photo: © Hockey Hall Of Fame / Lew Portnoy
The hockey world is in mourning. Ken Dryden, one of the greatest goalies hockey has ever known, died in Toronto on Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 78.
Dryden was the winning goalie in Game 8 of the historic 1972 Summit Series, a six-time Stanley Cup winner with Montreal, and one of the most astute hockey observers to have chronicled the game. He also played in the 1969 IIHF World Championship as well as the famed New Year’s Eve game in Montreal, a 3-3 tie with the Soviet Red Army. As well, he was part of history on March 20, 1971, when he and goalie-brother Dave played each other in an NHL game. It remains the only time brother-goalies have played against each other.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, but raised in Toronto, Dryden was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1964. Two weeks later, he was famously traded to Montreal with Alex Campbell for Paul Reid and Guy Allen, a deal no one at the time thought was the least bit important.
Dryden began his career at Cornell in NCAA hockey while he was studying to become a lawyer. He had an incredible 76-1-4 (W-T-L) record with the Big Red during the period 1966-69, winning the national championship at the end of his freshman season. Weeks after graduating, he represented Canada at the 1969 IIHF World Championship, playing two games behind starter Wayne Stephenson and finishing fourth. Dryden earned a shutout in his debut, a 1-0 win over the United States on 25 March 1969, and then was the losing goalie in a 4-2 decision to Sweden two days later.
Dryden had a sensational rookie pro season with the Montreal Voyageurs in 1970-71, and his entrance into the NHL couldn’t have been more dramatic. He came in at the end of that 70-71 season, playing the final six regular-season games for the Canadiens and winning them all. Despite his inexperience, he became the number-one goalie for the Habs during the playoffs and was brilliant as they knocked off the heavily-favoured Bruins in the opening round. Montreal went on to win the Stanley Cup, and Dryden was named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy. A year later, he was named winner of the Calder Trophy, the first player ever to win these two awards in “reverse” order.
Dryden and Tony Esposito were the goalies for Canada during the historic Summit Series in September 1972. Dryden started Game 1 on Saturday night at the Forum in Montreal, a 7-3 loss to the Soviets despite jumping out to an early 2-0 lead. He famously wrote later that when he woke up on Sunday, a day when newspapers didn’t publish in Canada, he wondered if the loss had been just a bad dream.
In the end, Dryden was the starter in Game 8, won by Canada on a late Paul Henderson goal. The win became a defining moment in the history of international hockey and ushered in a new era of global competition.
Dryden was the winning goalie in Game 8 of the historic 1972 Summit Series, a six-time Stanley Cup winner with Montreal, and one of the most astute hockey observers to have chronicled the game. He also played in the 1969 IIHF World Championship as well as the famed New Year’s Eve game in Montreal, a 3-3 tie with the Soviet Red Army. As well, he was part of history on March 20, 1971, when he and goalie-brother Dave played each other in an NHL game. It remains the only time brother-goalies have played against each other.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, but raised in Toronto, Dryden was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1964. Two weeks later, he was famously traded to Montreal with Alex Campbell for Paul Reid and Guy Allen, a deal no one at the time thought was the least bit important.
Dryden began his career at Cornell in NCAA hockey while he was studying to become a lawyer. He had an incredible 76-1-4 (W-T-L) record with the Big Red during the period 1966-69, winning the national championship at the end of his freshman season. Weeks after graduating, he represented Canada at the 1969 IIHF World Championship, playing two games behind starter Wayne Stephenson and finishing fourth. Dryden earned a shutout in his debut, a 1-0 win over the United States on 25 March 1969, and then was the losing goalie in a 4-2 decision to Sweden two days later.
Dryden had a sensational rookie pro season with the Montreal Voyageurs in 1970-71, and his entrance into the NHL couldn’t have been more dramatic. He came in at the end of that 70-71 season, playing the final six regular-season games for the Canadiens and winning them all. Despite his inexperience, he became the number-one goalie for the Habs during the playoffs and was brilliant as they knocked off the heavily-favoured Bruins in the opening round. Montreal went on to win the Stanley Cup, and Dryden was named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy. A year later, he was named winner of the Calder Trophy, the first player ever to win these two awards in “reverse” order.
Dryden and Tony Esposito were the goalies for Canada during the historic Summit Series in September 1972. Dryden started Game 1 on Saturday night at the Forum in Montreal, a 7-3 loss to the Soviets despite jumping out to an early 2-0 lead. He famously wrote later that when he woke up on Sunday, a day when newspapers didn’t publish in Canada, he wondered if the loss had been just a bad dream.
In the end, Dryden was the starter in Game 8, won by Canada on a late Paul Henderson goal. The win became a defining moment in the history of international hockey and ushered in a new era of global competition.
Six Stanley Cups and Five Vezina Trophies
Dryden played in the NHL for only eight years, winning the Cup six times and the Vezina Trophy five times. Only Jacques Plante has won as many Cups as a goalie in the game’s history. Dryden’s career record in the regular season was 258-74-57 (W-T-L) and in the playoffs an incredible 80-32 (W-L).Dryden, though, was restless. He wanted to practise law, and in 1983 he released a book called “The Game,” widely regarded as the finest account of the NHL, hockey, and life as a player, on and off the ice.
He was the colour analyst for American TV during the 1980 Olympics, notably the Miracle on Ice game with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, and he later went into politics in Canada, serving as a parliamentarian from 2004 to 2011. Dryden continued to write, most notably publishing “Game Change” in 2017, about the life and death of Steve Montador. Dryden was a fierce advocate for concussion prevention and for the need to bring greater safety to the sport, a cause he championed for many years through newspaper columns and interviews. He was also president of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1997 to 2004.
The career accolades are many. His number 29 is retired by the Canadiens, and his number 1 retired by Cornell. In addition to being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, he was named to the Order of Canada in 2020, and in 2017 he was named one of the NHL’s Top 100 players on the occasion of the league’s centennial.
Dryden’s style of play was utterly unique. Tall and gangly, he often could be seen on one knee or hunched way over, his large form impossible to beat. But there is no pose in the game’s history more famous than Dryden’s standing pose when there was a break in play or the puck in the offensive end. He would point the tip of his big stick on the ice and rest his chin on his gloves at the top end of the stick, a pose both relaxing and contemplative.
For all of his incredible success on ice, Dryden’s inclination to retire at age 32, in the prime of his career, was also prescient because his contributions off ice might well be greater. There was only one Ken Dryden. And now he is gone. But he will live with us forever through his play on ice and his words off it.