The Honourable Ken Dryden PC OC | |||
---|---|---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1983 | |||
Born | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | August 8, 1947||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
Position | Goaltender | ||
Caught | Left | ||
Played for | Montreal Canadiens | ||
National team | Canada | ||
NHL draft | 14th overall, 1964 Boston Bruins | ||
Playing career | 1970–1979 | ||
Minister of Social Development | |||
In office July 20, 2004 –February 5, 2006 | |||
Prime Minister | Paul Martin | ||
Preceded by | Liza Frulla | ||
Succeeded by | Diane Finley | ||
Member of Parliament for York Centre | |||
In office June 28,2004 –May 1,2011 | |||
Preceded by | Art Eggleton | ||
Succeeded by | Mark Adler | ||
Personal details | |||
Political party | Liberal | ||
Spouse | Lynda Dryden | ||
Alma mater | Cornell University (BA) McGill University (LLB) | ||
Kenneth Wayne Dryden PC OC (born August 8,1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender,politician,lawyer,businessman,and author. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada [1] and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011 and Minister of Social Development from 2004 to 2006. In 2017,the league counted him in history's 100 Greatest NHL Players. [2] [3] He received the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2020. [4]
Dryden was born in Hamilton,Ontario,in 1947. [5] His parents were Murray Dryden (1911–2004) and Margaret Adelia Campbell (1912–1985). He has a sister,Judy,and a brother,Dave,who was also an NHL goaltender. Dryden was raised in Islington,Ontario,then a suburb of Toronto. He played with the Etobicoke Indians of the Metro Junior B Hockey League as well as Humber Valley Packers of the Metro Toronto Hockey League.
Dryden was drafted fourteenth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1964 NHL Amateur Draft. Days later,June 28, [6] Boston traded Dryden,along with Alex Campbell,to the Montreal Canadiens for Paul Reid and Guy Allen. Dryden was told by his agent that he had been drafted by the Canadiens and did not find out until the mid-1970s that he had been drafted by the Bruins. [7]
Rather than play for the Canadiens in 1964,Dryden pursued a B.A. degree in History at Cornell University,where he also played hockey until his graduation in 1969. He backstopped the Cornell Big Red to the 1967 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship and to three consecutive ECAC tournament championships,and won 76 of his 81 varsity starts. At Cornell,he was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. [8] He also was a member of the Canadian amateur national team at the 1969 World Ice Hockey Championships tournament in Stockholm.
Dryden took a break from the NHL for the 1973–74 season to article for a Toronto law firm,and to earn an LL.B. degree he received from McGill University in 1973. [9] [10] During this time Dryden interned with Ralph Nader's Public Citizen organization. Inspired by Nader's call in Action for a Change for establishing Public Interest Research Group's,Dryden tried to establish the Ontario Public Interest Research Group in the Province of Ontario. [11]
Dryden's jersey number 1 was retired by the Cornell Big Red on February 25,2010;along with Joe Nieuwendyk,he is one of only two players to have their numbers retired by Cornell's hockey program. [12]
Dryden made his NHL debut on Sunday March 14,1971 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh. The Canadiens won the game 5-1,and the only goal scored against Ken was by a player named John Stewart. Later,on March 20,1971,he played in a home game against his brother Dave Dryden,a fellow backup goaltender for Buffalo Sabres,when Canadiens starter Rogie Vachon suffered an injury; [13] this still stands,as of 2021,as the only time a pair of brothers faced against each other as goaltenders. He was called up from the minors late in the season and played only six regular-season games,but rang up 1.65 goals-against average. This earned him the starting goaltending job for the playoffs ahead of veteran Rogie Vachon,and he helped the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He helped the Habs win five more Stanley Cups in 1973,1976,1977,1978,and 1979.
The following year Dryden won the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year;he was not eligible for it the previous year because he did not play enough regular-season games. He is the only player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy before winning the rookie of the year award,and the only goaltender to win both the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup before losing a regular-season game. [3] In the autumn of 1972 Dryden played for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet national ice hockey team.
