Frank Brimsek

Frank Brimsek
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1966
Born September 26, 1913
Eveleth, MN, USA
Died November 11, 1998 (aged 85)
Virginia, MN, USA
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Chicago Black Hawks
Playing career 1938–1950

Francis Charles "Mister Zero" Brimsek (September 26, 1915 — November 11, 1998) was an American professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Background

Brimsek was born in the hockey hotbed of Eveleth, Minnesota on September 26, 1915.[1] His parents were of Slovene descent.[2] The town of Eveleth produced at that time, four other hockey players, Mike Karakas, Sam LoPresti, Al Suomi and John Mariucci, who would play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Brimsek and Karakas played on the same baseball team in high school.[3] Brimsek first started playing hockey when his brother, John, the second-string goalie on the Eveleth High School team, expressed his desire to be a defenseman instead. John was moved to his desired position, while Frank was slotted in the nets.[4] Soon, Brimsek found himself spending most of his spare time on the Eveleth rinks playing hockey. Unlike most of his friends who wanted to be high-scoring forwards, Brimsek never showed any desire to play any other position except for goalie. Just before winter, Brimsek and his friends would get on a dry lot, and they would practice shooting at him.[5] After graduating from high school, Brimsek went to play for the St. Cloud State Teachers College hockey team.[6] He also graduated from college with a machine shop student's degree.[7]

Playing career

Early career

In the fall of 1934, Brimsek was invited to the Detroit Red Wings training camp for a shot at playing in the National Hockey League (NHL). Jack Adams, the Red Wings' coach and manager, made a bad impression on Brimsek. He felt that Adams had a habit of favoritism.[3] This led him to try out for another professional team, the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). Unfortunately for Brimsek, the Orioles decided to cut him. Disappointed, Brimsek hitchhiked back to Eveleth.[4] On his way back home, he had a chance meeting with the owner of the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets, John H. Harris.[8] The Yellow Jackets were in need for a goaltender and Harris proceeded to sign Brimsek to the team.[4] Brimsek started for the Yellow Jackets for the first time in 1934–35 during the X-Games, winning 14 out of 16 games he played in.

The next season, the Yellow Jackets joined the EAHL.[9] Brimsek finished with the most wins and shutouts in the league with 20 and eight respectively. At the end of the season, he was named to the league's Second All-Star Team and he was awarded the George L. Davis Trophy for having the lowest goals against average (GAA). Impressed by Brimsek, Harris wanted to protect his interests in the goalie so he had the Red Wings put Brimsek on their protected list. Harris then tried to get the Red Wings to bring Brimsek up to play with them.[8] The Red Wings wanted Brimsek to first play one year for their amateur team in Pontiac, but Brimsek turned down the offer. Brimsek opted to stay with the Yellow Jackets instead.[10] Harris then shopped Brimsek around the NHL until he was accepted by the Boston Bruins in October 1937. The Bruins were already well established in net with future hall-of-famer Tiny Thompson. This led to Brimsek being assigned by the Bruins to the Providence Reds of the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) for the 1937–38 season. In his only full season with the Reds, Brimsek helped his team win the Calder Cup and he was named to the league's First All-Star Team.[3]

Boston Bruins

Pre World War II

Brimsek started the 1938–39 season with the Reds but he would not stay long with them. During an NHL exhibition game, Thompson got injured. The Bruins were slated to open the regular season without Thompson. Needing a replacement, Brimsek was called up by the Bruins to start.[11] In his NHL debut, Brimsek helped his team defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 3–2. He started in net for one more game, a 4–1 victory against the Red Wings, before being sent back down to the Reds as Thompson recovered. Art Ross, the Bruins' coach and general manager, had seen enough of Brimsek during his two stints in Boston to contemplate promoting Brimsek full-time with the Bruins.[4] Thompson was traded to the Red Wings after playing only five games with the Bruins.[12] Ross then proceeded to promote Brimsek as the team's new starting goalie.[13] This did not sit well with Bruins fans as Thompson was a favorite and he was the reigning Vezina Trophy winner.[3]

