Gerald Michael "Gerry" Cheevers

Last updated

BIOGRAPHY

BORN: St. Catharines, Ontario, December 7, 1940.
HOME:
HEIGHT: 5'11"
WEIGHT: 175-185 lbs
UNIFORM #: 30 (Boston), 31 (Canada 1976).
CATCHES: Left
STYLE: Standup.
STRENGTHS: Was known as the ultimate clutch goaltender of his era. Very good at puckhandling; was the first goaltender recognized as a "third defenseman".
WEAKNESSES:

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

"Cheevers is the most exciting goalie you'll ever see. He'll have your fans on the edge of their seat all night." (Joe Crozier, Cheevers' coach at AHL Rochester, to the Bruins)

"38-year-old Gerry Cheevers underwent yet another knee operation during the summer and will have to be used judiciously in the approaching campaign." (The Hockey News [1979-]1980 Yearbook, p. 72)

ON HIS MASK:

"Well, when the mask first became a reality in the game of hockey, the first ones were all plain white and I hated wearing anything white. It was to me a sign of purity and I wasn't in a pure business as far as I was concerned, playing goal and hacking away and all that stuff. And I also had a daily practice of trying to get out of practices. Going to practice, all I could think about was getting out of it. And one day this puck flipped up and hit me in this new white mask I had. It wouldn't have cut me if I didn't have the mask on but I acted like I was seriously hurt, went to the dressing room, and Harry Sinden, who was coaching, came in and told me to get the heck out of there. And so I was about to go out onto the ice and our trainer, John Forestall, said to wait a minute and he went and painted a big 12-stitch cut on my mask and I got a chuckle out of that and we went from there. A very, very simple thing happened there but maybe, just maybe I was the pioneer in the art of decorations of masks. That's what I'd like to think about it."

(interview, "A Life in the Game", Be a Player! The Hockey Show, 1999)

TRANSACTIONS:

Claimed from Toronto Maple Leafs by Boston Bruins in National Hockey League Intra-League Draft, June 9, 1965.
Selected by New England Whalers in 1972 World Hockey Association General Player Draft, February 12, 1972.
WHA rights traded by Whalers to Cleveland Crusaders for cash, June 1972.
Suspended by Crusaders for refusing to play, January 25, 1976.
Signed as free agent by Boston Bruins after securing his release from Crusaders, January 27, 1976.

ACCOLADES:

Named to American Hockey League All-Star First Team, 1964-65.
Winner, Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award, 1964-65.
Winner, Terry Sawchuk Trophy, 1966-67.
Played in National Hockey League All-Star Game, 1969.
Member, Stanley Cup winning Boston Bruins, 1970.
Member, Stanley Cup winning Boston Bruins, 1972.
Named to World Hockey Association All-Star First Team, 1972-73.
Winner, Ben Hatskin Trophy, 1972-73.
Named to World Hockey Association All-Star Second Team, 1973-74.
Named to World Hockey Association All-Star Second Team, 1974-75.
Coached Boston Bruins, compiling a 204-126-46 record, 1980-84.
Elected to Hockey Hall of Fame, 1985.

INJURIES:

DID YOU KNOW?

In junior hockey, Cheevers liked to wander far from his net to clear or play the puck, so his coach moved his backup, Dave Dryden into the nets and informed Cheevers that, since he liked to skate so much, he would get his share of it on left wing.
Gerry was the losing goaltender in the third and deciding game of the 1979 Challenge Cup, as Russian Vladimir Myshkin recored a 6-0 shutout of the NHL All-Stars.
Gerry served as head coach of the Boston Bruins in the summer of 1980, a position he held until midway through the 1984-85 season. His record as coach was 204 wins, 126 losses and 46 ties.

SEASON RECORDS:

