Rogie Vachon

Lore & Background

Vachon grew up on a dairy farm in Palmarolle, Canada, with seven siblings, sneaking water from the well to create a hockey rink with only cows as audience. He was persuaded to play senior-level hockey at age 14 by a coach needing a goaltender. He entered the NHL in February 1967 when Canadiens starter Gump Worsley was injured, winning 11 of 19 starts. In the 1967 playoffs, he led Montreal past the New York Rangers before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Final, after Leafs coach Punch Imlach called him a "junior B goaltender."

Reader's Guide

Vachon shared the Vezina Trophy with Worsley in 1967–68 as the Canadiens allowed the fewest goals, then won his first Stanley Cup that season and a second in 1968–69. After losing the starting job to Ken Dryden in 1970–71, he requested a trade and was sent to the Los Angeles Kings in November 1971. With the Kings, he was runner-up for the Vezina in 1974–75, named to the NHL Second All-Star Team twice, and selected to three All-Star Games. He led the league in save percentage (.927) in 1974–75 with a career-best 2.24 GAA. In 1976, he represented Canada in the Canada Cup, winning six of seven starts with two shutouts and a 1.39 GAA as Canada defeated the Soviet Union. He left the Kings as a free agent for the Detroit Red Wings in 1978, becoming the league's highest-paid goaltender, but struggled. Traded to Boston in 1980, he mentored rookie goalies before retiring in 1982 with the fifth-most wins in league history and twelve 20-win seasons. He later served as Kings general manager from 1984 to 1992.

Did You Know?

• Vachon was nicknamed "Rogie the Goalie."
• He was almost credited with an NHL goal in 1976–77, but video review gave the goal to Vic Venasky.
• His number 30 was the first jersey retired by the Los Angeles Kings.
• He became the eighth goaltender in NHL history to win 300 games.