Odd streak to end with Luongo?

by Jason Kurylo

Roberto Luongo came within one win of being the first #1 goaltender since 1976 to win a Stanley Cup while also wearing the number 1 on his back. Here’s the article that was posted when the Vancouver Canucks were up on the Boston Bruins, three games to two.

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Nobody wants to get ahead of things here, but with the Vancouver Canucks a win away from their first-ever championship, it’s worth talking about an odd streak on the verge of ending. No, I don’t mean the Canucks’ 40 years of NHL futility – that’s hardly strange at all. Their expansion cousins the Buffalo Sabres haven’t won a Cup either. The LA Kings and St Louis Blues, three years older, and have never won.It was 54 years between Cups for the New York Rangers, and 49 years in Chicago. Heck, it’s been 44 years for the Toronto Maples Leafs already, and the way things go in T-dot, they might never win again.

The streak in question doesn’t have to do with the logo on the front of the jersey, but rather with the number on the back. It has been 36 years since a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender wore the number 1 on his jersey. Not since Bernie Parent led the Philadelphia Flyers to the 1974 and 1975 championships has a goalie worn any number under 20, in fact.

Part of the break between number ones winning Stanley Cups is due to domination by a small number of goalies. After Parent’s back-to-back Conn Smythe trophies, the NHL saw successive dynasties in Montreal, Long Island and Edmonton win 12 Cups in 13 years. Since then, Mike Vernon, Tom Barasso, Martin Brodeur, Chris Osgood and Patrick Roy have each won multiple Cups as the primary netminder for their teams.

Here’s a list of all winning goaltenders since 1974, their jersey numbers and their teams:

1974: Bernie Parent, #1, Philadelphia Flyers.
1975: Bernie Parent, #1, Philadelphia Flyers.
1976: Ken Dryden, #29, Montreal Canadiens.
1977: Ken Dryden, #29, Montreal Canadiens.
1978: Ken Dryden, #29, Montreal Canadiens.
1979: Ken Dryden, #29, Montreal Canadiens.
1980: Billy Smith, #31, New York Islanders.
1981: Billy Smith, #31, New York Islanders.
1982: Billy Smith, #31, New York Islanders.
1983: Billy Smith, #31, New York Islanders.
1984: Grant Fuhr, #31, Edmonton Oilers.
1985: Grant Fuhr, #31, Edmonton Oilers.
1986: Patrick Roy, #33, Montreal Canadiens.
1987: Grant Fuhr, #31, Edmonton Oilers.
1988: Grant Fuhr, #31, Edmonton Oilers.
1989: Mike Vernon, #30, Calgary Flames.
1990: Bill Ranford, #30, Edmonton Oilers.
1991: Tom Barasso, #35, Pittsburgh Penguins.
1992: Tom Barasso, #35, Pittsburgh Penguins.
1993: Patrick Roy, #33, Montreal Canadiens.
1994: Mike Richter, #35, New York Rangers.
1995: Martin Brodeur, #30, New Jersey Devils.
1996: Patrick Roy, #33, Colorado Avalanche.
1997: Mike Vernon, #29, Detroit Red Wings.
1998: Chris Osgood, #30, Detroit Red Wings.
1999: Ed Belfour, #20, Dallas Stars.
2000: Martin Brodeur, #30, New Jersey Devils.
2001: Patrick Roy, #33, Colorado Avalanche.
2002: Dominik Hasek, #39, Detroit Red Wings.
2003: Martin Brodeur, #30, New Jersey Devils.
2004: Nikolai Khabibulin, #35, Tampa Bay Lightning.
2005: season cancelled due to great ugly pissing match between young, athletic rich dudes and older, even richer dudes.
2006: Cam Ward, #30, Carolina Hurricanes.
2007: Jean-Sebastien Giguere, #35, Anaheim Ducks.
2008: Chris Osgood, #30, Detroit Red Wings.
2009: Marc-Andre Fleury, #29, Pittsburgh Penguins.
2010: Antti Niemi, #31, Chicago Blackhawks.
2011: Tim Thomas, #30, Boston Bruins.

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Game Seven wasn’t the best hockey in the world, but Tim Thomas sure put an exclamation mark on his Conn Smythe trophy. The streak continues, 36 years and counting!

Jason Kurylo is the creator and co-host of Pucked in the Head, a hockey podcast with listeners on four continents. He also writes Seven Things, a blog that balances knowledgeable hockey analysis with an admittedly bent sense of humour. When he is not memorizing useless hockey trivia, Jason can be found making googly eyes at his wife Nadia and young daughter Milla. He is almost certainly eating a chewy chocolate treat at the very moment that you read this.

Jason [at] puckedinthehead.com

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Jason Kurylo

Jason Kurylo is addicted to hockey, chocolate things, and more than anything else, chocolate-covered hockey things. He cannot wait to write a better bio.