Photo credit: François Lafontaine, Dryden, Flickr.com | CC BY 2.0
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that Ken Dryden has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 78 years old.
Dryden began his NHL career with Montreal at the end of the 1970-71 season. Despite only playing six games in the regular season that year, he went on to win the Stanley Cup with the team and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy-winner as playoff MVP. It wasn’t until the next season that he won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. In total, Dryden played eight seasons for the Canadiens, taking off the 1973-74 campaign to pursue a law degree He won the Stanley Cup six times while being awarded the Vezina Trophy on five occasions, and leaves a lasting image in hockey lore of his 6’4″ frame resting on his goalie stick during breaks in the game.
He continued to represent the Canadiens as an ambassador after he retired, being a significant part of many of their ceremonies and events. His post-playing career included time as a Member of Parliament during which he served as the Minister of Social Development, and he participated in the Liberal Party’s leadership race in 2006. He wrote several books during his lifetime, on not only his career and also that of his head coach, Scotty Bowman, but also concerning politics and education among other topics. He received the Order of Canada in 2012.
Dryden’s #29 hangs in the rafters of the Bell Centre after being retired during the 2006-07 season. He had been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame among the class of 1983.
