Hot hands and cold nights: The life of an NHL goalie
The beginning of Andrew Hammond’s NHL career has an almost preternatural aura to it, his six wins heading into Friday’s game against the Sabres offset by just a single shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild.
In a bitterly cold city that hasn’t had so much to cheer about since Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley were bulging the twine together back in the late aughts, the second coming of this 27-year-old “phenom” — he played in one Sens game last year, stopping all 11 shots faced — couldn’t have happened at a better time.
With the surging Senators nearing a playoff spot, city surveyors armed with shovels are digging out the old Sens Mile. The mayor’s office is scrambling to see what playoff bets His Honour might have to make.
Fairweather fans are updating their 2007 bandwagon passes. Canadian Tire Centre staff are now dusting off ALL 19,153 seats. And Habs fans are again having nightmares about the 2013 playoffs, when the Senators eliminated Les Glorieux in the first round.
We can only hope that Hammond’s run can mirror even a fraction of the good fortune enjoyed by Ken Dryden, a late call-up for the Canadiens in 1971 who famously won all six regular-season games he played before carrying Montreal to a Stanley Cup. Dryden won five more Cups, posting the highest career winning percentage of all goalies with a minimum of 250 games.
To help put Hammond’s nascent accomplishments in some sort of perspective, we take a look at the beginnings, auspicious and otherwise, of some other memorable NHL netminders.
STEVE PENNEY
In 1984 he was dubbed “the next Ken Dryden” when he, too, was a late-season call-up for the Habs. Penney lost all four regular season games he started, but then took the Canadiens to the Prince of Wales Conference final, where they lost to the New York Islanders. Two seasons later, Penney was injured and replaced by Patrick Roy, who backstopped the Habs to yet another crown. Penney played in so few games that season that his name was left off the Stanley Cup. Traded to Winnipeg, he played just 15 more NHL games, finishing his career in 1988 with the AHL’s Moncton Hawks.
PATRICK ROY
“St. Patrick” debuted with Montreal in January 1985, playing a shutout third period in relief of starter Doug Soetaert (who?) to pick up a win, for which he was rewarded by being sent to the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the AHL. He returned to Montreal the following season, eventually hoisting the Stanley Cup and winning the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP — at 20, the youngest to ever do so. Over his 18 seasons as a player, he won four Stanley Cups.
MARTIN BRODEUR
The winningest goalie ever, Brodeur was a late-season emergency call-up to the New Jersey Devils in 1991. He played in four games, winning two, losing one, and got into a playoff match, allowing three goals in just over half a game. Two seasons later, he won the Calder trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. Six weeks ago, after 21 seasons, 1,471 NHL games, three Stanley Cups and two Olympic gold medals, Brodeur retired.
TERRY SAWCHUK
“The Uke” played seven games for the Detroit Red Wings in 1950. He won four (one by a shutout), lost three, and posted an impressive goals-against average of 2.29. The Red Wings were so impressed by Sawchuk that they traded Harry Lumley in the off-season. Sawchuk played for 21 seasons, winning four Stanley Cups.
GLENN HALL
The pioneer of the butterfly, “Mr. Goalie” had his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup before playing in his first NHL game, after his 1952 playoff call-up to the Red Wings failed to get him into a game. He played in six games the following year, posting a 4-1-1 record and a stunning 1.67 GAA. Two years after that, he played in two more games, allowing two goals and winning both matches. He finally became Detroit’s starter in 1955, replacing Sawchuk and playing all 70 regularseason games. His playoff record was mediocre, with 49 wins and 65 losses. He won the one Stanley Cup final in which he actually played, in 1961 with the Chicago Blackhawks.
MATT HACKETT
A nephew of former NHL goalie Jeff Hackett, Matt — who celebrates his 25th birthday on Saturday — holds the league record for the most shutout minutes to begin an NHL career, keeping the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings at bay for 102 minutes and 48 seconds in his first two games for the Minnesota Wild in 2011. Hackett didn’t start the first game and allowed a goal before the end of the second, so he still has not recorded a complete shutout game. Now in the Sabres’ organization, Hackett is the starter for the Rochester Americans of the AHL.
PATRICK LALIME
Lalime holds the NHL record for the longest unbeaten streak to start a career, winning 14 games and tying two for the 1996-97 Pittsburgh Penguins before losing 4-3 in overtime to Colorado on Jan. 23. He was less impressive for the remainder of the season, finishing with a 21-122 record. He was traded to Anaheim and then was dealt to Ottawa, where over five seasons he won 146 games against 100 losses (and a bunch of ties, but really...) Lalime retired in 2011 to become a TV analyst.