Bill Durnan

William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1943 and 1950. He was one of the best goaltenders in his time, winning the Vezina Trophy for fewest goals allowed six times, being named First All-Star team as best goaltender six times, and helping the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup twice. Durnan retired in 1950, citing the stress of playing professional hockey. However, in his final season he suffered a severe laceration of the scalp, but was only sidelined 12 days and returned heroically for the playoffs. When the series was all but lost (down 0-3 to the Rangers), he stepped away from the game. He served as the captain of the Canadiens in 1948, the last goaltender to be allowed to do so. In 1964 Durnan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and in 2017 he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

Playing career Durnan entered the National Hockey League at the age of 27 and played only seven seasons, but accomplished much in his short NHL career. He won the Vezina Trophy for allowing the fewest goals against in each of his first four seasons, from 1943–44 to 1946–47, becoming the first to capture the award in four consecutive seasons. The Montreal Canadiens fared poorly in 1947–48 and Turk Broda of the Toronto Maple Leafs won it that year instead. Durnan and the Canadiens, however, returned to form the next two seasons, and he won the Vezina twice more, in 1948–49 and 1949–50. He was also selected to the First All-Star Team six times during his career, including four consecutive selections from 1944 to 1947.

During the 1947–48 season, Durnan served as the Canadiens' captain. However, he left the crease so often to argue calls that other teams claimed he was giving the Canadiens unscheduled timeouts. After the season, the NHL passed a rule barring goaltenders from performing as captain, known as the "Durnan Rule."

Durnan set a long-standing modern NHL record between February 26 and March 6, 1949, when he registered four consecutive shutouts and did not allow a goal over a span of 309 minutes, 21 seconds. This record stood until 2004, when Brian Boucher of the Phoenix Coyotes recorded five straight shutouts and 332 minutes, 1 second without being scored upon. Durnan was ranked 5th all-time in career wins, shutouts and GAA.

Durnan retired following the 1949–50 NHL season at the age of 34, due to injuries (severe scalp laceration and infection that turned into a staph infection throughout the playoffs and afterwards, after taking a shot in the eye in preseason and various other minor injuries; and the previous season suffering a severe knee injury that still hampered him 20 years after he retired) and being no longer able to stand the stress of playing professional hockey. He went into coaching, most notably with the Ottawa Senators of the QSHL in 1950–51, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen of the OHA in 1958–59.

Durnan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964. In 383 regular-season games, he recorded 208 wins, 112 losses, 34 shutouts and a 2.36 goals-against average. In 45 playoff games he had 27 wins, 12 losses, two shutouts and a 2.07 average. Before he entered the NHL he won the 1940 Allan Cup with the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils.

Playing style Durnan was an ambidextrous goalie, equally adept at catching and stickhandling with either hand; he wore gloves designed to let him switch hands instantly. He was a stand-up goaltender due to his relatively tall stature for his time.

Personal life Durnan was born and raised in Toronto. He was married to Mandy Durnan, originally Mandy Kant (born 1915).

Durnan died of kidney failure on October 31, 1972. He suffered from diabetes in his last years and his health had been failing steadily.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T Min GA SO GAA GP W L T Min GA SO GAA 1931–32 North Toronto Juniors TJHL 8 — — — 480 17 1 2.12 4 — — — 240 10 1 2.50 1932–33 Sudbury Wolves NOHA 6 — — — 360 6 2 1.00 2 — — — 120 4 0 2.00 1933–34 Toronto Torontos TIHL 11 — — — 660 21 4 1.91 1 0 1 0 60 5 0 5.00 1933–34 Toronto British Consol TMHL 15 12 2 1 910 31 1 2.04 5 0 2 3 350 21 0 3.60 1933–34 Toronto All-Stars TIHL 2 — — — 120 9 0 4.50 — — — — — — — — 1934–35 Toronto McColl TMHL 15 — — — 900 62 0 4.13 — — — — — — — — 1935–36 Toronto Dominions TMHL 1 0 1 0 60 6 0 6.00 — — — — — — — — 1936–37 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils NOHA 4 4 0 0 240 5 0 1.25 4 1 0 3 240 8 1 2.00 1937–38 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils NOHA 11 8 1 1 610 27 1 2.66 2 2 0 0 120 2 1 1.00 1937–38 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils Al-Cup — — — — — — — — 2 0 2 0 120 11 0 3.50 1938–39 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils NOHA 7 7 0 0 420 7 3 1.00 2 2 0 0 120 3 1 1.50 1938–39 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils Al-Cup — — — — — — — — 5 3 2 0 299 12 2 2.41 1939–40 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils Exhib. 6 — — — 360 12 1 2.00 2 2 0 0 120 3 1 1.50 1939–40 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils Al-Cup — — — — — — — — 17 14 1 2 1040 35 1 2.02 1940–41 Montreal Royals QSHL 34 — — — 2000 100 1 3.00 8 8 0 0 480 24 1 3.00 1940–41 Montreal Royals Al-Cup — — — — — — — — 14 8 5 1 850 49 1 3.46 1941–42 Montreal Royals QSHL 39 — — — 2340 143 0 3.67 — — — — — — — — 1942–43 Montreal Royals QSHL 31 — — — 1860 130 0 4.19 4 — — — 240 11 0 2.75 1943–44 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 38 5 7 3000 109 2 2.18 9 8 1 — 549 14 1 1.53 1944–45 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 38 8 4 3000 121 1 2.42 6 2 4 — 373 15 0 2.41 1945–46 Montreal Canadiens NHL 40 24 11 5 2400 104 4 2.60 9 8 1 — 581 20 0 2.07 1946–47 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 34 16 10 3600 138 4 2.30 11 6 5 — 720 23 1 1.92 1947–48 Montreal Canadiens NHL 59 20 28 10 3505 162 5 2.77 — — — — — — — — 1948–49 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 28 23 9 3600 126 10 2.10 7 3 4 — 468 17 0 2.18 1949–50 Montreal Canadiens NHL 64 26 21 17 3840 141 8 2.20 3 0 3 — 180 10 0 3.33 NHL totals 383 208 112 62 22,945 901 34 2.36 45 27 18 — 2871 99 2 2.07