Greg Millen obit

Long-time goaltender, NHL broadcaster Millen passes away

 

He was not on the list.

Former NHL goaltender and longtime hockey broadcaster Greg Millen has died at 67.

The NHL Alumni Association announced his death Monday but did not provide a cause.

Millen spent 14 years in the NHL from 1978-92, playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.

The Toronto native was a sixth-round pick (102nd overall) in the 1977 NHL draft by the Penguins. Millen played in 604 career games, making 582 starts and recording a 3.88 goals-against average and a save percentage of .873.

"Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with Greg’s family at this very difficult time," the NHL Alumni Association said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"We are saddened by the loss of former Blues goaltender Greg Millen, who proudly wore the ‘Note from 1985-90. Our thoughts are with all Millen’s family, friends, and fans at this time," the St. Louis Blues said in a statement on X.

He immediately went into broadcasting following the conclusion of his career, covering the Ottawa Senators during their inaugural season in 1992-93.

"The Ottawa Senators were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Greg Millen, the first ever #Sens TV colour commentator and a beloved national broadcaster. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, as well as all of his fans who enjoyed both his hockey career and his part in so many historic game calls," the Senators said in a statement on X.

Millen was also a part of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and the NHL on Sportsnet. In all, he covered three Olympic Games, two World Cups of Hockey, 12 Stanley Cup finals and 12 NHL all-star games.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Greg Millen's family and friends following his passing today. After his 14-season NHL career, Greg went into broadcasting and we were so fortunate to have him as a part of our Flames Sportsnet family. Rest in peace, Millsy," the Calgary Flames said in a statement on X.

In a statement passing along its condolences on X, Sportsnet called Millen a "trusted and familiar voice in the homes of millions of Canadians for more than 30 years."

"It is with heavy hearts that we at Sportsnet mourn the passing of Greg Millen, a beloved figure in our hockey community and cherished member of our NHL on Sportsnet team. As both a player and broadcaster, Greg left an indelible mark on the sport, as well as everyone who had the pleasure to know him, watch him, and listen to him."

He played 14 seasons for six teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a colour commentator on Hockey Night in Canada and the NHL on Sportsnet, primarily covering the Calgary Flames.

The Toronto native was chosen 102nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft, while he was in the midst of a fine Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He had played for the Peterborough Petes in the OHA from 1974 to 1977. In 1978–79, he looked solid in 28 games as a rookie and became a fan favourite at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. Two years later, Millen won 25 games and nearly led his team to a first-round upset over the St. Louis Blues, losing the decisive fifth game in double overtime.

In spite of his post-season heroics, the Penguins allowed Millen to leave the club that summer. In June 1981, the Hartford Whalers signed him as a restricted free agent; the Penguins had the right to match the offer but their general manager, Baz Bastien, was on vacation and was unaware that Millen had signed, and as a result the deadline for the Penguins to match passed. In compensation, the Penguins received forwards Pat Boutette and Kevin McClelland.

With the Whalers, Millen pushed incumbent starter John Garrett into the backup role and logged a heavy workload. After playing in 55 games for the Whalers in 1981–82, Millen represented Canada at the 1982 Ice Hockey World Championships. In 1983–84, he led the NHL with 60 appearances, but he could not get the lowly Whalers into the post-season. During the 1984–85 season he was involved in a blockbuster trade that sent him to the St. Louis Blues with Mark Johnson for goaltender Mike Liut and forward Jörgen Pettersson.

In St. Louis, Millen formed a solid goalkeeping tandem with Rick Wamsley and helped the club reach the Conference Finals in 1986, where they were defeated in seven games by the Calgary Flames. During the Division Semifinal against the Minnesota North Stars, Millen started and won two games, including the series-clinching game 5. Then in the Division Final, St. Louis defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 games to 3. He posted a record of 4–2 and once again was in net for the series clincher. He played in two of the Campbell Conference final games as Wamsley was the starter for the rest. Wamsley was traded to Calgary during the 1987–88 season, making Millen the undisputed starter in St. Louis and he enjoyed his best year with the club the following year.[6] In 1988–89, Millen registered an NHL-high six shutouts along with 22 wins while making 52 starts, all highs for his Blues career.

The following year netminder Vincent Riendeau began taking a bigger share of the starts and with college free agent Curtis Joseph in the wings, Millen was being pushed out. On December 13, 1989, he was packaged with centre Tony Hrkac and traded to the lowly Quebec Nordiques in exchange for offensive defenceman Jeff Brown. Millen was shocked by the deal: "I was devastated. My family was just entrenched in St. Louis. We were involved with the community, and we really enjoyed St. Louis an awful lot."

