of the NHL for the 1967-68 season. The North Stars remained in the Twin Cities until the end of the 1992-93 season when they were moved to Dallas where they became known as simply the Stars. NHL hockey returned to Minnesota in 2000 as the Wild entered the league.

Test and expand your knowledge of Minnesota North Stars trivia with the following questions.

Q. In their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1981, which team did the Minnesota North Stars lose to?

A. The North Stars lost to the New York Islanders. For New York, it was their second of four consecutive Stanley Cup victories. The North Stars finished the 1980-81 regular season in third place in the Adams Division, behind the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins. Minnesota knocked off both those teams before upsetting the Calgary Flames in the conference final.

The playoff hero for Minnesota was Steve Payne with 17 goals and 29 points over 19 games. He was followed close behind by Bobby Smith and Dino Ciccarelli. Now in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Ciccarelli played the last half of the 1980-81 season with the North Stars, his first National Hockey League action, after starting the year with the Oklahoma City Stars of the CHL. Minnesota was coached that year by Glen Sonmor with Murray Oliver and J.P. Parise at his side.

Q. In their second trip to the Stanley Cup finals, which team beat the North Stars in 1991?

A. The Pittsburgh Penguins took out the North Stars in six games. The North Stars finished the regular season with an anaemic 27 wins but upset Chicago, St. Louis and Edmonton before bowing out to the Penguins.

That version of the North Stars had a Montreal Canadiens feel behind the bench with Bob Gainey acting as head coach and Doug Jarvis by his side as assistant coach. Minnesota was led in the playoffs by Dave Gagner’s 12 goals and Brian Bellows and his 29 points. Mike Modano was in just his second year in the NHL and contributed 20 points over 23 playoff games.

Q. The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was named for the Minnesota North Stars player who died as a result of an on-ice injury during Minnesota’s first season. Who was the only Minnesota North Star to win the Masterton?

A. Al MacAdam won the award in 1979-80. MacAdam started his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, playing just five games with the club in 1973-74. The following year, he was a member of the California Seals and followed that franchise through Cleveland and eventually to Minnesota.

In 1979-80, Al scored 42 goals and assisted on 51 for 93 points, leading the team in goals and points. Over his career, MacAdam played 864 regular season games in the NHL with the Flyers, Seals, Barons, North Stars and Vancouver Canucks.

Q. In their second season in the NHL, which Minnesota North Stars forward won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie?

A. Danny Grant won the Calder in 1968-69. Grant played the season before with the Montreal Canadiens but didn’t appear in enough regular season games to qualify as a rookie. He helped Montreal in the playoffs as they won the 1969 Stanley Cup. Grant is one of just four players to win the Stanley Cup before winning the Calder.

In that 1968-69 season, Grant scored 34 and assisted on 31 for 65 points over 75 games, leading the North Stars in goals and points. Danny played 736 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1965-66 and 1978-79 with the Canadiens, North Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings. He was a 50 goal scorer with Detroit in 1974-75.

1985-86 Edmonton Oilers: Stanley Cup Playoff Train Wreck

1985-86 was the year the National Hockey League changed rules to try and keep the Edmonton Oilers from obliterating the league’s scoring records. From 1985 to 1993, the NHL allowed teams to play five on five instead of four on four when coincidental minors were handed out. Unofficially, the rule was changed because the Oilers were unstoppable in a four-on-four situation.

1985-86 was also a year when the Edmonton Oilers should have cruised to a Stanley Cup victory. Instead, they allowed the Calgary Flames to oust them from the playoffs in the second round. The series went the full seven games with neither team winning consecutive games and Calgary outscoring Edmonton by a slight margin at 25-24 on the series. Both Edmonton and Calgary had easily swept in their opening round. The Oilers took out the Canucks in three and the Flames took out the Jets in three. Calgary reached the Stanley Cup final before bowing out to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

That season, the Oilers won 56 games while losing only 17 and tying 7 for 119 points. The point total was thirty more than the Flames, who were second in the Clarence Campbell Conference. They Oilers were nine points better than the Philadelphia Flyers who were first in the Prince of Wales Conference. Coincidentally, the Flyers were knocked out in the first round by the New York Rangers who finished the season with just 78 points and were two games below .500.

