Gerry Cheevers

Lore & Background

Cheevers played minor hockey at St. Catharines and at age 16 joined Toronto St. Michael's Majors. He became the starting goalie in 1959–60, winning the Dave Pinkney Trophy for lowest GAA. In 1961 he led the Majors to the Memorial Cup championship. He made his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 2, 1961, making 35 saves in a 6–4 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks. After several seasons in the minors, he was drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1965. He became the Bruins' number one goaltender in 1967–68 and helped the team make the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. In 1969–70 he went 12–1 in the postseason to bring Boston its first Stanley Cup in 29 years. In 1971–72 he went undefeated in 32 consecutive games, an NHL record that still stands, and split time with Eddie Johnston to win a second Cup. On July 27, 1972, Cheevers signed with the Cleveland Crusaders of the WHA. On October 11, 1972, he recorded the first-ever league shutout, against the Quebec Nordiques. He finished the 1972–73 season leading the league in GAA (2.84), shutouts (5), and save percentage (.912), winning the Ben Hatskin Award as best goaltender. He played over three seasons for the Crusaders before returning to the Bruins.

Reader's Guide

Cheevers was the first goaltender to decorate his mask with stitch markings where a puck had struck, leading to the contemporary tradition of goaltenders decorating their masks. He held the Boston Bruins' record for most playoff wins by a goaltender (53) until it was surpassed by Tuukka Rask in 2021. Former Bruins general manager Milt Schmidt called Cheevers 'a big-money player, one of the greatest. When the need was there to make one big save to save a game, Cheesy was there.' After retiring, Cheevers coached the Bruins from 1980 to 1985 and later worked as a commentator for both the Hartford Whalers and Bruins. His undefeated streak of 32 consecutive games remains an NHL record. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.

Did You Know?

• Cheevers played part of his final junior season as a forward.
• He recorded the first-ever shutout in WHA history on October 11, 1972.

From Junior Rink to NHL Icon

Gerald Michael Cheevers first laced up his skates in the Ontario junior ranks, where at just sixteen he was already splitting time with Toronto's St. Michael's Majors. What began as a handful of appearances quickly evolved into a full starting role by the 1959–60 season, where his 3.08 goals-against average earned him the Dave Pinkney Trophy. The following year, he anchored the Majors to the Memorial Cup, posting a shutout in the opening game of the final. Yet the road to the NHL was anything but direct. Toronto held his rights, and he spent the early 1960s bouncing between the Sault Thunderbirds, Pittsburgh Hornets, Rochester Americans, and Sudbury Wolves — playing for five different teams in a single season. It was with Rochester that he finally found consistency, culminating in a 1964–65 campaign where he became the last goaltender in AHL history to play every game, finishing 48–21–2 with a league-best 2.69 GAA and the Harry Holmes Memorial Award. Boston then drafted him in 1965, a move made despite Toronto general manager Punch Imlach's attempt to hide Cheevers by listing him as a forward.

Two Cups and a Record That Still Stands

Cheevers' first full season as Boston's number one goaltender arrived after the 1967 expansion took Bernie Parent and Doug Favell to Philadelphia. What followed was a run of excellence that defined an era. In 1969–70, he opened the year with a shutout streak of 151 minutes and 26 seconds, then finished the season with a 24–8–8 record and a .919 save percentage before going 12–1 in the playoffs to deliver Boston's first Stanley Cup in 29 years. The 1970–71 season saw him post 27–8–5 with a .918 save percentage as the Bruins claimed a league-best record, though Montreal ended their playoff run in the first round. The 1971–72 campaign produced the most remarkable stretch of his career: an unbeaten run of 32 consecutive games, an NHL record that still stands today. He finished that year at 27–5–8 with career-best numbers and guided Boston to their second Cup. Across his two stints with the Bruins, Cheevers accumulated more than 300 professional victories and was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.

The Mask That Changed the Game

Before Gerry Cheevers, a goaltender's mask was essentially a blank canvas of protection. Cheevers changed that. He began wearing a mask regularly starting on October 11, 1967, and he was the first goaltender to decorate his mask with stitch markings at the exact points where a puck had struck. Each scar on the leather became a record of a save made, a battle survived. What began as a personal way to track the physical toll of the position rippled outward and became a widespread tradition across professional hockey. Today, virtually every goaltender in the NHL carries some form of mask decoration — colored patches, painted marks, or stitched indicators — a practice that traces its lineage directly back to Cheevers' innovation in the late 1960s. It is a quiet but enduring legacy: not a trophy on a shelf, but a visual language embedded in the culture of the position itself. For a player whose career was defined by standing between the net and the opponent, the fact that his creative touch on a piece of equipment became a universal custom speaks to the depth of his influence on the game.

Beyond the Net

Cheevers' connection to the Bruins extended well past his playing days. After retiring from professional hockey in 1980, he transitioned into coaching, serving as head coach of the very team that had made him a legend. He led Boston from 1980 to 1985, a period that overlapped with his 1985 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Following his coaching tenure, he found a new voice in the broadcast booth, working as a commentator for both the Hartford Whalers and the Bruins, bringing insider perspective and color to the games he had once dominated. His career spanned nearly two decades across two leagues — the NHL and the World Hockey Association — from his 1961 debut to his final season in 1980. In that stretch, he accumulated more than 300 professional wins, captured two Stanley Cups, set a 32-game unbeaten record that remains untouched, and pioneered the mask-decoration tradition still visible in every arena. For a player who spent his life behind a cage and a mask, Cheevers' influence radiated far beyond the ice, shaping how the position is played, decorated, and remembered.

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