Eddie Giacomin obit

Giacomin dies at 86, entered Hockey Hall of Fame with Class of 1987

Goalie won 290 NHL games, Rangers retired his No. 1 in 1989

 He was not on the list.

Ed Giacomin, a Hockey Hall of Fame goalie who played most of his NHL career for the New York Rangers, died Monday at the age of 86.

Giacomin retired from the NHL after the 1977-78 season with 290 wins and 54 shutouts in 610 regular-season games. He entered the Hall of Fame with the Class of 1987, and the Rangers retired his No. 1 on March 15, 1989.

"The National Hockey League mourns the passing of a true original, Hockey Hall of Famer and beloved New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings goaltender Eddie Giacomin," the NHL said in a statement. "One of the first stickhandling goaltenders, Giacomin backstopped the Rangers' surge to the NHL's upper echelon in the early 1970s, reaching four straight semifinals and the Stanley Cup Final in 1972.

"A six-time NHL All-Star who also led the League in games played four straight seasons, Giacomin routinely heard chants of 'Ed-die! Ed-die!' from adoring Madison Square Garden crowds and had his No. 1 retired by the franchise in 1989. We send our condolences to Eddie's family, friends and the many fans he thrilled throughout his memorable career."

Giacomin played for Clinton, Washington and New York of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EHL), and Montreal of the Eastern Professional Hockey League, followed by five seasons with Providence of the American Hockey League from 1960-65. Providence traded him to the Rangers on May 18, 1965, and he went 8-20 with six ties for last-place New York and was demoted to Baltimore of the AHL for seven games.

The following season, Giacomin led the NHL in wins (30) and shutouts (nine), was named an NHL First-Team All-Star and helped the Rangers make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1962. He was named an All-Star five straight times between 1967 and '71 and teamed with Gilles Villemure to win the Vezina Trophy in 1970-71, when the Rangers allowed the fewest goals during the regular season.

Giacomin and the Rangers advanced to the 1972 Stanley Cup Final, a six-game loss to the Boston Bruins. New York lost the 1973 and '74 Semifinals and was upset by the third-year New York Islanders in the 1975 Preliminary Round. The Rangers placed Giacomin on waivers, and he was claimed by the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 31, 1975.

Two nights later, Giacomin returned to Madison Square Garden as a visiting player for the first time. The Red Wings defeated the Rangers 6-4 with fans chanting "Eddie, Eddie" throughout the game. He played three seasons with Detroit before retiring Jan. 17, 1978, finishing 290-209 with 96 ties, a 2.82 goals-against average, .902 save percentage and 54 shutouts.

"Eddie Giacomin was an integral member of the New York Rangers for a decade and personified what being a Ranger is all about, both to his teammates and the Blueshirts faithful," the Rangers said in a statement. "You cannot discuss the history of this organization and not immediately think of Eddie.

"The great Rod Gilbert called him the heart of their team, and we cannot think of a greater honor to bestow on one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play the game. Our thoughts are with Eddie's family, friends and teammates during this incredibly difficult time."

Giacomin began his professional career in 1959 when he played four games for the Washington Presidents of the Eastern Hockey League. The Eagles had originally sought his brother Rollie, but work commitments meant he was unable to play, so suggested Eddie instead. Giacomin followed that with brief stints with the Clinton Comets in 1958–59 and 1959–60. Despite suffering serious burns in a kitchen accident, Giacomin made the roster of the Providence Reds in the 1960–61 season. In the Original Six days of the 1960s, with only six starting goaltending jobs in the NHL, positions were hard to obtain, and Giacomin starred for the Reds for five full seasons.

NHL teams, particularly the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers, began to express interest in Giacomin. New York traded three players and starting goaltender Marcel Paille to the Reds for Giacomin in 1965. He was impressive in his first month with the Rangers but faltered thereafter, and lost the starting job. The following season he improved markedly; he led the NHL in shutouts and backstopped the Rangers to their second playoff berth in nine seasons.

A classic stand-up goaltender and a skilled stick handler known for leaving the crease to play the puck, Giacomin was the Rangers' starting goaltender for the next nine seasons. He led the league in games played for four straight years from 1967 to 1970 and in shutouts in 1967, 1968 and 1971. In 1971 he shared the Vezina Trophy with teammate Gilles Villemure. Typical of his competitive nature, in a game in the 1971 playoffs against Chicago, when Bobby Hull skated over the back of his hand, Giacomin continued to play, and when the Rangers won the game, even the Black Hawks used the word "guts" to describe his determination. The Rangers went on to meet the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals in 1972, losing in a hard-fought six-game series.

Giacomin's effectiveness was reduced in 1975 by injuries. The following season, the Rangers got off to their worst start in ten years (they would miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade) and began to get rid of their high-salaried veterans, Giacomin among them. Many fans were angry when he was put on waivers and claimed by the Detroit Red Wings on October 29, 1975, as the result of a youth movement that resulted in John Davidson taking over in goal. The Red Wings' next game was in New York on November 2, and when Giacomin appeared on the ice in a Red Wing jersey, fans gave him a long-standing ovation and cheered for him throughout the game. Rangers fans booed their own team when they took shots or scored on Giacomin, and chanted Giacomin's name throughout the match, which he won for the Red Wings. The evening was voted one of the 50 greatest moments in MSG history.

He played three respectable seasons for Detroit before a youth movement took over. During this time, Eddie helped a hockey writer and sports journalist Hugh Delano write a biography about his life and career titled `Eddie, A Goalie's Story' (Atheneum, 1976). He retired on January 17, 1978, with a career record of 289-208-97 and a 2.82 GAA.