REGULAR SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   T    GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
56-57 St. Michael's Majors OHA     1     60                 4   4.00                    0
57-58 St. Michael's Majors OHA     1     60   1   0   0     3   3.00                    0
58-59 St. Michael's Majors OHA     6    360                28   4.67                    0
59-60 St. Michael's Majors OHA    36   2160  18  13   5   111   3.08                    5
60-61 St. Michael's Majors OHA    30   1775  12  20   5    94   3.18                    2
61-62 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL       5    300   2   2   1    21   4.20                    0   0   0     0
      Rochester Americans AHL     19   1140   9   9   1    69   3.63                    1
      Sault Ste. Marie Thun. EPHL 29   1740  13  13   3   103   3.55                    1   0   0     0
      Toronto Maple Leafs NHL      2    120   1   1   0     7   3.50                    0   0   0     0
62-63 Rochester Americans AHL     19   1140   7   9   3    75   3.95                    1   0   0     2
      Sudbury Wolves EPHL         51   3060  17  24  10   212   4.15                    4   0   1    10
63-64 Rochester Americans AHL     66   3960  38  25   2   187   2.84                    3   0   1     6
64-65 Rochester Americans AHL     72   4359  48  21   3   195   2.68                    5   0   1    26
65-66 Boston Bruins NHL            7    340   0   4   1    34   6.00                    0
      Oklahoma City Blazers CHL   30   1760  16   9   5    73   2.49                    3   0   0     8
66-67 Boston Bruins NHL           22   1298   5  10   6    72   3.33                    1   0   0    12
      Oklahoma City Blazers CHL   26   1520  14   6   5    71   2.80                    1   0   0     4
67-68 Boston Bruins NHL           47   2646  23  17   5   125   2.83                    3   0   2     8
68-69 Boston Bruins NHL           52   3112  28  12  12   145   2.80                    3   0   0    14
69-70 Boston Bruins NHL           41   2384  24   8   8   108   2.72                    4   0   0     4
70-71 Boston Bruins NHL           40   2400  27   8   5   109   2.73                    3   0   0     4
71-72 Boston Bruins NHL           41   2420  27   5   8   101   2.50                    2   0   2    25
72-73 Cleveland Crusaders WHA     52   3144  32  20   0   149   2.84    1695   .912     5   0   1    30
73-74 Cleveland Crusaders WHA     59   3562  30  20   6   180   3.03    1911   .906     4   0   0    30
74-75 Canada SUMMIT SERIES         7    420                24   3.43
      Cleveland Crusaders WHA     52   3076  26  24   2   167   3.26    1763   .905     4   0   1    59
75-76 Cleveland Crusaders WHA     28   1570  11  14   1    95   3.63     834   .886     1   0   0    15
      Boston Bruins NHL           15    900   8   2   5    41   2.73     463   .911     1   0   0     2
76-77 Canada CANADA CUP           SPARE GOALTENDER
      Boston Bruins NHL           45   2700  30  10   5   137   3.04                    3   0   4    46
77-78 Boston Bruins NHL           21   1086  10   5   2    48   2.65                    1   0   1    14
78-79 Boston Bruins NHL           43   2509  23   9  10   132   3.16                    1   0   2    23
      NHL All-Stars CHALLENGE CUP  1     60   0   1   0     6   6.00                    0
79-80 Boston Bruins NHL           42   2479  24  11   7   116   2.81                    4   0   0    62
THIRTEEN (13) NHL SEASONS        418  24394 230 102  74  1175   2.89                   26   0  11   214
FOUR (4) WHA SEASONS             191  11352  99  78   9   591   3.12                   14   0   2   134

POST-SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM   S/60   PERS 
61-62 Rochester Americans AHL      2    120   2   0    8   4.00                    0   0   0     0
62-63 Sudbury Wolves EPHL          8    485   4   4   29   3.59                    1
63-64 Rochester Americans AHL      2    120   0   2    8   4.00                    0   0   0     0
64-65 Rochester Americans AHL     10    615   8   2   24   2.34                    0   0   0     0
65-66 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL    9    540   8   1   19   2.11                    0   0   0     2
66-67 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL   11    677   8   3   29   2.57                    1   0   0    16
67-68 Boston Bruins NHL            4    240   0   4   15   3.75                    0   0   0     4
68-69 Boston Bruins NHL            9    572   6   3   16   1.68                    3   0   0    17
69-70 Boston Bruins NHL           13    781  12   1   29   2.23                    0   0   1     2
70-71 Boston Bruins NHL            6    360   3   3   21   3.50                    0   0   0     4
71-72 Boston Bruins NHL            8    483   6   2   21   2.61                    2   0   0     0
72-73 Cleveland Crusaders WHA      9    548   5   4   22   2.41                    0   0   0     4
73-74 Cleveland Crusaders WHA      5    303   1   4   18   3.56                    0   0   0     6
74-75 Cleveland Crusaders WHA      5    300   1   4   23   4.60                    0   0   0     0
75-76 Boston Bruins NHL            6    392   2   4   14   2.14                    1   
76-77 Boston Bruins NHL           14    858   8   5   44   3.08                    1   0   0     4
77-78 Boston Bruins NHL           12    731   8   4   35   2.87                    1   0   0     6
78-79 Boston Bruins NHL            6    360   4   2   15   2.50                    0
79-80 Boston Bruins NHL           10    619   4   6   32   3.10                    0   0   0     0   
TEN (10) NHL POSTSEASONS          88   5396  53  34  242   2.69                    8   0   1    37
THREE (3) WHA POSTSEASONS         19   1151   7  12   63   3.28                    0   0   0    10

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