Ed Belfour

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Belfour played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of North Dakota, where he helped the school win the NCAA championship in the 1986–87 season. After being undrafted in the 1987 NHL draft, he signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks. He played with the Saginaw Hawks of the IHL before being called up in the 1988–89 season by Chicago. Playing with the Canadian National Team in 1989 rather than returning to Saginaw, the Blackhawks used him for the 1990 playoff run and kept him as the regular starter for the next six seasons, which included winning the Calder Memorial Trophy for his rookie play in 1991, winning the Vezina Trophy twice and backstopping them to the 1992 Stanley Cup Final, their first appearance in 19 years. With free agency looming, he was traded to San Jose late in the 1996–97 season. He subsequently signed as a free agent with the Dallas Stars in 1997, where he would backstop the team for five seasons and reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1999 and 2000, winning the former for his only championship. In his first season with Toronto in the 2002–03 season, he reached 400 career wins. He spent his final NHL season with Florida in 2007, where he finished with the third-most wins by a goaltender in NHL history at the time of his retirement. He played one final season with Leksands IF and retired in 2008. Many regard Belfour as an elite goaltender and one of the best of all-time. His 484 wins currently rank fifth all-time among NHL goaltenders. Belfour was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the 2011 class, his first year of eligibility. In addition, Belfour is one of only two players to have won an NCAA championship, an Olympic gold medal, and the Stanley Cup (the other such player is Neal Broten). His characteristic face mask earned him the sobriquet 'Eddie the Eagle', and some of his quirks and off-ice antics earned him the nickname 'Crazy Eddie'.

In Their Own Story

The 1992 Stanley Cup Final was a dramatic clash between Belfour's Chicago Blackhawks and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. In Game One, Chicago held a 4–1 lead with 8:24 remaining in the second period before the Penguins scored twice in one minute to narrow the gap. Jaromír Jágr tied the game with five minutes left, and Mario Lemieux scored the go-ahead goal on a rebound with just thirteen seconds remaining in regulation, handing Pittsburgh a victory after Belfour allowed five goals on 39 shots. Game Two saw Chicago lose 3–1. The series shifted to Chicago for Game Three, where Kevin Stevens scored early against Belfour, and Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso shut out the Blackhawks with no goals allowed on 27 shots as Pittsburgh moved within one win of the Cup. In Game Four, a rollercoaster contest saw four goals scored in the first seven minutes. After Stevens added another goal over Belfour, Chicago coach Mike Keenan replaced him with Dominik Hašek. Hašek made 21 saves out of 25 shots as Pittsburgh rallied late to win the game and the series. Following the season, tensions arose between Belfour and backup Jeff Hackett, culminating in an incident near a locker room where Belfour reportedly called Hackett 'nothing more than a backup'. On January 25, 1997, after turning down a $3.3 million extension offer that would have raised his salary from $2.75 million, Belfour was traded to the San Jose Sharks.

Reader's Guide

Belfour played for 3 seasons in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the Winkler Flyers, helping the team to a first-place finish in 1986. As the starting goalie for the top team, Belfour finally received some notoriety and he joined the North Dakota Fighting Sioux for the 1986–87 season. The 21-year-old Belfour was a freshman, older than many of the upper-classmen on his team. He won 29 games that year, helping UND set a new NCAA record with 40 wins on the year and win the National Title. After the season Belfour, as an undrafted player, was able to sign with any team and signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on September 25, 1987. For his first professional season, Belfour played for the Saginaw Hawks of the IHL. He won 32 games for the team and helped them reach the IHL semifinals. The following season saw Belfour split his time between the IHL and NHL, playing 23 games with the parent club. He was returned to Saginaw where he helped the team to a 2nd-place finish in the conference but faltered in the postseason and the Hawks were bounced in the first round. Rather than return to Saginaw, Belfour played the 1989–90 season with the Canadian national men's hockey team. He was recalled by the Blackhawks for their postseason run and produced a 4–2 record with a 2.49 GAA. The next season, 1990–91, Belfour became the starting goalie, and had a strong rookie season. He notched 43 victories in 74 games (both NHL rookie and Blackhawk team records), finished the season with a 2.47 GAA and 4 shutouts. He also led the league in Save% (.910). It was the last time a goalie led the league in Wins, Save%, and GAA until Carey Price achieved the feat in the 2014–2015 season. For his success, he received the Calder Memorial Trophy, the Vezina Trophy, and the William M. Jennings Trophy. He was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. He would win the Vezina Trophy and Jennings Trophy again in 1993, and the Jennings Trophy once more with Chicago in 1995. Belfour helped lead the Blackhawks to the 1992 Stanley Cup Final in the 1991–92 season, where they met the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins won the series in four games. By the 1995–96 season, tension was forming between Belfour and backup goalie Jeff Hackett. A free agent after the season, Belfour was traded to the San Jose Sharks on January 25 for three players (right wing Ulf Dahlén, defenseman Mich

Did You Know?

• Belfour won the Vezina Trophy twice (1991 and 1993) and the William M. Jennings Trophy three times (1991, 1993 with Chicago; 1999 with Dallas).
• He is one of only two players to have won an NCAA championship, an Olympic gold medal, and the Stanley Cup (the other is Neal Broten).
• Belfour's 484 wins currently rank fifth all-time among NHL goaltenders.
• He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011, his first year of eligibility.