In Brimsek's first game as the starting goalie, his team fell 2–0 to the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal. Meanwhile on that same night, Thompson won his first game with the Red Wings.[14] Also, Brimsek wore red hockey pants instead of the team's colors, and he was wearing Thompson's former jersey number No. 1. These little details did not help him improve his image with the fans.[15][16] The next game yielded a more positive result for Brimsek, as he shutout the Chicago Black Hawks. This did not earn him the acknowledgement of Bruins fans yet as when he made his first appearance in Boston, the fans greeted him coldly. However, after shutting out his opponents for the second straight game, the fans warmed up to him immediately.[14] Brimsek earned six shutouts in his first seven games, leading to the fans and the media calling him by the nickname of "Mr. Zero". During that seven game span, he also set a then modern-NHL record for longest shutout streak of 231 minutes and 54 seconds.[16] At the end of the regular season, Brimsek had backstopped the Bruins to a first place finish in the league. Brimsek finished the season with the most wins (33), shutouts (10) and the lowest GAA (1.56) in the league.[17] In the playoffs, Brimsek and his team defeated the New York Rangers before beating the Maple Leafs in the 1939 Stanley Cup Finals.[18] Adding to his Stanley Cup victory, Brimsek was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy, the Vezina Trophy, and he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.[17]

The following season, Brimsek finished first in the league in wins again and he was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team. This would be his first of seven berths to the NHL Second All-Star Team.[17] The Bruins were eliminated in the playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, New York Rangers, in the semi-finals.[19] In 1940–41, Brimsek backstopped the Bruins to their third consecutive first place finish in the league. The Bruins made it to the 1941 Stanley Cup Finals and were matched up with the Red Wings. The Red Wings fell in four games in a best-of-seven series giving Brimsek his second and last Stanley Cup victory. For his efforts during the regular season, Brimsek was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team for the second year in a row.[3] Continuing on the previous season's success, Brimsek won the Vezina Trophy and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team for the second time in his career.[20] However, Brimsek's team could not replicate their playoff success as they were eliminated by the Red Wings in the semi-finals.

World War II and aftermath

In 1942–43, the Bruins were playing without the Kraut Line, one of the best lines in the NHL. The trio had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force the previous season in order to help in the Second World War.[21] Despite missing three of their best players, the Bruins managed to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in five years. The Bruins faced the Red Wings, a rematch from the 1941 Finals; however, this time the Red Wings emerged victorious four games to none.[22] Due to his play in the regular season, Brimsek was again named to the NHL Second All-Star Team. However, it was popular opinion at the time that Brimsek deserved the spot on the First All-Star Team over Johnny Mowers, including Mowers' own coach and general manager, Jack Adams.[23][24] Brimsek decided to help the war effort next season by joining the United States Coast Guard. During his time with the Coast Guard, he played with the Coast Guard Cutters hockey team in Curtis Bay, Maryland, and later served in the South Pacific.[25]

After the war ended, Brimsek returned to the Bruins in time for the 1945–46 season. After the regular season ended, the Bruins managed to advance to the Finals, matching up with the Montreal Canadiens. This marked Brimsek's fourth appearance in the Finals and it would be his last. The Bruins were defeated in five games with three games requiring overtime. Brimsek was a key contributor in the Bruins' run to the Finals despite having not played professional hockey for two years.[26][27] Brimsek was also named to the NHL Second All-Star Team for a fifth time. Brimsek remained with the Bruins for three more seasons. During all three seasons, Brimsek was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team. The Bruins made the playoffs all three years and were eliminated in the semi-finals all three years. Brimsek was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy (awarded to the most valuable player during the regular season) in 1947–48, finishing behind Buddy O'Connor of the Rangers.[17] After the 1948–49 season, Brimsek was dealing with personal problems and he requested a trade from Boston to Chicago in order to be closer to home and to the new blueprint business he had started in Chicago.[28] Brimsek's ten month old son had died earlier during the year.[3] In addition, the once faithful Boston crowd occasionally booed Brimsek and his coach and former teammate, Dit Clapper, had resigned.[3] Boston granted his request and he was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks in exchange for cash.[17] Brimsek only played one season with the Black Hawks, recording 22 wins, 38 losses and 10 ties in 70 games played. The team finished last in the standings. Brimsek's lone season with the Hawks was the only season in his career where he was not named to one of the NHL All-Star Teams and the only one where his team did not reach the playoffs. He retired at the conclusion of the season.

