Georges Vezina collapsed on the ice in the middle of a match one hundred years ago. He never returned to the NHL arena.
Georges Vezina was a star NHL goaltender a hundred years ago. The picture is from 1925. PDO
November 28, 1925 was a dark day in the illustrious history of the Montreal Canadiens. The club’s iconic champion keeper George Vezina collapsed on the ice at the Mount Royal Arena in the middle of the season opener – and never came back.
Vezina had arrived in the fall to the team’s strength pale and considerably emaciated. He assured that everything was fine, but at the latest the opening of the season revealed the truth to be elsewhere.
Vezina vomited blood at the first break. Still, he was back in front of his goal, but only for a moment.
The grim diagnosis arrived the next day: tuberculosis.
Vezina retired to his home in Chicoutimi, north of Montreal, to be sick. He died that winter, on March 27.
“Perfect calm”
Georges Vezina played 328 regular season and 39 playoff games in the shirt of the Montreal Canadiens. PDO
Vezina represented the Montreal Canadiens his entire career, from 1910 until his illness. The first seasons as a league were the National Hockey Association, the National Hockey League, which began operations in the fall of 1917, or better known the NHL.
Vezina led the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups, in 1916 and 1924. In his best seasons, he posted GAA numbers of less than two goals.
Contemporary depictions echo Vezina’s non-gesture and calmness, as if from another world.
– He was the coolest the man I’ve ever seen, perfectly calm, in a New York Rangers jersey facing a Vezina Frank Boucher describes in his biography according to the NHL website.
– He stood his ground. He hardly ever fell to the ice but blocked all shots in an upright position.
Canadiens writer Andy O’Brien recalls the Vezina and Toronto St. Patricks star berth Cecil Dye encounter in his book Fire-Wagon Hockey.
– Dye, who has such a fierce shot that nothing like it was seen until 33 years later Bobby Hull’s entering the stage, got a pass, O’Brien writes.
– From about nine meters, he let it go. Only Vezina’s left hand moved as he caught the puck with almost overhead ease.
When the Hockey Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 1945, the Vezina was among the first nine inductees. When the NHL presented the hundred greatest players in 2017 in honor of its centenary history, Vezina was included.
Vezina Trophy
The memory of Georges Vezina lives on beautifully, as a prestigious, annual award is named after him.
The Vezina Trophy was first awarded in the 1926–27 season. The winner was George Hainsworththe Vezina’s successor as the Canadiens’ No. 1 pick, as he did for the next two seasons.
Between 1947 and 1982, the Vezina was awarded to the goaltender whose team allowed the fewest goals in the regular season. Nowadays, the award is simply given to the best keeper of the season.
Jacques Plante has won the Vezina seven times, Bill Durnan and Dominik Hasek sixth time, Ken Dryden five times. The last two Vezinas have come up Connor Hellebuyck.
The Finnish goalkeepers have received the Vezina honor Miikka Kiprusoff, Tuukka Rask and Pekka Rinne.
The Vezina Trophy is one of the most prestigious NHL awards. PDO