Edmonton players set National Hockey League individual records that season and several still stand today. Of them, Wayne Gretzky’s 215 points and 163 assists are the records that likely will remain for an eternity. Gretzky also tied the NHL mark for most assists in a single game with seven. Paul Coffey scored 48 goals which stands as the most goals scored by a defenseman in one season. Paul eclipsed the previous mark of 46 set by Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins in 1974-75. Coffey also set the record for the longest point streak for defenseman at 28 games.

Edmonton players dominated the NHL’s top ten in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Wayne Gretzky was 74 points ahead of the number two man in the league, Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who totalled 141 points. Paul Coffey came in third with 138 points, one less than Bobby Orr’s record for defenseman set in 1970-71. Jari Kurri finished fourth in the NHL with 131 points and led the league with 68 goals. Unfortunately for Kurri, the Rocket Richard Trophy didn’t come into existence for another decade and a half.

The Oilers took home the hardware at the NHL awards ceremony in 1985-86. Gretzky was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer and the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. The Oilers won the President’s Trophy for the highest point total during the National Hockey League regular season. Glen Sather won the Jack Adams Award as the top coach despite having a team full of ringers and experiencing such a playoff disappointment. Of course, Paul Coffey won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.

Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey were selected to the NHL’s First Team All-Star team and Jari Kurri made Second Team. Nine Edmonton Oilers players appeared in the NHL’s All-Star Game in 1985-86. Other than Gretzky, Coffey and Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Lee Fogolin, Grant Fuhr, Kevin Lowe, Mark Messier and Andy Moog appeared. Ironically, with such an offensively laden team, their Campbell Conference team lost a low-scoring affair to the Wales Conference squad.

The Oilers learned from their playoff disaster. The following season, Gretzky scored 32 less points, the team scored 54 less goals, had seven less wins and 13 less points. Edmonton still won the President’s Trophy but with only 106 points. Most importantly, they won the Stanley Cup in seven games over the Philadelphia Flyers. As for the Calgary Flames, they lost in the opening round in 1986-87 to the Winnipeg Jets in six games.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Steve Yzerman

For three decades, Steve Yzerman was the face of the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings. Yzerman retired after the 2005-06 season and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. Steve’s number 19 was retired by the Red Wings in 2007 and is one of just seven numbers retired by the team. Stevie-Y is now the General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Test and expand your knowledge of Steve Yzerman hockey trivia with the following questions.

Q. In his best offensive year, 1988-89, how many regular season points did Steve Yzerman have?

A. Yzerman contributed 155 points for a Detroit Red Wings team that finished the regular season at exactly .500 and lost out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. Yzerman put up career high numbers for goals (65) and assists (90). Steve finished third in league scoring behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

To this day, the numbers Yzerman put up for goals, assists and points in 1988-89 remain team single season records. The 155 points is still the 14^th highest total in National Hockey League history and the most by a player whose name is not Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux.

Q. How many teams did Steve Yzerman play for during his NHL career?

A. Despite several trade rumours throughout his career, Yzerman played for just the Detroit Red Wings. In 1994, it was thought he was bound for the Montreal Canadiens and the following year the rumour had him going to the Ottawa Senators.

Q. How many seasons did Steve Yzerman play in the NHL?

A. Yzerman played 22 seasons in the NHL. He began his career with Detroit in 1983-84 after two years with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. Steve was a fourth overall pick of the Red Wings in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, behind Brian Lawton (Minnesota North Stars), Sylvain Turgeon (Hartford Whalers) and Pat Lafontaine (New York Islanders). After missing the 2004-05 season, along with the rest of the league due to the lockout, Yzerman returned for one more season in 2005-06.

Q. How many times during his NHL career did Steve Yzerman surpass the 50 goal plateau?

A. Five times in his 22 NHL seasons, Steve Yzerman had 50 or more goals in a season. In 1988-89 and 1989-90, Yzerman took it a step further and surpassed the 60 goal plateau. Overall, Steve scored 692 regular season goals over his NHL career, putting him in the ninth position all-time. Yzerman scored two less goals that Mark Messier and two more than Mario Lemieux. Teemu Selanne finished the 2013-14 season with 684.

