Hal Winkler

Harold Lang Winkler (March 20, 1894 – May 29, 1956) was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He played in the Western Canada Hockey League and National Hockey League between 1921 and 1928.

Biography Winkler started his professional hockey career with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hockey League in 1922. He would also play with the Calgary Tigers. In 1926, he moved to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. He would also play with the Boston Bruins who acquired him from the Rangers in a cash transaction on January 17, 1927.

According to Winkler's obituary in the May 31, 1956 edition of the Montreal Gazette, he was given the unflattering nickname "Baldy" because he had lost his hair at an early age. Winkler wore a modified baseball cap in goal partly because rival fans often threw objects at his hairless pate.

Winkler recorded 15 shutouts in 44 games for the Bruins in 1927–28. Despite the NHL's regular season almost doubling in length from what it was in 1927–28, Winkler's mark is still tied for second for most shutouts in a single NHL season (tied with 3 others). Winkler recorded two playoff shutouts for Boston during the 1927 Stanley Cup playoffs. Both games were scoreless ties.

During the 1957–58 season the Stanley Cup was redone. Winkler's name was added to the Stanley Cup as a member of the 1929 Bruins. He played the whole season in the minors, as teams carried only one goaltender the backup goaltender would play for the teams minor league affiliate, for Winkler this was the Minneapolis Millers the Boston Bruins minor league team in the AHA.

His death at age 62 (wrongly reported as age 64 in the Montreal Gazette), came after "a lengthy illness." Winkler died at the Winnipeg General Hospital.

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 1913–14 Winnipeg Winnipegs MHL 8 2 6 0 480 47 0 5.87 — — — — — — — — 1914–15 Winnipeg Winnipegs MHL 6 — — — 300 51 0 8.50 — — — — — — — — 1915–16 Winnipeg 61st Battalion MHL 1 1 0 0 60 4 0 4.00 — — — — — — — — 1916–17 Winnipeg Monarchs MHL 8 3 5 0 480 46 0 5.75 — — — — — — — — 1917–18 Winnipeg Ypres MHL 8 6 2 0 480 29 0 3.63 1 1 0 0 60 0 1 0.00 1917–18 Winnipeg Ypres Al-Cup — — — — — — — — 4 3 1 0 240 9 1 2.25 1918–19 Brandon Elks MHL 9 5 4 0 540 49 0 5.41 — — — — — — — — 1919–20 Moose Jaw Maple Leafs SSHL 12 9 3 0 730 40 0 3.29 2 2 0 0 120 4 0 2.00 1920–21 Saskatoon Crescents SSHL 16 10 6 0 960 49 2 3.06 4 2 2 0 240 14 0 3.50 1921–22 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 14 10 4 0 831 33 1 2.38 2 0 1 1 120 3 0 1.50 1922–23 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 28 17 10 1 1738 87 1 3.00 — — — — — — — — 1922–23 Edmonton Eskimos St-Cup — — — — — — — — 2 0 2 0 123 3 0 1.46 1923–24 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 26 9 13 4 1655 69 1 2.50 — — — — — — — — 1924–25 Calgary Tigers WCHL 28 17 11 0 1680 80 2 2.86 2 0 1 1 120 3 0 1.50 1925–26 Calgary Tigers WHL 30 10 17 3 1874 80 6 2.56 — — — — — — — — 1926–27 New York Rangers NHL 8 3 4 1 473 13 2 1.65 — — — — — — — — 1926–27 Boston Bruins NHL 23 12 9 2 1445 40 4 1.66 8 2 2 4 520 13 2 1.50 1927–28 Boston Bruins NHL 44 20 13 11 2780 70 15 1.51 2 0 1 1 120 5 0 2.50 1928–29 Minneapolis Millers AHA 34 17 7 10 2144 35 14 0.98 4 1 3 0 240 7 0 1.75 1929–30 Seattle Eskimos PCHL 36 15 13 8 2160 58 9 1.61 — — — — — — — — 1930–31 Boston Tigers Can-Am 10 3 7 0 610 32 0 3.15 — — — — — — — — WCHL/WHL totals 126 63 55 8 7778 349 11 2.69 4 0 2 2 240 6 0 1.61 NHL totals 75 35 26 14 4698 123 21 1.57 10 2 3 5 670 18 2 1.61

Awards and achievements WCHL All-Star Team (1923)