Ken Dryden dead at 78

[IsDurbanodoingtime]

Sad sad day. A giant of the game. Sat out a year, finished his law degree at McGill and then came back and dominated. The Game is one of my favorite reads.

Good reminder, I have been meaning to read it for awhile I should pick up a copy. True excellence involves not just being good at one thing (sports) because it's common to get good at one thing, and Dryden epitomized an overall human being whose excellence in sports was a part of him.

I also need from you this whole halloumi/sumac variation on that beans/kale dish. I made it on Wednesday and I got the sumac and halloumi so it's available for next time but this week I made it the old way not knowing the proportion of new ingredients

Agreed. A special person whose passing resonates. Not just a hockey player. Passed way too early. Use half a teaspoon of sumac and sprinkle over before you broil. Can also mix a quarter teaspoon sumac with aleppo pepper.

[Harry York 37]

A Renaissance Man and a very smart and innovative player. perhaps the last really intelligent NHL Goalie to play without a mask. He did come to his senses and rocked a pretty one as soon as he had the clout.

I didn't know he ever played without a mask. The last one I remember is Gump Worsley.

I had a ten year old kid conversation with Gump in the Arena after a game.

Andy Brown was the last maskless Goalie
"In the 1973–74 season, he incurred 60 minutes in penalties, an NHL record at the time for penalty minutes in a season by a goaltender. He was the last goalie to play without a mask in the NHL, on April 7, 1974, in a 6–3 loss to the Atlanta Flames; he continued to play without a mask throughout his three seasons in the WHA. His insistence on playing barefaced earned him the nickname "Fearless".[1][2]"

[PPG]

I am pretty sure Dryden Never played in an NHL game without a mask.
If he did I would love to see a photo of that.
He made his debut in the playoffs in 1971 and wore a mask then.
Andy Brown was the last goalie to play without a mask.

For you trivia buffs, he was the goalie for the Penguins on 3/31/73 when the biggest crowd ever was announced.
There were 20,009 people jammed into the old barn that night. It was the last game of the season and the Blues needed to win to make the playoffs.
There were people actually sitting on the stairs in the middle of the aisles in the upper circle.
Trying to get to the restroom and back was an adventure

[lidstrom5]

A Renaissance Man and a very smart and innovative player. perhaps the last really intelligent NHL Goalie to play without a mask. He did come to his senses and rocked a pretty one as soon as he had the clout.

I didn't know he ever played without a mask. The last one I remember is Gump Worsley.

I had a ten year old kid conversation with Gump in the Arena after a game.

Andy Brown was the last maskless Goalie
"In the 1973–74 season, he incurred 60 minutes in penalties, an NHL record at the time for penalty minutes in a season by a goaltender. He was the last goalie to play without a mask in the NHL, on April 7, 1974, in a 6–3 loss to the Atlanta Flames; he continued to play without a mask throughout his three seasons in the WHA. His insistence on playing barefaced earned him the nickname "Fearless".[1][2]"

There is a debate that Gaye Cooley might be the last pro goalie to play without a mask and Wayne Rutledge played 3 minutes of a game without a mask for the Houston Aeros in 1978.

[Harry York 37]

A Renaissance Man and a very smart and innovative player. perhaps the last really intelligent NHL Goalie to play without a mask. He did come to his senses and rocked a pretty one as soon as he had the clout.

I didn't know he ever played without a mask. The last one I remember is Gump Worsley.

I had a ten year old kid conversation with Gump in the Arena after a game.

Andy Brown was the last maskless Goalie
"In the 1973–74 season, he incurred 60 minutes in penalties, an NHL record at the time for penalty minutes in a season by a goaltender. He was the last goalie to play without a mask in the NHL, on April 7, 1974, in a 6–3 loss to the Atlanta Flames; he continued to play without a mask throughout his three seasons in the WHA. His insistence on playing barefaced earned him the nickname "Fearless".[1][2]"

There is a debate that Gaye Cooley might be the last pro goalie to play without a mask and Wayne Rutledge played 3 minutes of a game without a mask for the Houston Aeros in 1978.

That is worth some digging.

As former athlete who dedicated much of his youth to becoming the best football player he could be, the Macho aspect of sports has always been apparent to me as an accessory, if not a necessity for the competitive experience.
Not wearing some kind of face protection while playing goal in ice hockey, at least since the fifties, has seemed beyond the pale.

[bud white]

For me personally, Dryden's passing was a real gut punch. I'm still processing it.

But as I collect my thoughts, I wanted to comment on his books. While The Game is being cited often, he wrote other books. One of his recent works is Game Change and it should be required reading for everyone involved in sports. He dives deep into CTE using the stories of numerous former NHLers. He also takes the opportunity to take several shots at the NFL and football in general, and directly challenges Gary Bettman to enact fresh rules to the NHL game the will make the game safer using his experience to make thougthful and practical recommendations that would result in a game that would be safe without sacrificing the speed of play that we have become so accustomed to in recent years.


For now, I'll share this story about Ken Dryden.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of attending a dinner and discussion with Scotty Bowman. It featured many stories around the early days of the Blues with Bobby Plager and Scotty swapping stories. As the event was wrapping up, I made it a point to introduce myself to Mr. Bowman. After pleasantries, I shared that I had one question for him: "If Dryden hadn't retired after winning the Cup in '79, how many more could that Canadians Team have won?" Now, recall that team still had a lot of players in their prime ... but Scotty's answer was, shall I say, pure Scotty:

"Well, we lost a lot of players that year to retirement..." (Fact is that they really didn't. Lemaire retired as did Cournoyer. Fact is that the Roadrunner's back was very bad and hadn't played much that year anyway, so the major loss was Dryden. After he announced his retirement, Bowman left for Buffalo.) My response to him was a "oh come on, coach ..." As he walked away, he smiled and said ... "only lost 8 games in 77!"

That response, accompanied by the wink and smile, was everything you needed to know. He knew Dryden was the glue and that the magical run, that era of abject dominance, was over. Everyone on that team hated to lose and they could play any way they needed to play. Run and gun? Ok. We have LaFleur and Shutt ... Bruise and bash? Sure, we have Robinson, Lapointe, Bouchard. Need to shut down your top scoring line. Hello, Bob Gainey and friends. And even if you get past us, we have the "thieving giraffe" in the net. The only team that would come close to winning with that model would be the next dynasty - the NY Islanders.

[Harry York 37]

Thanks for the info on Dryden’s books and thanks very much for the story.
You are a fan amongst fans, Bud White.

[SRV1990]

An absolute beast between the pipes. Was one of the few non-Blues players I really liked as a kid.

RIP Mr. Dryden