Ken Dryden

Kenneth Wayne Dryden (August 8, 1947 – September 5, 2025) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, politician, lawyer, businessman and author. He was a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1971 to 1979, winning the Stanley Cup six times, the Vezina Trophy as the goaltender on the team allowing the fewest goals five times, and the Conn Smythe Trophy along with the Calder Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs and rookie of the year respectively over the course of his rookie campaign. He was elected as member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. Thereafter, Dryden served as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011 and was appointed Minister of Social Development from 2004 to 2006 for which he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2017, the NHL commemorated him as one of the league's 100 Greatest Players. He received the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2020.

Early life and education

Dryden was born in Hamilton, Ontario, to parents Murray Dryden and Margaret Adelia Campbell, and was raised in Islington, then a suburb of Toronto. He played with the Etobicoke Indians of the Metro Junior B Hockey League as well as the Humber Valley Packers of the Metro Toronto Hockey League.

On June 11, 1964, Dryden was drafted fourteenth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1964 NHL amateur draft. Days later, on June 28, the Bruins traded Dryden, along with Alex Campbell, to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange 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.

Rather than play for the Canadiens in 1964, Dryden pursued a Bachelor of Arts in History at Cornell University, where he also played collegiately until his graduation in 1969. He backstopped the Cornell Big Red to the 1967 NCAA championship and to three consecutive ECAC tournament championships, winning 76 of his 81 varsity starts. At Cornell, he was a member of the Quill and Dagger society and the Sigma Phi society. He also was a member of the Canada national team that participated at the 1969 World Championships tournament held in Stockholm.

Dryden's jersey number 1 was retired by the Cornell Big Red on February 25, 2010; along with Joe Nieuwendyk, he is one of two players to have their numbers retired by Cornell's hockey program.

Playing career

Dryden made his NHL debut on March 14, 1971, against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Civic Arena. The Canadiens won the game 5–1, with Dryden stopping 35 of 36 shots. He was called up from the minors late in the season and played only six regular season games, nonetheless posting an impressive 1.65 goals against average (GAA). 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 the Stanley Cup five more times, in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979.

The following season, Dryden won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year having not been eligible the previous year due to not playing enough regular season games. With this, he is to date the only player in league history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy before winning the rookie of the year award as well as the only goaltender to capture both the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup before losing a regular season game. In the autumn of 1972, Dryden played for Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union national 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. With this, he instead articled for a Toronto-based law firm in order to meet requirements for his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree received from McGill University in 1973. He announced on September 14, 1973, that he was joining Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, earning $135 a week. During this time, Dryden also interned with Ralph Nader's Public Citizen organization. Inspired by Nader's call in Action for a Change for establishing Public Interest Research Groups, he tried to establish the Ontario Public Interest Research Group in the province of Ontario. Despite his absence, 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 team allowed 56 more goals in the 1973–74 season than they had the year before with Dryden. He retired for the last time on July 9, 1979.

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 GAA, a .922 save percentage, along with 46 shutouts in just 397 NHL games. He won the Vezina Trophy five times which, at the time, was awarded to the goaltender on the team who allowed the fewest goals. He would also likewise be selected as a First Team All-Star in each of his Vezina-winning campaigns. In 1998, he was ranked number 25 on The Hockey News' list of the Top 100 NHL Players of All Time, a remarkable achievement for a player with a comparatively brief career.

At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), Dryden was so tall that when the puck was at the opposite end of the ice, 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.