Dryden played from 1971 to 1979,with a break during the entire 1973–74 season;he was unhappy with the contract that the Canadiens offered him,which he considered less than his market worth,given that he had won the Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy. He announced on September 14,1973,that he was joining the Toronto law firm of Osler,Hoskin and Harcourt as a legal clerk for the year,for $135 a week. He skipped training camp and held out that season. The Canadiens still had a good year,going 45-24-9,but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers in six games. The Canadiens allowed 56 more goals in the 1973–74 season than they had the year before with Dryden. [14] Dryden used that year to fulfill the requirements for his law degree at McGill and article for a law firm. He retired for the last time on July 9,1979. [15]
Compared to those of most other great hockey players,Dryden's NHL career was very short:just over seven full seasons. Thus he did not amass record totals in most statistical categories. As he played all his years with a dynasty and retired before he passed his prime,his statistical percentages are unparalleled. His regular-season totals include a 74.3 winning percentage,a 2.24 goals-against average,a 92.2 save percentage,46 shutouts,and 258 wins,only 57 losses and 74 ties in just 397 NHL games. He won the Vezina Trophy five times as the goaltender on the team who allowed the fewest goals and in the same years was selected as a First Team All-Star. In 1998,he was ranked number 25 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players,a remarkable achievement for a player with a comparatively brief career.
At 6 feet,4 inches,Dryden was so tall that during stoppages in play he struck what became his trademark pose:leaning upon his stick. He was known as the "four-storey goalie," and was once referred to as "that thieving giraffe" by Boston Bruins superstar Phil Esposito,in reference to Dryden's skill and height. Unbeknownst to him,his pose was exactly the same as the one struck by fellow Canadiens goaltender,Georges Vézina,60 years prior. [16]
Dryden was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983,as soon as he was eligible. His jersey number 29 was retired by the Canadiens on January 29,2007. He was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. [17]
Dryden wrote one book during his hockey career:Face-Off at the Summit. It was a diary about Team Canada in the Canada vs. Soviet Union series of 1972. The book has been out of print for many years.
After retiring from hockey Dryden wrote several more books. The Game was a commercial and critical success,and was nominated for a Governor General's Award in 1983. His next book,Home Game:Hockey and Life in Canada (1990),written with Roy MacGregor,was developed into an award-winning Canadian Broadcasting Corporation six-part documentary series for television. His fourth book was The Moved and the Shaken:The Story of One Man's Life (1993). His fifth book,In School:Our Kids,Our Teachers,Our Classrooms (1995),written with Roy MacGregor,was about Canada’s educational system. Becoming Canada (2010) argued for a new definition of Canada and its unique place in the world.
In 2019,he published Scotty:A Hockey Life Like No Other, his biography of his Canadiens coach Scotty Bowman. Dryden says at the beginning that he 'needed to write this book,' because 'Scotty had lived a truly unique life. He has experienced almost everything in hockey,up close,for the best part of a century - and his is a life that no on else will live again. It's a life that had to be captured. And it needs to be captured now,because time is moving on.' [18]
Feeling that Bowman was 'too practical and focused' to be a natural storyteller,Dryden instead asked Bowman to think like a coach and select the 8 greatest teams of all time (but only one per dynasty) and explain what he thought about them,how we coach against them but also what was happening in his life at that time and through that process,Bowman's story would be told. [18]
Dryden worked as a television hockey commentator at the 1980,1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics. He served as a colour commentator with play-by-play man Al Michaels for ABC's coverage of the "Miracle on Ice." Immediately before Mike Eruzione's game-winning goal for the US,Dryden expressed his concern that the team was "depending a little bit too much" on goaltender Jim Craig after Craig had just made "too many good saves."
In 1997,Dryden was hired as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs by minority owner Larry Tanenbaum. Pat Quinn became head coach in 1998,and there were reports that the two men had a frosty relationship. A few months after joining the Leafs,Quinn became general manager,a move thought by some to preempt Dryden from hiring former Canadiens teammate Bob Gainey. [14]
Dryden spoke at the Open Ice Summit in 1999,to discuss improvements needed to ice hockey in Canada. He wanted delegates to accept that progress made at the lower levels and off the ice was important in achieving international results. [19] He was cautious that change would come slowly and be costly,but felt the summit was an important step in making progress. [20] He also urged for the end to persistent abuse of on-ice officials,or Canada would lose 10,000 referees each year. As a result of the summit,Hockey Canada started to educate on the importance of respect for game officials. [21]
On August 29,2003,with the hiring of John Ferguson,Jr. as general manager,there was a major management shakeup. Majority owner Steve Stavro was bought out by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and he stepped down as chairman in favour of Larry Tanenbaum. Quinn continued as head coach. Dryden's position was abolished,in favour of having both the Leafs' and Raptors' managers reporting directly to MLSE President and CEO Richard Peddie. Dryden was shuffled to the less important role of vice-chairman and given a spot on MLSE's board of directors. This was described by commentators as "sitting outside the loop",as Dryden did not report directly to Leafs ownership. [14] [22] He stayed on until 2004 when he resigned to enter politics.
