Eyes On The Prize: Glenn Hall

It is debatable whether Jacques Plante is the best goalie of all time, but there is little doubt that he is the most important. Plante will always be known as the man who introduced the art of modern goaltending to the NHL and whose influence is seen every night a game is played.

"Jake the Snake" was born in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, and from the time he started playing, his destiny was to play for the Montreal Canadiens.

After a four-year apprenticeship with the Montreal Royals in Quebec Senior Hockey League and two years with the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL, Plante quickly emerged as Montreal's goalie of the future. He played a few games for the Habs from 1952 to 1954, but starting in 1956 he began an incredible run of five consecutive Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy wins - records unlikely to be equaled.

Throughout his career he suffered from asthma attacks, and after missing 13 games due to a sinus operation, Plante began wearing a mask in practices in 1956. Habs coach Toe Blake endorsed the move, albeit cautiously, because it kept his goalie healthy and happy. Still he warned Plante that the mask wasn't permitted during games.

It was during a game against New York, on the night of November 2, 1959, when Plante was badly hurt while being hit in the face by a shot. The Rangers Andy Bathgate, in the opinion of many, seemed to aim straight for Plante's face.

Off Plante went to the dressing room for stitches. When he returned, he was wearing a mask.

Coach Blake was livid, but as he had no other goalie to call upon, Plante refused to return unless he kept the mask on. Blake agreed on condition that Plante discard the mask when the cut had healed. In the ensuing days Plante refused, and as the team continued to win, Blake became less obstinate. The Montreal record stretched into an 18-game unbeaten streak with Plante protected and the mask was in the NHL for good.

Plante was a pioneer of the style of play for goaltenders as well. While there had been other goalies before him who periodically came out of their crease to play the puck, he was the first to skate in behind the net to stop the puck for his defensemen. He also was the first to raise his arm as an alert to an icing call. He perfected a stand-up style of goaltending that emphasized positional play, cutting down the angles and staying square to the shooter. Plante's book, "The Art of Goaltending", was the first of its kind and solidified his place in the game as not just a great stopper but a man who truly understood the game and wanted to have an influence on how it would be played in the future.

Plante retired in 1965 after playing two seasons with the Rangers, but he was lured out of retirement by the St. Louis Blues and the prospect of sharing the goaltending with the great Glenn Hall.

Together Plante and Hall took the Blues to two Stanley Cup finals, and in 1969 Plante shared the Vezina Trophy with him, at the ripe old age of 40. He later played with Toronto and Boston and one final season with the Edmonton Oilers in the WHA before becoming a scout and goalie coach in St. Louis. In 1962 he was the last goalie to win the Hart Trophy until Dominik Hasek in 1997, and still ranks among the career leaders in games played and shutouts. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.

Also read Jacques Plante One On One and Jacques Plante And The Legend Of The Mask

I accumulate a lot of pictures while checking out hockey sites. I save all kinds of them in document folders and create other files just to keep track of the links to where they came from, all with the goal of putting something up eventually. Once in a while things get busy and other pieces get posted first and next thing you know I have a jammed folder.

Still, hockey has such a well preserved history and the pictures speak for themselves.

It's kind of cool just to clear them out, post them here, and let them talk!

This is Eddie Shore, the NHL's first great defenseman. Shore could pass, score, hit like a hammer and fight with the best. When Bobby Orr came up to the Bruins in 1966, Shore was the player he was compared to most offensively.

Shore post playing career was even longer and more legendary for many reasons. He owned and coached several semi-pro and AHL teams and was widely known as hockeys biggest nutcase. As owner, he subjected his players to the most humiliating and meandering of tasks from building maintenance to popcorn maker. Don Cherry played for him at one time and hated the man's guts.

Shore, by all accounts, was a cross between Adolf Hitler and Mike Keenan.

A great postcard from the 1941-42 Chicago Blackhawks, perrenial cellar dwellars of the Original Six NHL. Players were often traded here as punishment for not getting with management and coaches.

Here I just wanted to see my name on the back of a Habs jersey! Sylvain Lefebvre played for the Canadiens for a few years before Pat Burns brought him along to Toronto where he blossomed into a full time NHL defenseman. He was sent to Quebec / Colorado as part of the Clark Sundin trade, and went on win a Cup with the Avalanche in 1996. Hey, my name's on the Cup! Well half of it, anyway!

This from a 1929 Detroit Cougars program. The team was also known as the Falcons for two years before finally settling on the Red Wings name. The jersey here were red and white.

The last Blackhawks team to win the Cup in 1961. With Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Glenn Hall, Al Arbour, and Pierre Pilote - they should have been a dynasty. Toronto would take the Cup from them in the '62 finals. Much of this team would remain intact for a decade and they appeared in the 1965, 1971, and 1973 finals, losing all three to Montreal. The team captain was Eddie Litzenburger.

The 1960 Canadiens and their fifth straight Cup. We'll never see the likes of this again!

The Rocket and Le Gros Bill. A team with both these legends ought to have won a pile of Cups - how could they miss?

A 1933 Montreal Wanderers British Consols Cigarette Card. Notice the insignia - "Both Leaders, Both Winners" up and down the sides. Talk about your dated promotional campaigns. Cringe and imagine the horror if Alexander Ovechkin were to promote Seagrams VO!

The 1913 Quebec Bulldogs - Stanley Cup champs a second year running. The nickname "Bulldogs" was not an official name, but simply a fan given moniker.

The 1912 Quebec whatstheir names! Their uni's were light blue and white.

1910 Montreal Wanderers

1908 Montreal Wanderers

1907 Montreal Wanderers. All three of these editions were Cup winners. In those days teams were not yet presented the Stanley Cup upon winning it, explaining why it is not pictured here.

Some guy with insane looking eyes in a Habs jersey, circa lare 1940's. I wonder what became of him!

Bray May and an unidentified Oiler sharing a moment! I think they got a room after the game!

Guy Carbonneau's lineup card for the December 12, 2006 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was recently put up for auction by NHL.com. The winning bidder was John Ferguson Jr., who also bought Paul Maurice's card. Ferguson has been starring at both, placed side by side, since the purchase.

Glenn Hall, who some say is still the best goalie to ever play the game.

A postcard that was made to honour Hall's record of 502 consecutive games by a goaltender. That is almost unthinkable today! Hockey's most unbreakable record.

Goalie didn't wander from their creases so much back in the day. This shot by Hall looks like it's been knocked down by Bobby Rousseau.

Hall never played with a mask. Later while a member of the St.Louis Blues, he expirimented with the idea but was never comfortable with one. Hall was legendary for barfing his brains out before games due to nerves. His bucket is also in the Hall Of Fame - just kidding!