Rogie Vachon
Age: 79
Rogatien Rosaire Vachon (born September 8, 1945) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He was the first Red Wing to break $1 million / year.
Montreal Canadiens (1967-71)
Vachon entered the National Hockey League in 1967 as a backup goaltender to Gump Worsley on the Montreal Canadiens. He played 11 games during the season, but it was in the playoffs that Vachon started to shine. Vachon played the majority of the games and led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Finals. They ended up losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Vachon now had a permanent spot on the Canadiens roster.
Vachon started the next season with 39 games played. He won 23 games, and won the Vezina Trophy with Worsley. They had a combined 2.26 GAA, the lowest since 1959. Montreal would win the Stanley Cup that season and the season after that. During the 1969-70 season, Worsley was traded to the Minnesota North Stars. Vachon got the top job, but the Canadiens ended up missing the playoffs. In November 1971, after losing his number one status to rookie Ken Dryden, Vachon demanded a trade and he was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Denis DeJordy, Dale Hoganson, Noel Price and Doug Robinson.
Los Angeles Kings (1971-78)
It was with the Kings that Vachon had his finest moments of his NHL career. He was runner-up for the 1975 Vezina Trophy. He was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1975 and in 1977. Vachon was named the team MVP four times between 1973 and 1977. In the 1976-77 season, he briefly became the first goaltender to be credited with a goal when the opposing New York Islanders scored on themselves during a delayed penalty; however, after video review, the goal was given to Vic Venasky after it was determined that Vachon was the second-to-last Kings player to touch the puck before it went in the net. Vachon also set many goaltending records in Kings history that still stand to this day. His number 30 was the first number retired by the Kings in a ceremony on February 14, 1985. He has since served in a variety of executive positions with the Los Angeles Kings organization.
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Canada | ||
Men's ice hockey | ||
Canada Cup | ||
1976 Canada | Ice hockey |
Canada Cup
In 1976, Vachon was named to represent Canada. Vachon, along with Gerry Cheevers, and Glenn Resch, were the goaltenders for the Canadian team. Vachon earned the top spot, and played in every game during the tournament. He achieved a record of 6 wins and 1 loss, with 2 shutouts and a 1.39 goals against average. His play helped Canada win the tournament, and he was named to the All-Star Team and was named Team MVP.
Later career
Vachon became a free agent following the 1977-78 season and signed with the Detroit Red Wings. In 1980, he was traded to the Boston Bruins, where he ended his career in 1982.
Legacy
Known for his great reflexes and quick glove hand, Vachon was considered one of the premier one-on-one goaltenders of his era. He never allowed a goal on a penalty shot in his entire career.
After retiring, Vachon served as general manager of the Kings from 1984 to 1992. He also served as interim head coach of the Kings on three separate occasions. He currently serves as a Royal Ambassador for the Kings organization.
Achievements
- Named to the QJHL First All-Star Team in 1966.
- Stanley Cup Championships in 1968, 1969, 1971 (with Montreal).
- Canada Cup Winner in 1976.
- Vezina Trophy Winner in 1968.
- Named to the Canada Cup All-Star Team in 1976.
- Named Team MVP during the 1976 Canada Cup.
- Played in 1973, 1975, 1978 NHL All-Star Games.
- Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1975, 1977.
Los Angeles Kings records
- Most career games played by a goaltender (389).
- Most minutes played (22,922).
- Most career wins (171). (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick on March 22, 2014)
- Most career losses (148).
- Most career ties (66) (shared with Kelly Hrudey).
- Most career shutouts (32) (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick on October 23, 2014).