The 4 Captains In Atlanta Flames History

The Atlanta Flames joined the National Hockey League, along with the New York Islanders, for the 1972-73 season. The Flames lasted eight years in Atlanta before moving to Calgary for 1980-81. The team was fairly successful in that they reached the Stanley Cup playoffs in six of the eight years. However, they never won a series and only won two games in the post season, one against the Los Angeles Kings in 1976-77 and one against the New York Rangers in 1979-80.

Over their eight years in the NHL before moving to Alberta, the Flames had four team captains. Two finished their careers in Atlanta, one was a second overall pick by the Flames in 1973 and one played just two games shy of 1,000 over his NHL career.

Keith McCreary

Atlanta’s first team captain wore the ‘C’ from 1972-73 to 1974-75, the final three years of his NHL career. McCreary was picked up 18^th overall by the Flames in the 1972 Expansion Draft. Five years earlier, he was involved in another NHL Expansion Draft, picked up by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1967, 52^nd overall.

It was expansion that made the NHL career of Keith McCreary. Previous to 1967-68, he played just one playoff game with the Montreal Canadiens in 1961-62 and nine regular season games with the Habs in 1964-65. He went on to play 532 regular season games in the NHL, scoring 131 and assisting on 112 for 243 points. McCreary played an additional 16 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, four with Atlanta, adding four points.

Pat Quinn

Pat Quinn was team captain in Atlanta for the 1975-76 and 1976-77 season, also his final two in the NHL. Quinn was with the Flames right from the start, taken 34^th overall in the 1972 Expansion Draft. Pat also was part of another expansion draft, taken eighth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 1970.

Quinn, more noted for his work behind the bench and in the front office, played 606 regular season games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver and Atlanta. The defenseman scored 18 goals and totalled 131 points. Pat played in just 11 playoff games, adding one assist. The year after retiring as a player, Pat immediately jumped behind the bench as assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tom Lysiak

At the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, Lysiak was taken second overall by the Flames behind Denis Potvin who went to the Islanders. He was a promising offensive threat that had led the WHL in scoring the previous two seasons.

Tom played with the Flames from 1973-74 to 1978-79 and was captain in his final two years with the club until an eight player trade sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 13, 1979. Lysiak continued on with Chicago until retiring after the 1985-86 season.

Over 919 regular season National Hockey League games, Tom scored 292 and assisted 551 for 843 points. In 76 Stanley Cup playoff games, mostly with Chicago, he added another 63 points. As a Flame, Lysiak played for Canada at the 1978 IIHF World Championships held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Canada finished third behind the Soviets and Czechs.

Jean Pronovost

Jean Pronovost played two years with Atlanta and was captain in his final season with the club, 1979-80. Like the other three, he would not play for the Flames in Calgary. Jean was with the Washington Capitals when the team moved to Canada.

His NHL career started in 1968-69 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and ended after the 1981-82 season. Pronovost was unfortunate to play for just the Penguins, Flames and Capitals in an era when those teams just weren’t very good. He appeared in 998 NHL regular season games, scoring 391 goals and assisting on 383 for 774 points. Jean played in just 35 playoff games, adding 20 points.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Darryl Sittler

Darryl Sittler is one of the greatest legends in the history of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Sittler is a Hockey Hall of Fame member that has certainly left his mark on the game. His record of ten points in a single game that was set in 1976 against the Boston Bruins still stands today. Test and expand your hockey knowledge with the following four hockey trivia questions and answers.

Q. When Darryl Sittler was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Detroit Red Wings for the start of the 1984-85 season, what player, who would play over 1,000 career NHL games, went in the other direction?

A. Sittler was traded to Detroit for an unproven youngster named Murray Craven. Philadelphia got the best of the deal with Sittler playing just 61 games with Detroit before retiring. Craven played 1,071 regular season NHL games with the Red Wings, Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.

Joe Paterson also went to the Flyers in the deal. Joe played just six games for Philadelphia in 1984-85 and five more with the club in 1985-86 before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings. Paterson, who played his junior hockey for the same OHL team as Sittler, appeared in 291 NHL regular season games between 1980-81 and 1988-89 with the Red Wings, Flyers, Kings and New York Rangers.

Q. In 1977-78, Darryl Sittler finished third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 117 points. Who finished first in the NHL that season?

A. Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens won the Art Ross Trophy with 132 points. Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders took second spot with 123 points. The three were the only ones to surpass the 100 point plateau that season.

