Montreal Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden of Hamilton, Ontario passed away on Friday at the age of 78 of cancer according to Joshua Clipperton of the Canadian Press. Dryden was the goaltender for the Canadiens from 1971 to 1979.
In eight NHL seasons, Dryden won five Vezina Trophies, six Stanley Cups, one Calder Trophy, one Conn Smythe Trophy, and was a NHL All-Star five times. He was the backbone of a dominant Canadiens team that was the class of the National Hockey League for an entire decade.
Dryden had a tremendous record of 258 wins, 57 losses and 74 ties. He had 46 shutouts, a goals against average of 2.24 and a save percentage of .922. The statistic that stands out here is the fact he had 17 more ties than losses. Dryden also had 46 shutouts, and led the NHL in shutouts in a season four times. He averaged one shutout in every 8.6 games. On the international scene, Dryden was part of the Canadian team that won the 1972 Summit Series over the Soviet Union.
After Dryden’s playing career, he remained active in the hockey world. He was president of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1997 to 2003. Among his post career accolades include being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.