Frank Brimsek

Frank "Mr. Zero" Brimsek

Netminder Frank "Mr. Zero" Brimsek was one of the greatest players ever to

hail from the United States. In a decade of NHL service, the accurately

nicknamed Mr. Zero registered 80 shutouts and won 252 regular-season games.

He led all netminders in shutouts, goals-against average and wins twice each,

and he backstopped Boston to Stanley Cup wins in 1939 and 1941.

The Minnesota native starred with his hometown Eveleth Rangers in 1934-35,

then joined the Granite City St. Cloud State University Hockey team for 1 season

before joining the formidable Pittsburgh Yellowjackets of the USAHA later that

same year. Steeltown agreed with Brimsek as he recorded 14 wins in 16

matches. The next season he, and the entire team, switched to the pro ranks in

the Eastern Hockey League. The promising youngster registered a league-high

20 wins and 8 shutouts during the 1935-36 schedule. At the conclusion of the

season he was placed on the EHL First All-Star Team and was presented the

George L. Davis Jr. Trophy for allowing the fewest goals.

Next it was off to the Providence Reds where he led the AHL with 48 games

played and a 1.75 goals-against mark. His unlimited potential convinced the

Boston Bruins to sign him to replace their aging incumbent, Tiny Thompson.

During his rookie season Brimsek showed no sign of buckling under the

pressure of replacing an NHL legend. In one of the greatest first-year

performances ever, he was in goal for 33 Boston wins and topped the

league with 10 shutouts and a 1.56 goals-against mark. In addition, he

posted two shutout streaks of more than 200 minutes each. During the

playoffs he recorded eight wins in 12 games as Boston won its second

Stanley Cup. Brimsek's heroics between the pipes were confirmed

when he was awarded the Calder Trophy.

Brimsek was a classic standup goalie whose confidence on the ice

threw off many a shooter. On breakaways and penalty shots he would

often lean back calmly against his net as the foe approached. But he

was not a passive figure while guarding his cage - Brimsek used his

custom-made heavy stick to knock the puck off opposition sticks or to

take the feet out from under someone who took too many liberties

around his goal.

In 1941 his stellar goalkeeping contributed to the Bruins' second

Stanley Cup in three years. That year he won his first of two Vezina

trophies and was selected to the NHL First All-Star Team. The

1941-42 season arguably spoke the loudest for Brimsek's

importance to the Bruins. After the famous Kraut Line of Milt

Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart enlisted in the

Canadian Armed Forces, Mr. Zero almost single-handedly

guided his club to a spot in the playoffs. In 1943 the Second

World War interrupted Brimsek's career, and he joined the

Coast Guard. He played on the Coast Guard "Cutters" hockey

team and then served aboard a Coast Guard supply ship in the

Pacific until the end of the war.

Brimsek returned to the Bruins in 1945-46. Considering the layoff,

he did well to earn selection to the NHL Second All-Star Team.

He played three more years with Boston, but the team was not

as strong as it had been before the war. Brimsek's netminding

heroics kept the Bruins in many games during this period, and in 1948 he finished second to the Rangers' Buddy O'Connor in the Hart Trophy voting.

In September 1949 the Bruins sold Brimsek to the Chicago Black Hawks. He played all 70 games in the expanded NHL schedule behind a weak squad. He finally retired after the team failed to qualify for the post-season. Although he did not go out on a high note, his superb record over the years was not forgotten. Brimsek registered nine 20-win seasons and logged over 31,000 minutes of ice time.

In 1966 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and, fittingly, "Mr. Zero" was also one of the first players elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, located in his hometown of Eveleth, Minnesota.