Retirement and legacy

Brimsek played a stand-up style of goaltending. This style is marked by goalies staying primarily on their feet rather than dropping to their knees to make a save. He is also remembered for his quick catching hand.[3] After retiring, Brimsek returned to Minnesota and worked as a railroad engineer.[3] Brimsek regularly received fan mail during his retirement.[15] In 1966, Brimsek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the first American-born goalie to be inducted, and in 1973 he was an inaugural inductee of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Brimsek died on November 11, 1998 in Virginia, Minnesota, leaving behind his wife, Marguerite, his two daughters, Chris and Karen, and his five grandchildren.[15]

In 1998, shortly before his death, Brimsek was ranked number 67 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, the highest ranked American-born goaltender. An annual award given to the top high school goaltender in the state of Minnesota is given in Brimsek's honor.[29] Brimsek, who won 252 games, held the record for most wins by an American-born netminder until Tom Barrasso of the Pittsburgh Penguins broke his long-held record on February 15, 1994.[30] Brimsek's 40 shutouts puts him in a tie with John Vanbiesbrouck as the most ever recorded by an American-born goalie.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1934–35 Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets X-Games 16 14 2 0 960 39 1 2.44
1935–36 Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets EAHL 38 20 16 2 2280 74 8 1.95
1936–37 Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets EAHL 47 19 23 5 2820 142 3 3.02
1937–38 Providence Reds IAHL 48 25 16 7 2950 86 5 1.75
1938–39 Providence Reds IAHL 9 5 2 2 570 18 0 1.89
1938–39 Boston Bruins NHL 43 33 9 1 2610 68 10 1.56
1939–40 Boston Bruins NHL 48 31 12 5 2950 98 6 1.99
1940–41 Boston Bruins NHL 48 27 8 13 3040 102 6 2.01
1941–42 Boston Bruins NHL 47 24 17 6 2930 115 3 2.35
1942–43 Boston Bruins NHL 50 24 17 9 3000 176 1 3.52
1943–44 Coast Guard Cutters X-Games 27 19 6 2 1620 83 1 3.07
1945–46 Boston Bruins NHL 34 16 14 4 2040 111 2 3.26
1946–47 Boston Bruins NHL 60 26 23 11 3600 175 3 2.92
1947–48 Boston Bruins NHL 60 23 24 13 3600 168 3 2.80
1948–49 Boston Bruins NHL 54 26 20 8 3240 147 1 2.72
1949–50 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 22 38 10 4200 244 5 3.49
NHL totals 514 252 182 80 31,210 1404 40 2.70

Playoffs

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1935–36 Pittsburgh Yellowjackets EAHL 8 4 3 1 480 19 2 2.36
1937–38 Providence Reds IAHL 7 5 2 0 515 16 0 1.86
1938–39 Boston Bruins NHL 12 8 4 — 863 18 1 1.25
1939–40 Boston Bruins NHL 6 2 4 — 360 15 0 2.50
1940–41 Boston Bruins NHL 11 8 3 — 678 23 1 2.04
1941–42 Boston Bruins NHL 5 2 3 — 307 16 0 3.13
1942–43 Boston Bruins NHL 9 4 5 — 560 33 0 3.54
1943–44 Coast Guard Cutters X-Games 5 4 0 — 300 4 1 0.80
1945–46 Boston Bruins NHL 10 5 5 — 651 29 0 2.67
1946–47 Boston Bruins NHL 5 1 4 — 343 16 0 2.80
1947–48 Boston Bruins NHL 5 1 4 — 317 20 0 3.79
1948–49 Boston Bruins NHL 5 1 4 — 316 16 0 3.04
NHL totals 68 32 36 — 4395 186 2 2.54