- Season lowest GAA (2.24 in 1975) (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick with 1.95 GAA in 2011-2012 season)
- Most shutouts in a season (8 in 1977) (Surpassed by Jonathan Quick with 10 shutouts in 2011-2012 season)
Career statistics
Regular season
Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1963-64 | Montreal NDG Monarchs | MMJHL | 29 | — | — | — | 1740 | 71 | 4 | 2.45 | — |
1963-64 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 7 | — | — | — | 400 | 29 | 0 | 4.35 | — |
1964-65 | Thetford Mines Aces | QJHL | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 780 | 35 | 0 | 2.69 | — |
1964-65 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 14 | — | — | — | 840 | 58 | 0 | 4.14 | — |
1965-66 | Thetford Mines Aces | QJHL | 39 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 2340 | 117 | 2 | 3.00 | — |
1965-66 | Quebec Aces | AHL | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 601 | 30 | 0 | 3.00 | — |
1966-67 | Houston Apollos | CPHL | 34 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 2020 | 99 | 2 | 2.91 | — |
1966-67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 19 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 1137 | 47 | 1 | 2.48 | .915 |
1967-68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 39 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 2227 | 92 | 4 | 2.48 | — |
1968-69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 36 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 2051 | 98 | 2 | 2.87 | — |
1969-70 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 64 | 31 | 18 | 12 | 3697 | 162 | 4 | 2.63 | .917 |
1970-71 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 47 | 23 | 12 | 9 | 2676 | 118 | 2 | 2.64 | .914 |
1971-72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 12.00 | — |
1971-72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 28 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 1586 | 107 | 0 | 4.05 | — |
1972-73 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 52 | 22 | 20 | 10 | 3120 | 148 | 4 | 2.85 | .931 |
1973-74 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 65 | 28 | 26 | 10 | 3751 | 175 | 5 | 2.80 | — |
1974-75 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 54 | 27 | 14 | 13 | 3239 | 121 | 6 | 2.24 | .926 |
1975-76 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 51 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 3060 | 160 | 5 | 3.14 | .891 |
1976-77 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 68 | 33 | 23 | 12 | 4059 | 184 | 8 | 2.72 | .903 |
1977-78 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 70 | 29 | 27 | 13 | 4107 | 196 | 4 | 2.86 | .891 |
1978-79 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 50 | 10 | 27 | 11 | 2908 | 189 | 0 | 3.90 | .863 |
1979-80 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 59 | 20 | 30 | 8 | 3474 | 209 | 4 | 3.61 | .873 |
1980-81 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 53 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 3021 | 168 | 1 | 3.34 | .863 |
1981-82 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 38 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2165 | 132 | 1 | 3.66 | .861 |
NHL totals | 795 | 355 | 291 | 127 | 46,298 | 2310 | 51 | 2.99 | — |
Playoffs
Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1963-64 | Montreal NDG Monarchs | MMJHL | 18 | 12 | 6 | 1080 | 57 | 1 | 3.17 |
1963-64 | Montreal NDG Monarchs | M-Cup | 10 | 7 | 3 | 600 | 34 | 4 | 3.40 |
1964-65 | Thetford Mines Aces | QJHL | 5 | 1 | 4 | 300 | 30 | 0 | 6.00 |
1965-66 | Thetford Mines Aces | QJHL | 11 | 7 | 4 | 659 | 31 | 1 | 2.82 |
1966-67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 9 | 6 | 3 | 555 | 22 | 0 | 2.38 |
1967-68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 113 | 4 | 0 | 2.12 |
1968-69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 7 | 7 | 1 | 507 | 12 | 1 | 1.42 |
1973-74 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 4 | 0 | 4 | 240 | 7 | 0 | 1.75 |
1974-75 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | 199 | 7 | 0 | 2.11 |
1975-76 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 7 | 4 | 3 | 438 | 17 | 1 | 2.33 |
1976-77 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 9 | 4 | 5 | 520 | 36 | 0 | 4.15 |
1977-78 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 120 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 |
1980-81 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 164 | 16 | 0 | 5.85 |
1981-82 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
NHL totals | 48 | 23 | 23 | 2876 | 133 | 2 | 2.77 |
International play
- Played for Team Canada in the 1976 Canada Cup.
International
Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Canada | Can-Cup | 01 ! | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 432 | 10 | 2 | 1.39 |
Int'l Senior totals | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 432 | 10 | 2 | 1.39 |
Coaching record
Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
Los Angeles Kings | 1983-84 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | (59) | 5th in Smythe | (interim; returned to GM's role) |
Los Angeles Kings | 1987-88 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | (68) | 4th in Smythe | (interim; returned to GM's role) |
Los Angeles Kings | 1994-95 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | (41) | 4th in Pacific | Missed Playoffs |
Total | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 |