- Bill Durnan
William Ronald (Bill)
Durnan (bornJanuary 22 ,1916 inToronto ,Ontario -October 31 ,1972 ) was a Canadianprofessional ice hockey goaltender who played for theMontreal Canadiens in theNational Hockey League (NHL).Durnan was an ambidextrous goalie, equally adept at using his right or left hand (he wore special gloves that permitted him to catch with either hand while still holding his stick). UntilRoberto Luongo was named captain of the Vancouver Canucks on30 September , 2008, he was the last goalie to be a captain in the National Hockey League. Including Luongo, he is one of only seven ever.Durnan , whom John McGourty of [http://www.nhl.com NHL.com] refers to as "the greatest nearly forgotten player in the history of the NHL," [ [http://www.nhl.com/hockeyu/history/five_vezina_winners050202.html NHL.com - History ] ] only played seven seasons in the NHL, but accomplished much in his short career. Durnan was the recipient of theVezina Trophy as topgoaltender in each of his first four seasons, from 1944 to 1947, becoming the first to capture the award in four successive seasons. A poor season by theMontreal Canadiens in 1948 allowedTurk Broda of theToronto Maple Leafs to end Durnan's streak. However, Durnan returned to prominence the next season, capturing his fifth and sixth Vezina Trophies in 1949 and 1950. Durnan would also be selected to the First Team All-Star 6 times during his career, including 4 consecutive selections from 1944–47. [ [http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196402&type=Player&page=statsawards&list=#photo Legends of Hockey - The Legends - Honoured Player - Durnan, Bill - Statistics, Awards & Career ] ] Following the1949–50 NHL season , at the age of 35, Durnan abruptly retired, no longer able to stand the stress of playing professional hockey. He later went into coaching, most notably with the Ottawa Senators of the QSHL in 1950–51, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen of the OHA in 1958–59.Durnan set a long-standing modern NHL record between
February 26 andMarch 6 ,1949 , when he amassed four consecutiveshutout s, not allowing a goal over a span of 309 minutes, 21 seconds. This record was not surpassed until 2004, whenBrian Boucher , then of thePhoenix Coyotes , broke it.He was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964. In 383 regular-season games, Durnan had 208 wins, and 112 losses, with 34 shutouts and a 2.36 goals-against average. He had 27 wins, and 12 losses, with 2 shutouts and a 2.07 average in 45 playoff games. Durnan also won the 1940Allan Cup with the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils. He would die of kidney failure on October 31, 1972. He suffered from diabetes in his last years and his health had been failing steadily.Awards
First All-Star Team goalie in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950.
Won theVezina Trophy in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950.
Played inNHL All-Star Game in 1947, 1948, 1949In spite of the relative brevity of his career, in 1998, he was ranked number 34 on "
The Hockey News "' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.ee also
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List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
*List of NHL seasons
*Stanley Cup
*Goaltender References
External links
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