Awards

NHL
Award Year(s)
Calder Memorial Trophy 1939
NHL All-Star Game 1947, 1948
NHL First All-Star Team 1939, 1942
NHL Second All-Star Team 1940, 1941, 1943, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948
Stanley Cup 1939, 1941
Vezina Trophy 1939, 1942

References

  1. ↑ "Hockey Hall of Fame develops". The Ely Echo. 1972-12-13. p. 18. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  2. ↑ "Brimsek only 36 minutes from new hockey shutout record". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1938-12-21. p. 44. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 "One on one with Frank Brimsek". HHOF. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Fischler, Stan (2001). Boston Bruins: Greatest Moments and Players. Champaign, Illinois: Sports and Publishing LLC. p. 41. ISBN 1582613745.
  5. ↑ Carroll, Dink (1980-03-04). "U.S hockey gold stirs memory of Mr. Zero". The Montreal Gazette. p. 36. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  6. ↑ "Frank C. "Mr. Zero" Brimsek". United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  7. ↑ Taggart, Bert P. (1936-01-21). "Yellow Jacket players quite handy lot to have around, whether they're on ice skates or not". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 20. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Perlove, Joe (1945-10-17). "How Pittsburgh John out-witted (heels) of hockey!". Toronto Daily Star. p. 8. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  9. ↑ "U.S Hockey League to operate with 5 clubs". The Montreal Gazette. 1935-10-29. p. 13. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  10. ↑ "Ex-Jacket clears all but 17 shots". The Pittsburgh Press. 1937-12-10. p. 54. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  11. ↑ "Brimsek strong contender for coveted hockey trophy". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1938-12-20. p. 18. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  12. ↑ "Sport tabloids". The Bend Bulletin. 1938-11-25. p. 12. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  13. ↑ "Bruins march on as Frankie Brimsek gets his fourth shutout win". The Lewiston Daily Sun. 1938-12-13. p. 41. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 McNeil, Marc T. (1938-12-14). "Brimsek overcomes hostility of Boston's fandom". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Goldstein, Richard (1998-10-13). "Frankie Brimsek, 85, a Hall of Fame goalie". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Keane, Kerry (2003). Tales from the Boston Bruins. Champaign, Illinois: Sports and Publishing LLC. p. 23. ISBN 1582615659.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 "Frank Brimsek". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  18. ↑ "1938-39 NHL season summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  19. ↑ "Bruins-Rangers playoff history". The Boston Globe. 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  20. ↑ "Frankie Brimsek wins Vezina Trophy for second time". Lewiston Evening Journal. 1942-03-18. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  21. ↑ "Boston's famous "Kraut" Line to enter Royal Canadian Air Force". Ottawa Citizen. 1942-01-28. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  22. ↑ "Wings win Stanley Cup in four straight". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 1943-04-09. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  23. ↑ "Brimsek rated far over Mowers as goaltender". The Day. 1943-01-03. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  24. ↑ "Along the sport byways". Leader-Post. 1943-04-08. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  25. ↑ "Frank "Mr. Zero" Brimsek". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  26. ↑ "No travel hardship". The Montreal Gazette. 1946-04-09. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  27. ↑ "Canadiens defeat Bruins 6–3, to take Stanley Cup". Saskatoon Star Phoenix. 1946-04-10. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  28. ↑ "Bruins' goalie asks to be traded". The Pittsburgh Press. 1949-04-03. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  29. ↑ "Minnesota high school goalie award winners". Minnesota Hockey. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  30. ↑ "Pens blank Flyers". Sun Journal. 1994-02-14. Retrieved 2015-04-30.

External links

Preceded by
Cully Dahlstrom		 Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy
1939 		Succeeded by
Kilby MacDonald
Preceded by
Cecil Thompson		 Winner of the Vezina Trophy
1939 		Succeeded by
David Kerr
Preceded by
Turk Broda		 Winner of the Vezina Trophy
1942 		Succeeded by
Johnny Mowers