Bill Durnan

Bill Durnan
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1964

Born	(1916-01-22)January 22, 1916 Toronto, ON, CAN
Died	October 31, 1972(1972-10-31) (aged 56)
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Ambidextrous
Played for	Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1944–1950

William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Stanley Cup twice and the Vezina Trophy six times. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.

Playing career

Durnan, whom John McGourty of NHL.com refers to as "the greatest nearly forgotten player in the history of the NHL,"^[1] only played seven seasons in the NHL, but accomplished much in his short career. Durnan was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender in each of his first four seasons, from 1943–44 to 1946–47, becoming the first to capture the award in four successive seasons. A poor season by the Montreal Canadiens in 1947–48 allowed Turk Broda of the Toronto Maple Leafs to end Durnan's streak. Durnan, however, returned to prominence the next season, capturing his fifth and sixth Vezina Trophies in 1948–49 and 1949–50. Durnan was also selected to the First Team All-Star six times during his career, including four consecutive selections from 1944–47.^[2]

During the 1947–48 season, Durnan served as the Canadiens' captain. However, he left the crease so often to argue calls that other teams claimed he was giving the Canadiens unscheduled timeouts. After the season, the NHL passed a rule barring goaltenders from performing the duties of captain, known as the "Durnan Rule."

Following the 1949–50 NHL season, at the age of 35, Durnan 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 and March 6, 1949, when he registered four consecutive shutouts, not allowing a goal over a span of 309 minutes, 21 seconds. This record stood until 2004, when Brian Boucher, then of the Phoenix 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 two shutouts and a 2.07 average in 45 playoff games. Durnan also won the 1940 Allan Cup with the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils. He died of kidney failure on October 31, 1972. He suffered from diabetes in his last years and his health had been failing steadily.

Miscellaneous

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). Until Roberto Luongo was named captain of the Vancouver Canucks on September 30, 2008, he was the last goalie to be a captain in the National Hockey League, and one of seven in history.

Awards

Allan Cup champion in 1940.
NHL First All-Star Team goalie in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950.
Won the Vezina Trophy in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950.
Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1947, 1948, 1949.
Stanley Cup champion in 1944, 1946.
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.
In 1998, he was ranked number 34 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, despite the relative brevity of his career.

Career statistics


Season	Team	League	GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1931–32	North Toronto Juniors	TJHL	8	—	—	—	480	17	1	2.12
1932–33	Sudbury Wolves	NOHA	6	—	—	—	360	6	2	1.00
1933–34	Toronto Torontos	TIHL	11	—	—	—	660	21	4	1.91
1933–34	Toronto British Consol	TMHL	15	12	2	1	910	31	1	2.04
1933–34	Toronto All-Stars	TIHL	2	—	—	—	120	9	0	4.50
1934–35	Toronto McColl	TMHL	15	—	—	—	900	62	0	4.13
1935–36	Toronto Dominions	TMHL	1	0	1	0	60	6	0	6.00
1936–37	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	NOHA	4	4	0	0	240	5	0	1.25
1937–38	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	NOHA	11	8	1	1	610	27	1	2.66
1938–39	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	NOHA	7	7	0	0	420	7	3	1.00
1940–41	Montreal Royals	QSHL	34	—	—	—	2000	100	1	3.00
1941–42	Montreal Royals	QSHL	39	—	—	—	2340	143	0	3.67
1942–43	Montreal Royals	QSHL	31	—	—	—	1860	130	0	4.19
1943–44	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	50	38	5	7	3000	109	2	2.18
1944–45	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	50	38	8	4	3000	121	1	2.42
1945–46	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	40	24	11	5	2400	104	4	2.60
1946–47	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	60	34	16	10	3600	138	4	2.30
1947–48	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	59	20	28	10	3505	162	5	2.77
1948–49	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	60	28	23	9	3600	126	10	2.10
1949–50	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	64	26	21	17	3840	141	8	2.20
NHL totals			383	208	112	62	22,945	901	34	2.36

Playoffs


Season	Team	League	GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1931–32	North Toronto Juniors	TJHL	4	—	—	—	240	10	1	2.50
1932–33	Sudbury Wolves	NOHA	2	—	—	—	120	4	0	2.00
1933–34	Toronto Torontos	TIHL	1	0	1	0	60	5	0	5.00
1933–34	Toronto British Consol	TMHL	5	0	2	3	350	21	0	3.60
1936–37	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	NOHA	4	1	0	3	240	8	1	2.00
1937–38	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	NOHA	2	2	0	0	120	2	1	1.00
1937–38	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	Al-Cup	2	0	2	0	120	11	0	3.50
1938–39	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	NOHA	2	2	0	0	120	3	1	1.50
1938–39	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	Al-Cup	5	3	2	0	299	12	2	2.41
1939–40	Kirkland Lake Blue Devils	Al-Cup	17	14	1	2	1040	35	1	2.02
1940–41	Montreal Royals	QSHL	8	8	0	0	480	24	1	3.00
1940–41	Montreal Royals	Al-Cup	14	8	5	1	850	49	1	3.46
1942–43	Montreal Royals	QSHL	4	—	—	—	240	11	0	2.75
1943–44	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	9	8	1	—	549	14	1	1.53
1944–45	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	6	2	4	—	373	15	0	2.41
1945–46	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	9	8	1	—	581	20	0	2.07
1946–47	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	11	6	5	—	720	23	1	1.92
1948–49	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	7	3	4	—	468	17	0	2.18
1949–50	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	3	0	3	—	180	10	0	3.33
Al-Cup totals			38	25	10	3	2309	107	4	2.78
NHL totals			45	27	18	—	2871	99	2	2.07

References

External links

Preceded by Toe Blake	Montreal Canadiens captain 1948	Succeeded by Emile Bouchard
Preceded by Johnny Mowers	Winner of the Vezina Trophy 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947	Succeeded by Turk Broda
Preceded by Turk Broda	Winner of the Vezina Trophy 1949, 1950	Succeeded by Al Rollins

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