THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

More than one former teammate, coach and opposing player has called Terrance Gordon Sawchuk, the “greatest goalie of all time.” In fact, famed Montreal Canadiens broadcaster Dick Irvin, now 91, wrote a piece in 1995 about a game he saw in Montreal on Oct. 22, 1951. He said, “I have watched a lot of goalies stop a lot of shots since then, but I have never forgotten the Detroit goalie’s performance that night. It was the first time I had seen him play and maybe that’s why I usually answer ‘Terry Sawchuk’ when asked to pick the all-time best goalie.” The late Julian Klymkiw, who was the No. 3 goalie and assistant trainer in Detroit during Sawchuk’s finest seasons, once said, “Nobody could touch him. Nobody was better. Terry was the greatest goalie who ever played the game.” Sawchuk’s numbers were extraordinary for his time. He won 501 games (445 regular season and 54 playoff), while recording 115 shutouts (103 in the regular season and 12 in the playoffs). His 445 regular season wins stood as the benchmark for 30 years while his 115 shutouts stood as the record until Martin Brodeur surpassed the mark on Dec. 21, 2009. “Sawchuk set the standard for measuring goaltenders and was publicly hailed as the ‘best goalie ever’ by a rival general manager in 1952, during only his second season,” wrote David Dupuis in his book Sawchuk. “In 1971, Sawchuk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for his contribution to hockey in the United States. The Red Wings retired his number 1 in 1994.” Born in Winnipeg on Dec. 28, 1929, Sawchuk grew up in East Kildonan and became a goalie at age 10 when he inherited the pads of his older brother, Mike. By 15, he was a star with the Jr. A Winnipeg Rangers and before he was 16, was signed by the Detroit Red Wings and sent to Galt in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. After a season with Galt, the 17-year-old Sawchuk showed up at Detroit’s training camp and was the star of the show. “I've never seen a young goalie with more ability,” said Detroit coach Tommy Ivan. Sawchuk went back to Junior, but for just four games. The Red Wings decided he should turn pro and they sent him to Omaha in the United States Hockey League. It didn’t take long for Sawchuk to make an impression. He was rookie of the year in the USHL in 1947-48 as an 18-year-old (he also played three games in Windsor in the IHL) and then the next season was rookie of the year in the American Hockey League as he led Detroit’s top farm team in Indianapolis to the Calder Cup championship. He made it with the Red Wings in 1950-51, at the age of 21, and became the first player to win the Rookie of the Year award in three different pro leagues. That rookie, known to his teammates in Detroit as The Uke, went on to become the greatest of them all. He appeared in 971 NHL games over 21 seasons, had a 2.52 GAA and played on three Stanley Cup winners with Detroit and a fourth with Toronto. He won the Vezina Trophy four times and was selected to seven NHL All-Star teams. Sawchuk, who spent his life struggling with untreated depression, died in 1970 at the age of 40. He was playing with the New York Rangers at the time and right after the end of the 1969-70 season, he was involved in an altercation in the house he rented with roommate and teammate Ron Stewart. He was rushed to hospital and died of a pulmonary embolism at New York’s Manhattan Hospital a month later. Terry Sawchuk was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (1971) and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1985) and became an honoured member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985. “The Uke was the best goalie I ever saw,” said the late Gordie Howe. “He was everything a goalie should be.”