It was the second and last time Darryl would reach the 100 point plateau. He totalled exactly 100 in 1975-76 over 79 games with the Maple Leafs. The 100 points placed him ninth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.

Q. With what OHA team did Darryl Sittler record 99 points for in 1968-69?

A. Darryl was a member of the London Knights for three years from 1967-68 to 1969-70. 99 points was his highest single season total in the junior league and was accomplished over 53 games on 34 goals and 65 assists. He finished third in the OHA that season behind only Rejean Houle of the Montreal Junior Canadiens and Marcel Dionne of the St. Catherines Black Hawks.

In his third and final year with London, Sittler scored 42 and assisted on 48 for 90 points over 54 regular season games. He was the team’s leader by far with 24 more points than Dan Maloney. He tied Bobby Lalonde of the Montreal Junior Canadiens for sixth in goal scoring. Darryl was also tied for seventh in assists and held the sixth spot for total points.

Q. In what year was Darryl Sittler inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?

A. Sittler entered the Hall of Fame in 1989. The only other two players to be inducted that season were Herbie Lewis, a member of the Detroit Cougars / Falcons / Red Wings in the late 1920’s and 1930’s and Vladislav Tretiak, the great Russian goaltender.

Portland Pirates Of The AHL By The Numbers

The Portland Pirates have been a franchise in the American Hockey League since the 1993-94 season and are currently affiliated with the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL. The Pirates have roots in the Erie Blades, an AHL team that began play in 1975-76. In between Erie and Portland, the franchise made a stop in Maryland and were known as the Baltimore Skipjacks from 1982-83 to 1992-93. In this article, when referring to team records and championships, it is just for the Portland Pirates from 1993-94 forward.

1. The Pirates have been crowned Calder Cup champions on just one occasion. It happened to be their first year in Portland, 1993-94. The team finished third overall during the regular season and took out the Albany River Rats and Adirondack Red Wings in the first two rounds. Portland received a bye through the semi-finals before meeting up with the Moncton Hawks in the finals. The Pirates came away with the championship in six games.

17. The most career shutouts by a goaltender in a Portland Pirates jersey is 17 by Maxime Ouellet. Ouellet played for the Pirates from 2001-02 to 2004-05 but the 17 shutouts all occurred in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons with seven the first year and 10 the next.

2003-04 was a really unique year for a goalie to record ten shutouts. Maxime played 52 of Portland’s games. The Pirates won just 15 games, meaning 67% of the games they won were when they did not allow a single goal.

Ouellet was a first round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 22^nd overall. On March 19, 2002, he was traded to Washington from Philadelphia for Hockey Hall of Fame member Adam Oates. Maxime played in the National Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2005-06 with the Flyers, Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks.

37. Olaf Kolzig wore the number 37 for the Pirates between 1993-94 and 1995-96. Each of those three years were split between Portland and the Washington Capitals. In the two previous seasons, Olaf played for the Baltimore Skipjacks.

In 1993-94, Kolzig was honoured with the Harry Holmes Trophy for the AHL’s best goaltending duo. He was also awarded the Jack Butterfield Trophy as the AHL’s Calder Cup playoff MVP. Olaf went on to win the Vezina Trophy in 1999-00. He played for the Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning between 1989-90 and 2008-09. His time in Tampa was limited to just eight games in his final NHL season. Olaf Kolzig is an honoured member of the ECHL Hall of Fame.

41. The most goals scored in a single season for the Pirates is 41 by Michel Picard over just 61 games in 1993-94. Picard played 166 regular season games in the NHL between 1990-91 and 2000-01 with the Hartford Whalers, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers. In 1990-91, he led the AHL in goal scoring with 56 as a member of the Springfield Indians.

48. In 1998-99, the Portland Pirates lost 48 games, the most in any single season for the franchise. Portland finished last in the Eastern Conference with 55 points, 16 points behind the next team, the Saint John Flames. Overall, the Pirates were 17^th in the 19 team league.

53. In 2005-06, the Pirates set a team record for most wins in a season with 53. Their 114 points placed them first in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the AHL behind the Grand Rapids Griffins. Portland then fell in the Eastern Conference finals to the Hershey Bears. The series went the full seven games with three decided in overtime, including game seven.

