The Montreal Canadiens and the team’s fans are all in mourning today as the legendary Ken Dryden passed away after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 78. It seems every season, a team loses a legend, and more so for the Canadiens, who had so many. Dryden was a fan favourite, not just for his play on the ice, but also for his gentle and understanding demeanour off the ice. He wasn’t just a great hockey player; he was a great person.
Dryden Was Key to the Canadiens’ Success in the ’70s
Dryden entered the Canadiens dynasty picture on March 14, 1971, winning his first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1, stopping 35 of 36 shots. It wasn’t until starting goalie Rogie Vachon was injured that the team realized they had a budding superstar. Dryden played the remaining six games of the season, winning them all with a 1.65 goals-against average (GAA). This prompted the Canadiens’ head coach, Al Mcneil, to start Dryden in the playoffs. This ended up being the right call, as Dryden led Montreal to a Stanley Cup victory and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.
The following season, 1971-72, Dryden won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year and became the first and only player to win the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup before winning the rookie of the year award and before losing a regular-season game. The Canadiens won six Stanley Cups in the 1970s, and Dryden won five Vezina Trophies for top goaltender. The fact that Dryden only played seven full seasons in the NHL means he won the Stanley Cup every season but two (if you count his first season, where he played only six regular-season games). He was also named the top goaltender in five of those seven full seasons.
Dryden Takes a Year Off in Contract Dispute
By the end of the 1972-73 season, Dryden had just won the Stanley Cup and the Vezina Trophy and was looking for a new contract. The Canadiens were looking to keep him, but didn’t want to pay what Dryden thought he was worth. On this day in 1973, Dryden announced at a press conference in Montreal that he was not coming back to the Canadiens for the upcoming 1973-74 season. Unable to agree with the Canadiens organization to renegotiate his contract, the 26-year-old mentioned that six NHL goaltenders were better paid than he was in the NHL in 1972-73. Dryden had hoped to receive a…
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