In January 2012,Dryden was appointed a "Special Visitor" at his alma mater McGill University's Institute for the Study of Canada. He taught a Canadian Studies course entitled "Thinking the Future to Make the Future," which focused on issues facing Canada in the future and possible solutions to them. [23]
Dryden joined the Liberal Party of Canada and ran for the House of Commons in the 2004 federal election. He was selected by party leader and Prime Minister Paul Martin as a "star candidate" in the Toronto riding of York Centre,then considered a safe Liberal riding. [24]
Dryden was elected by a margin of over 11,000 votes. [25] He was named to Cabinet as Minister of Social Development. [26] He made headlines on February 16,2005,as the target of a remark by Conservative Member of Parliament Rona Ambrose who said about Dryden,"working women want to make their own choices,we don't need old white guys telling us what to do." Ambrose made the remarks after Dryden commented on a poll that analyzed child care choices by Canadian families. [27] Dryden won generally favourable reviews for his performance in Cabinet.
Dryden was re-elected in the 2006 federal election,while the Liberals were defeated and Paul Martin resigned the party leadership. [28] Interim party and opposition leader Bill Graham named Dryden to his shadow cabinet as health critic. [29]
Dryden's margin of victory in York Centre dwindled in the 2006 and 2008 elections. [30] In the 2011 federal election,he focused his efforts on his own re-election instead of campaigning for other candidates as he did in the past,and he received a visit from former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Still,Dryden lost his seat to Conservative candidate Mark Adler by nearly 6,000 votes. [24] [31]
On April 28,2006,Dryden announced that he would run for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada,which would be choosing a successor to Paul Martin at a convention in Montreal on December 2,2006. [32]
A poll [33] found that Dryden's potential pool of support exceeded that of his opponents,due mainly to his former NHL career. His fundraising fell well below that of top leadership contenders (Michael Ignatieff,Gerard Kennedy,Stéphane Dion and Bob Rae). A variety of media pundits criticized his ponderous speaking style and limited French. Supporters argued that few people were strongly opposed to him and that if he ran he could attract more support on later ballots as a consensus candidate.
At the convention,Dryden came in fifth place on the first ballot with 238 delegates,4.9% of the vote. On the second ballot,he came in last place with 219 votes (4.7%) and was eliminated. He initially threw his support to Bob Rae,but after Rae was eliminated in the third ballot and released all of his delegates,Dryden endorsed Stéphane Dion,who went on to win the leadership.
According to Elections Canada filings,as of 2013 Dryden's campaign still owed $225,000. [34]
Ken is the son of Margaret and Murray Dryden. Dryden and his wife Lynda have two children and four grandchildren. [35] He is a first cousin,twice removed,of Murray Murdoch,another former NHL player and a longtime coach of Yale University's hockey team,and Andrew Dryden Blair,who played on the 1931-32 Leafs Stanley Cup winning team. There is another distant relationship with the Apps family:Syl Apps also served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario,serving as Minister of Correctional Services,and his father's uncle,John C. Dryden,was Treasurer in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. His older brother Dave also played in the NHL and the WHA as a goalie,from 1961 to 1980.