355. Mark Major set the club’s record for most penalty minutes in a single season in 1997-98 with 355 over 79 games. He then sat 52 minutes over ten playoff games that year. Over 364 career AHL regular season games, Major sat 1,238 PIM playing for the Providence Bruins, Adirondack Red Wings, Portland and the Hershey Bears. As a junior in the Ontario Hockey League, he sat 691 PIM over 183 games with the North Bay Centennials and Kingston Frontenacs. In the IHL, it was 927 minutes over 320 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, Detroit Vipers and Houston Aeros. Mark played two games in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings in 1996-97.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Maple Leaf Gardens In Toronto

For nearly seventy years, Maple Leaf Gardens was the home of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. The arena, known in short as MLG, was also home to several other teams over the years in the sports of indoor soccer, lacrosse and basketball. Test and expand your hockey knowledge of Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens with the following four hockey trivia questions.

Q. Besides the Toronto Maple Leafs, what other professional hockey team called Maple Leaf Gardens home?

A. The Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association called MLG home for the 1974-75 and 1975-76 season after played their first year at Varsity Arena. The Toros began as a WHA franchise in Ottawa and moved to Birmingham for the 1976-77 season.

Q. In what season did the Toronto Maple Leafs win the first Stanley Cup in their new home?

A. The Maple Leafs began play at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931-32. The team won the Stanley Cup that year with a final series victory over the New York Rangers. Toronto swept New York in the best of five series with the final game being played at MLG. Of the three games, only one was played in New York and Toronto each with the other played in Boston due to the Circus taking over Madison Square Garden in New York. Starring for Toronto that year were Busher Jackson, Joe Primeau and Charlie Conacher.

Q. What was the first NBA team to play home games at Maple Leaf Gardens?

A. The Buffalo Braves of the National Basketball Association played a total of 16 home games at MLG over four seasons between 1971 and 1975. The Braves are the predecessors of the current Los Angeles Clippers. The franchise played mainly out of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium from 1970-71 to 1977-78. They then moved to San Diego where they took on the Clippers name for the first time. The franchise lasted in San Diego from 1978-79 until 1983-84 before moving north to Los Angeles.

The Toronto Raptors never called Maple Leafs Gardens home. The NBA franchise began play for the 1995-96 season and played home games at the SkyDome until the Air Canada Centre opened for the 1999-00 season.

Q. In what year did Maple Leaf Gardens host the first annual NHL All-Star Game?

A. In October of 1947, the first official NHL All-Star Game was played at MLG. 13 years earlier, in 1934, the first NHL All-Star game of any kind was played as a benefit for Ace Bailey. The 1947 game featured the defending Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs against an All-Star team from the other five teams in the league. The All-Stars came out on top 4-3 before a crowd of 14,169 with Doug Bentley scoring the winning goal in the third period, assisted by Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard and Milt Schmidt.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Guy Lafleur

Guy Lafleur was a huge part of the Montreal Canadiens dynasty during the 1970’s in the National Hockey League. He played with the Canadiens from 1971-72 until 1984-85. He came out of retirement and played three more seasons from 1988-89 to 1990-91.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Guy Lafleur with the following four trivia questions.

Q. How many times did Guy Lafleur win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading point-getter?

A. Lafleur won the Art Ross three times consecutively, 1975-76, 1976-77 and 1977-78. His point totals in those seasons were 125, 136 and 132 respectively. This was right in the middle of a six year stretch of 100+ point season for Guy that spanned from 1974-75 to 1979-80.

In 1975-76, Lafleur finished with a six point edge over Bobby Clarke of the Philadelphia Flyers. That year, he neither led the league in goals or assists. The following year, Guy’s cushion over second place increased to 14 points, this time finishing ahead of Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings. He once again did not lead the NHL in goals but did lead in assists. In 1977-78, Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders was second best, nine points behind. Lafleur led the National Hockey League in goals with 60.

Q. Guy Lafleur finished his NHL career off playing for what team?

A. When Lafleur made his three year comeback from 1988-89 to 1990-91, he played his first year with the New York Rangers and his final two with the Quebec Nordiques. In the two seasons in Quebec, Lafleur managed just 39 and 59 games with twelve goals in each season.