With the Nordiques, Millen won only 3 of 18 starts while his goals against average ballooned to 5.28. Clearly unhappy and with the team in last place, Millen wanted out. He made it clear to the management that he had no intention of playing out his career in that kind of situation.[7] In March, the Nordiques included him in a package that saw Hall of Fame winger Michel Goulet leave the Nordiques in a six-player trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks goaltending tandem consisted of Jacques Cloutier and Alain Chevrier in 1989–90, but the day after Millen was acquired, Chevrier was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[9] Millen played ten games down the stretch for the Blackhawks and was in net when the playoffs started. Chicago coach Mike Keenan was quick to change up his netminders and that spring actually saw three different goalies (Millen, Cloutier and rookie Ed Belfour) start games, but Millen, with 15 appearances led the way as the Hawks advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Edmonton Oilers. The following season, Millen lost his starting job and nearly found himself out of the league altogether. Belfour took the starting job and ran with it playing 74 games and posting 43 wins and a stingy 2.24 goals against average. "Eddie answered the Bell," Millen explained. "He probably had as good a year I'd ever seen a goalie play in the NHL. It was a kick in rear for me, a little bit demoralizing." With Cloutier as Belfour's backup, and a Dominik Hašek now in the Chicago system, Millen was not only limited to just 58 minutes of game play in the entire season, but also his stint as a Blackhawk was over. In September 1991, Millen was traded to the New York Rangers for future considerations.

The Rangers were involved with prolonged contract negotiations with Mike Richter and they acquired Millen as an "insurance policy". The 1991–92 season started with Richter unsigned, so Millen was John Vanbiesbrouck's back-up for the first two games of the year. On October 7, the Rangers signed a new deal with Richter and Millen was assigned to the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League (IHL). After a five-game stint in the IHL, Millen was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season             Playoffs

Season Team            League            GP            W            L            T            MIN            GA            SO            GAA            SV%            GP            W            L            MIN            GA            SO            GAA            SV%

1973–74            Markham Waxers            OPJHL            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1974–75            Peterborough Petes            OMJHL          27            —            —            —            1584            90            2            3.41            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1975–76            Peterborough Petes            OMJHL          58            —            —            —            3282            233            0            4.26            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1976–77            Peterborough Petes            OMJHL          59            —            —            —            3457            244            0            4.23            —            4            —            —            240            23            0            5.75            —

1977–78            Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds            OMJHL          25            —            —            —            1469            105            1            4.29            —            13            —            —            774            61            0            4.73            —

1977–78            Kalamazoo Wings            IHL            3            —            —            —            180            14            0            4.67            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1978–79            Pittsburgh Penguins            NHL            28            14            11            1            1532            86            2            3.37            .888            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1979–80            Pittsburgh Penguins            NHL            44            18            18            7            2586            157            2            3.64            .881            5            2            3            300            21            0            4.20            .868

1980–81            Pittsburgh Penguins            NHL            63            25            27            10            3721            258            0            4.16            .864            5            2            3            325            19            0            3.51            .893

1981–82            Hartford Whalers            NHL            55            11            30            12            3201            229            0            4.29            .873            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1982–83            Hartford Whalers            NHL            60            14            38            6            3520            282            1            4.81            .863            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1983–84            Hartford Whalers            NHL            60            21            30            9            3583            221            2            3.70            .878            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1984–85            Hartford Whalers            NHL            44            16            22            6            2659            187            1            4.22            .855            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1984–85            St. Louis Blues            NHL            10            2            7            1            607            35            0            3.46            .870            1            0            1            60            2            0            2.00            .943

1985–86            St. Louis Blues            NHL            36            14            16            6            2168            129            1            3.57            .886            10            6            3            586            29            0            2.97            .911

1986–87            St. Louis Blues            NHL            42            15            18            9            2482            146            0            3.53            .873            4            1            3            250            10            0            2.40            .918

1987–88            St. Louis Blues            NHL            48            21            19            7            2854            167            1            3.51            .880            10            5            5            600            38            0            3.80            .849

1988–89            St. Louis Blues            NHL            52            22            20            7            3019            170            6            3.38            .880            10            5            5            649            34            0            3.14            .890

1989–90            St. Louis Blues            NHL            21            11            7            3            1245            61            1            2.94            .890            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1989–90            Quebec Nordiques            NHL            18            3            14            1            1080            95            0            5.28            .853            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1989–90            Chicago Blackhawks            NHL            10            5            4            1            575            32            0            3.34            .880            14            6            6            613            40            0            3.92            .867

1990–91            Chicago Blackhawks            NHL            3            0            1            0            58            4            0            4.14            .875            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1991–92            San Diego Gulls            IHL            5            2            3            0            296            20            0            4.05            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1991–92            Detroit Red Wings            NHL            10            3            2            3            487            22            0            2.71            .896            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —

1991–92            Maine Mariners            AHL            2            5            2            599            37            0            3.71            .868            —            —            —            —            —            —            —            —