Dryden's hockey awards and honours are numerous and include:
Dryden does not have a substantive doctorate,but has received honorary doctoral degrees from several universities, [38] including:
Honorary degree | University | Year | Remark |
---|---|---|---|
Honorary LL.D. degree | University of British Columbia | 1992 | [39] |
Honorary LL.D. degree | York University | 1996 | [40] |
Honorary LL.D. degree | University of Windsor | 1997 | [41] |
Honorary D.Univ. degree | University of Ottawa | 2000 | [42] |
Honorary LL.D. degree | Ryerson University | 2013 | [43] |
Honorary LL.D. degree | McGill University | 2018 | [44] |
Honorary LL.D. degree | University of Winnipeg | 2018 | [45] |
Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
1963–64 | Humber Valley Packers | MTHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1964–65 | Etobicoke Indians | MetJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1966–67 | Cornell University | ECAC | 27 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1646 | 40 | 4 | 1.46 | .945 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1967–68 | Cornell University | ECAC | 29 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1620 | 41 | 6 | 1.52 | .938 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1968–69 | Cornell University | ECAC | 27 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1578 | 47 | 3 | 1.79 | .936 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1970–71 | Montreal Voyageurs | AHL | 33 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1899 | 84 | 3 | 2.68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1970–71 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 327 | 9 | 0 | 1.65 | .957 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 1221 | 61 | 0 | 3.00 | .914 | ||
1971–72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 64 | 39 | 8 | 15 | 3800 | 142 | 8 | 2.24 | .930 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 360 | 17 | 0 | 2.83 | .911 | ||
1972–73 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 33 | 7 | 13 | 3165 | 119 | 6 | 2.26 | .926 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 1039 | 50 | 1 | 2.89 | .908 | ||
1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 56 | 30 | 9 | 16 | 3320 | 149 | 4 | 2.69 | .906 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 688 | 29 | 2 | 2.53 | .916 | ||
1975–76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 42 | 10 | 8 | 3580 | 121 | 8 | 2.03 | .927 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 780 | 25 | 1 | 1.92 | .929 | ||
1976–77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 56 | 41 | 6 | 8 | 3275 | 117 | 10 | 2.14 | .920 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 849 | 22 | 4 | 1.55 | .932 | ||
1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 52 | 37 | 7 | 7 | 3071 | 105 | 5 | 2.05 | .921 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 919 | 29 | 2 | 1.89 | .920 | ||
1978–79 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 47 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 2814 | 108 | 5 | 2.30 | .909 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 990 | 41 | 0 | 2.48 | .900 | ||
NHL totals | 397 | 258 | 57 | 74 | 23,330 | 870 | 46 | 2.24 | .922 | 112 | 80 | 32 | 6,846 | 274 | 10 | 2.40 | .915 |
Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1969 | Canada | WC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 120 | 4 | 1 | 2.00 | |
1972 | Canada | SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 240 | 19 | 0 | 4.75 | |
Senior totals | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 360 | 23 | 1 | 3.83 |
"Dryden's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
Peter Joseph Mahovlich is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive. Known in his playing years as "Little M", as his older brother Frank was the "Big M", Mahovlich played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with several clubs, including the Montreal Canadiens, where he played with his brother and was a member of four Stanley Cup championship teams.
Serge Aubrey Savard is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, most famously with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He also served as the Canadiens' Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations and as their general manager. He is a businessman in Montreal, and is nicknamed "The Senator." In 2017 Savard was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.
Charles Joseph Sylvanus Apps, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948, an Olympic pole vaulter and a Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario. In 2017 Apps was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 15 of those for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style. Tony was the younger brother of Phil Esposito, a centre. Both brothers had notable careers and are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Esposito's jersey number 35 was retired by the Blackhawks in 1988.
James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Canada Hockey League, and the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1916 to 1928, when he had to retire from repeated injuries. Irvin was one of the greatest players of his day, balancing a torrid slap shot and tough style with gentlemanly play. For his playing career, Irvin was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958. After playing, Irvin built a successful career as a coach in the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens. He won one Stanley Cup as a coach with Toronto, three more with Montreal, finishing with over 600 wins as a coach. He also served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Theodore Samuel "Teeder" Kennedy was a professional ice hockey centre who played his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1943 to 1957 and was captain for eight seasons. Along with Turk Broda, he was the first player in NHL history to win five Stanley Cups, and he was the last Maple Leaf to win the Hart Trophy for most valuable player, until Auston Matthews in 2022. He was an essential contributor to the Maple Leafs becoming what many consider as the National Hockey League's first dynasty. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. He has been called the quintessential Maple Leaf and by some the greatest player in the team's history. In 2017 Kennedy was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Michel Raymond "Bunny" Larocque was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League. He was a four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens.
The 1927–28 NHL season was the 11th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. This was the first full season that the Toronto club used the Toronto Maple Leafs name following ownership changes in February 1927. The New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup beating the Montreal Maroons, becoming the first NHL team based in the United States to win it.
