Information AboutJacques Plante |
|
Joseph Jacques "Jake the Snake" Plante (Born January 17 , 1929 in Shawinigan Falls, Québec ; Died February 27 , 1986 ) was a Canadian professional Ice Hockey Goaltender . PLAYING CAREER Jacques Plante began playing in the NHL in 1952 for the Montreal Canadiens , where he became well known and played the majority of his career. He was a flamboyant, popular player, known for raising his arms high over his head in a "V" victory salute when his team won a key game. One of the greatest goalies of all time, Plante's contributions to how the position of goalie is understood are beyond that of any other individual. Plante was the first goalie to skate behind the net to stop the puck (a now common practice). He also was the first to raise his arm on an Icing call to let his defensemen know what was happening. He perfected a stand-up style that emphasized positional play, cutting down the angles and staying square to the shooter. His most enduring contribution to the game, however, occurred as a result of an incident on November 1 , 1959 . He was hit in the face by a shot from New York Rangers player Andy Bathgate , needing to go to the dressing room for stitches. When he returned, he was wearing a crude Goalie Mask . His coach, Toe Blake , was livid, but he had no other goalie to call upon and Plante refused to return to the goal unless he kept the mask. Blake agreed on the condition that Plante discard the mask when the cut healed. Only Camille Henry beat him in that game which the Canadiens won 3-1. In the ensuing days Plante refused to discard the mask, and as the Canadiens continued to win, Blake became less obstinate. The winning streak stretched to 18 games. Plante didn't wear the mask, at Blake's request, against Detroit on March 8 , 1960 . The Canadiens lost 3-0, and the mask returned for good the next night. Plante subsequently designed his own mask and masks for other goalies. Hall Of Famer Bernie Parent was among those who wore Plante's masks. Although Plante was ''not'' the first NHL goalie known to wear a face mask ( Montreal Maroons goaltender Clint Benedict had done so thirty years before), Plante introduced the mask as everyday equipment, which continues to this day. Due to this and his tendency to play the puck, Plante was often nicknamed "The Innovator." He was traded in the 1963 offseason to the New York Rangers with Phil Goyette and Don Marshall for Dave Balon, Leon Rochefort, Len Ronson and Gump Worsley, seemingly nearing the end of his career at age 34. He played another two (lackluster) seasons for the Rangers before retiring in 1965 . In September of 1967 , at the age of 36, he was lured back to the NHL by former Canadiens teammate Bert Olmstead , who had been named coach and general manager of the expansion California Seals . Plante signed a training camp try-out contract with the Seals , but his contract rights still belonged to the Rangers . He left the Seals' training camp and returned to his retirement. But another chance to play was offered to him by the St. Louis Blues , who had claimed him off the Rangers roster in the Intra-League Draft on June 8th , 1968 . His return to the NHL was successful, as he and teammate Glenn Hall split Goaltending duties to lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1969 . They shared the Vezina Trophy as best goaltenders in the league that season. He played another splendid season in St. Louis, but with up-and-coming goalie Ernie Wakely on the team, the aged Plante was sold to the Toronto Maple Leafs in May, 1970 . In his first season with the Leafs he proved he was not past it by leading the league with the third lowest goals against average (1.88) of the entire expansion era (up to the last few seasons) and was named a league Second Team All-Star. His third season was not as successful, and he was traded again near the end of the 1973 Season to the Boston Bruins for goaltender Ed Johnston . He recorded a long-remembered shutout in his Bruins debut against Chicago and remained very effective in eight regular-season games, but was ineffective in two playoff games, and at age 44, Plante's long NHL career was finally over. He joined the rival . He played one season for the Oilers before retiring for the third and last time at age 46. Jacques Plante died of stomach Cancer in Sierre , Valais , Switzerland , where he had been living for a number of years. He was 57 years old. The main Arena in Shawinigan was renamed Arena Jacques Plante in his honour after he died. His jersey number (#1) was retired by the Montreal Canadiens on October 7 , 1995 . AWARDS
RECORDS CAREER STATISTICS Regular season Post season QUOTE "Suppose you were working at your job one day, and you made a little mistake. Then all of a sudden a red light went on over your desk, and fifteen thousand people stood up and yelled at you that you sucked?" ''-Jacques Plante'' |
|
|