Terry Sawchuk

Terry "Ukey" Sawchuk was on December 28, 1929, in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Sawchuk had a tough childhood, losing his brother to a heart ailment when he was 10 years old. The loss though saw Terry put on his brother Mike's pads and the rest as they say is history. Terry Sawchuk won rookie of the year honours in both the United States Hockey League and American Hockey League before landing with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL in the 1950-51 season. He continued his superb play by recording a 1.99 goals against average in his NHL rookie year, appearing in the All-Star game and winning the Calder Trophy as the league's best first year player. He was an all star in the next four seasons and won three Vezina trophies.

Terry Sawchuck was a true reflex goalie. He did not pay as much attention to angles and technique, instead focusing on his quickness and explosive movement within the crease. Sawchuk had recorded 199 wins and 57 shutouts in his first five season with the Red Wings. But he was traded to the Boston Bruins to make room for Glen Hall. In Boston he suffered a myriad of illnesses and missed time due to depression. Two years later he was traded back to the Red Wings, and resurrected his career. On a struggling Red Wings squad, Sawchuk continued to shine, making two more All-Star appearences and breaking George Hainsworth's shutout record of 95. In 1964 he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs and went on to win a Vezina trophy in 1965 and helped the Leafs win a Stanley Cup championship in 1967.

Terry Sawchuk spent the twilight of his hockey career with the expansion Los Angles Kings, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers. He finished with a record 447 wins and 103 shutouts in his 21 year career. In May of 1970, he passed away due to complications from a household accident. The Hockey Hall of Fame waived its required three year period to induct Terry Sawchuk in 1971.

Here is a summary of Terry Sawchuk's NHL career statistics;

Year     Team                GP   Min   GA   W   L   T  SO   AVG
1949-50 Detroit Red Wings     7   420   16   4   3   0   1   2.29 
1950-51 Detroit Red Wings    70  4200  139  44  13  13  11   1.99 
1951-52 Detroit Red Wings    70  4200  133  44  14  12  12   1.90 
1952-53 Detroit Red Wings    63  3780  120  32  15  16   9   1.90 
1953-54 Detroit Red Wings    67  4004  129  35  19  13  12   1.93
1954-55 Detroit Red Wings    68  4080  132  40  17  11  12   1.96
1955-56 Boston Bruins        68  4080  181  22  33  13   9   2.60
1956-57 Boston Bruins        34  2040   81  18  10   6   2   2.38 
1957-58 Detroit Red Wings    70  4200  207  29  29  12   3   2.94
1958-59 Detroit Red Wings    67  4020  209  23  36   8   5   3.09
1959-60 Detroit Red Wings    58  3480  156  24  20  14   5   2.67
1960-61 Detroit Red Wings    37  2150  113  12  16   8   2   3.10
1961-62 Detroit Red Wings    43  2580  143  14  21   8   5   3.28
1962-63 Detroit Red Wings    48  2775  119  22  16   7   3   2.55
1963-64 Detroit Red Wings    53  3140  138  25  20   7   5   2.64
1964-65 Toronto Maple Leafs  36  2160   92  17  13   6   1   2.56
1965-66 Toronto Maple Leafs  27  1521   80  10  11   3   1   3.16
1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs  28  1409   66  15   5   4   2   2.81
1967-68 Los Angeles Kings    36  1936   99  11  14   6   2   3.07
1968-69 Detroit Red Wings    13   641   28   3   4   3   0   2.62
1969-70 New York Rangers      8   412   20   3   1   2   1   2.91 
NHL Totals                  971 57228  2401 447 330 172 103  2.52



Trophies
George Vezina Trophy - 4 (1952, 1953, 1955, 1965)
Calder Trophy - 1 (1951)


Championships
Stanley Cup - 4 (1952, 1954, 1955, 1967)

Team Pages:
Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings

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