Q. When Guy Lafleur was taken first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, who was second overall?

A. Always a rival of Lafleur’s in the scoring race, Marcel Dionne was selected second overall in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Lafleur came out of the QMJHL where he played for the Quebec Remparts. Dionne was a Quebec born hockey dissident, playing in the OHA for the St. Catherines Black Hawks. When Guy won his three Art Ross Trophies, Marcel Dionne was never very far behind. The bulk of Dionne’s success came while playing for the Los Angeles Kings. The two played together for the Rangers in 1988-89.

Q. What was the highest single regular season goal total during Guy Lafleur’s NHL career?

A. He scored 103 and 130 goals in his final two seasons with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Guy Lafleur’s NHL single season best was not nearly as high as those totals but still quite respectable. Lafleur scored 60 goals in 1977-78. At the time, Guy was just the fourth player in NHL history to reach 60 goals in a single season. He was the second Montreal Canadien to reach the plateau with Steve Shutt scoring 60 the year before.

The 130 goals stood as a QMJHL single season record until 1983-84. That year, Mario Lemieux of the Laval Voisins topped the mark with 133 goals. Lemieux played in seven more games.

Frank Brimsek Of The Boston Bruins: Mr. Zero

He was one of the great goaltenders of the National Hockey league in the 1940’s, yet it took 16 years after he retired for Frank Brimsek to finally get inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Brimsek spent all but one of his seasons in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, leading the club to a Stanley Cup championship in his rookie year.

Frank Brimsek – Minor Pros

Before his big break with the Bruins in 1938-39, Brimsek played a few years in the minor pros. In 1935-36 and 1936-37, he appeared with the Pittsburgh Yellowjackets of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League. The EAHL evolved into the EHL, a pro league that existed until the end of the 1972-73 season before splitting in to the NAHL and SHL.

In his first year with the Yellowjackets, the team placed second in the five team league and was led offensively by Gordie Drillon. Drillon would go on to be a scoring leader in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The following year, the team fell to fourth as most of the star players had moved on.

In 1937-38, Brimsek played all 48 regular season games for the Providence Reds of the IAHL. The ‘I’ in IAHL was dropped as the league became the present day American Hockey League. The Bun Cook coached Reds were crowned Calder Cup champions with a win over the Syracuse Stars in the finals.

Frank Brimsek – NHL Career

‘Mister Zero’ played goal in the National Hockey League from 1938-39 to 1949-50 with the Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks. Shortly into the 1938-39 season, Boston shipped their number one goaltender Tiny Thompson to the Detroit Red Wings and relied solely on the rookie Brimsek.

Frank started the year with nine games in the AHL with Providence. Over 43 games with the Bruins, he posted a 1.56 goals against average and recorded ten shutouts. Brimsek won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. He also won the Vezina Trophy and was named First Team All-Star goalie.

The Art Ross coached Bruins placed first overall in the 1938-39 NHL. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Boston ousted the Toronto Maple Leafs in the finals for the championship. Frank played all 12 playoff games, posting a 1.25 GAA.

Brimsek played every game for the Bruins in five different seasons between 1939-40 and 1947-48. He would do the same in his final year of NHL hockey in 1949-50 for the Chicago Blackhawks. He won his second and final Vezina Trophy in 1941-42, playing 47 games for the Bruins with three shutouts and a 2.35 GAA. His only other Stanley Cup championship came in 1940-41 when the Bruins swept the Red Wings in the finals after finishing first overall during the regular season.

After missing the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons because of military commitments during the Second World War, Frank stormed back into the NHL for the 1945-46 season. The Dit Clapper coached Bruins finished second overall in the six team league. Brimsek played 34 games during the regular season, sharing duties with Paul Bibeault.

In the 1945-46 Stanley Cup playoffs, Frank played in all ten games for Boston. The Bruins fell to the Montreal Canadiens in the finals, winning just one of the five games. The series was closer than it looked, though, with three of the five games going to overtime to decide a victor.

His final year in the NHL was Frank’s only year not with the Bruins. He played all 70 games for Chicago with five shutouts and a 3.49 goals against average. The Charlie Conacher coached Blackhawks finished last in the six team league, six points behind the fifth place Bruins. It was the only year during his NHL career that Brimsek did not compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Frank was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, along with eight others. The group included hockey greats Max Bentley, Toe Blake, Emile Bouchard, Ted Kennedy, Elmer Lach, Ted Lindsay, Ken Reardon and Babe Pratt. Brimsek was inducted into the U.S.A. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973.