The 1928–29 NHL season was the 12th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. This was the first Stanley Cup Finals that saw two United States–based teams compete for the cup. The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Rangers two games to none in the best-of-three final.
The 1951–52 NHL season was the 35th season of the National Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup by sweeping the Montreal Canadiens four games to none.
David Murray Dryden was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, who created and first used the modern goaltending mask, consisting of fibreglass and a cage. From 1962 to 1980, he played nine seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks, Buffalo Sabres, and Edmonton Oilers, and in the World Hockey Association between 1974 and 1979 with the Chicago Cougars and Edmonton Oilers, as well as for other smaller teams in other minor leagues.
The Metro Junior "A" Hockey League was a junior level ice hockey league based out of Southern Ontario. The league originated in 1956 as the Metro Junior "B" Hockey League, which lasted until 1991, when it changed its designation from Junior B to Junior A. It remained a Jr. A league from 1991 until 1998 when it was absorbed by the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League.
The 1978 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1977–78 season, and the culmination of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Boston Bruins and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their third straight appearance in the Finals. The series was a rematch of the 1977 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens won the best-of-seven series, four games to two, to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship and their 21st overall. This was the last time that both the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens met in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens eventually joined the Bruins in the Adams Division in 1982.
The 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 70th season. The franchise won 52 games and had 11 ties for a total of 115 points, but they finished second overall in the league as the New York Islanders finished first overall by one point. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the fourth consecutive time, the 15th time in the past 24 seasons, and their 22nd overall. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup on home ice for the first time since 1968.
The 1970–71 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 47th season in the NHL. As defending champions, Boston set many NHL records. They earned 54 wins and 121 points, surpassing the previous records set by the 1968–69 Montreal Canadiens. They also scored 399 goals to shatter their own record set in 1968–69, and their goal differential of +192 surpassed the previous record set by the 1943–44 Montreal Canadiens as well. The NHL's top four scorers, each with over 100 points, were all Bruins; previously, there had only been four players in the history of the NHL with 100-point seasons, and no other NHL franchise has ever produced the top four scorers in a season. With 76 goals and 152 points, Esposito broke Bobby Hull's single season record for goals, as well as his own single season points record, both set in 1968–69. Finally, with 102 assists, Orr broke the single season record for most assists that he set the previous year.
The National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in 1917 following the demise of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). In an effort to remove Eddie Livingstone as owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, a majority of the NHA franchises suspended the NHA and formed the new NHL. The Quebec Bulldogs, while a member, did not operate in the NHL for the first two years. Instead the owners of the Toronto Arena Gardens operated a new Toronto franchise. While the NHL was intended as a temporary measure, the continuing dispute with Livingstone led to the four NHA owners meeting and making the suspension of the NHA permanent one year later.
The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, formally Le Club de Hockey Canadien, was founded on December 4, 1909. The Canadiens are the oldest professional hockey franchise in the world. Created as a founding member of the National Hockey Association (NHA) with the aim of appealing to Montreal's francophone population, the Canadiens played their first game on January 5, 1910, and captured their first Stanley Cup in 1916. The team left the NHA and helped found the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917. They returned to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1919, but their series against the Seattle Metropolitans was cancelled without a winner due to the Spanish flu pandemic that killed defenceman Joe Hall. The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times: once while part of the National Hockey Association (NHA), and 23 times as members of the NHL. With 24 NHL titles overall, they are the most successful team in league history.
The 1973–74 Montreal Canadiens season was the 65th season in team history. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs, losing in the first round to the New York Rangers.
Ben Scrivens is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He is the current team manager of the University of Denver Pioneers. Scrivens has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, and Montreal Canadiens.
The Open Ice Summit was an ice hockey conference held in Toronto on August 25–27, 1999. It was arranged by Hockey Canada in co-operation with the National Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League, in response to Canadian national ice hockey teams struggling and a general panic in Canada. The summit's primary focus was player development in Canada, and was targeted at league executives, parents, coaches and hockey associations. Discussions produced a list of 11 recommendations to improve hockey in Canada, which included a campaign aimed at Canadian parents on why players needed more practices than games. The summit's recommendations ultimately led to fundamental changes in how Canadian players were trained.