Mike Vernon (ice hockey)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons of the same name, see Mike Vernon (disambiguation).
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Nickname(s) Vernie
Height
Weight		 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
167 lb (76 kg/11 st 13 lb)
Pro clubs Calgary Flames
Detroit Red Wings
San Jose Sharks
Florida Panthers
Born February 24, 1963 (1963-02-24) (age 45),
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
NHL Draft 1981 NHL Entry Draft, 1981
Calgary Flames
Pro career 1982 – 2002

Michael "Mike" Vernon (born 24 February 1963 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey player. Throughout his 21-year National Hockey League career, he played as a goaltender for the Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and the Florida Panthers. He won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Flames in 1989 and then again in 1997 with the Red Wings, where he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He retired in 2002.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Mike Vernon was drafted 56th overall at the 1981 Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames after percolating through the Calgary junior hockey system, where he starred for the WHL's Calgary Wranglers and for the Flames' minor league affiliates. He was added to the roster of the Portland Winter Hawks in the 1983 Memorial Cup Championship Series against league champions Lethbridge (WHL), Oshawa (OHL) and Verdun (QMJHL). His performance during the series helped the Hawks become the first team from outside Canada to win the Cup, defeating Oshawa 8–3 in the final. He was awarded the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the outstanding goaltender for the series.

After turning professional, he spent most of the next three seasons with the Flames's top minor league affiliates in Colorado and Moncton before getting called up for good in January 1986. Although he was initially called up to back-up incumbent Rejean Lemelin, Vernon's play down the stretch earned him the starting job for the playoffs. That spring, he backstopped the Flames to an upset victory over the hated Edmonton Oilers in the second round. The Flames eventually lost in the Final to the Montreal Canadiens and fellow rookie netminder Patrick Roy.

The following year, the Flames were beaten by the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round. Another playoff disappointment was to follow in the 1987–88 season where he won 39 games to help the Flames to the President's Trophy. However, their playoff campaign was prematurely ended by the Edmonton Oilers in the Smythe Division Final. Success was to come in the next season, however, as he led the Flames to the President's Trophy again with 117 points and to the 1989 Stanley Cup with three shutouts in the playoffs. It was also in the first round of that successful campaign that the hometown hero had his most famous moment, stopping the Vancouver Canucks's Stan Smyl on a breakaway in overtime of the deciding game. In the Final, Vernon and the Flames avenged their 1986 loss to Roy and the Canadiens, though Roy edged out Vernon for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender.

Although the Flames remained strong, they could not repeat their success. After failing to win another playoff series, Vernon was traded in 1994 to the Detroit Red Wings, where he helped them to the Stanley Cup finals in 1995. However, they were swept 4–0 by the New Jersey Devils. The 1995–96 season saw him help the Red Wings to 62 wins, an NHL record. They lost in the Conference Finals to Patrick Roy and the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.

In 1996–97, he found himself relegated to a backup role as Chris Osgood took over as the starting goaltender. However, he did earn his 300th NHL victory in March 1997 in a 6–5 overtime win over Colorado and his long-time nemesis, Patrick Roy. The game was punctuated by an enormous brawl, in which Vernon and Roy slugged it out against each other. Vernon was given the starting job in the playoffs, where he starred. In the Conference Final, Vernon and the Wings beat Roy and the Avalanche in six games to advance to the Final, where Detroit swept the Philadelphia Flyers. The Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup since 1955 and Vernon won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

The next season found Vernon playing for the San Jose Sharks as the Red Wings traded him, choosing to go with the young talent of Osgood (who helped Detroit repeat as Stanley Cup Champion). He helped them to the playoffs before being traded to the Florida Panthers in 1999, bringing them much-needed experience. After taking the Panthers to the playoffs, the Minnesota Wild franchise claimed him in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft, then turned around and traded him to Calgary and his second stint with the Flames. He played a further 59 games for the Flames, recording three shutouts, before announcing his retirement on 13 September 2002. Vernon has been eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame since 2005, but has yet to gain induction. He is currently the winningest eligible goalie that isn't in the Hall.

Vernon lives in the Elbow Park neighborhood of Calgary and maintains a home in Invermere, British Columbia.

He is married to Jane Vernon, and has 4 kids: Amelia, Will,

Mike Vernon's number 30 was retired by the Calgary Flames on February 6, 2007. Vernon became only the second player in franchise history to receive this honor. The ceremony was held at center ice and featured many members of the 1989 Stanley Cup winning team.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Records

Mike Vernon holds the following Calgary Flames franchise records:[2]

  • Most games played by a goaltender (526)
  • Most wins (262)
  • Most minutes played by a goaltender (29,649)
  • Most playoff games played by a goaltender (81)
  • Most playoff minutes played by a goaltender (4,773)
  • Most playoff wins (43)

[edit] Career statistics

  Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League   GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA   GP W L MIN GA SO GAA
1982–83 Calgary Flames NHL 2 0 2 0 100 11 0 6.60 - - - - - - -
1983–84 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 1 0 11 4 0 21.82 - - - - - - -
1985–86 Calgary Flames NHL 18 9 3 3 921 52 1 3.39 21 12 9 1229 60 0 2.93
1986–87 Calgary Flames NHL 54 30 21 1 2956 178 1 3.61 5 2 3 263 16 0 3.65
1987–88 Calgary Flames NHL 64 39 16 7 3565 210 1 3.53 9 4 4 515 34 0 3.96
1988–89 Calgary Flames NHL 52 37 6 5 2938 130 0 2.65 22 16 5 1381 52 3 2.26
1989–90 Calgary Flames NHL 47 23 14 9 2795 146 0 3.13 6 2 3 342 19 0 3.33
1990–91 Calgary Flames NHL 54 31 19 3 3121 172 1 3.31 7 3 4 427 21 0 2.95
1991–92 Calgary Flames NHL 63 24 30 9 3684 217 0 3.58 - - - - - - -
1992–93 Calgary Flames NHL 64 29 26 9 3732 203 2 3.26 4 1 1 150 15 0 6.00
1993–94 Calgary Flames NHL 48 26 17 5 2798 131 3 2.81 7 3 4 466 23 0 2.96
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 30 19 6 4 1807 76 1 2.52 18 12 6 1063 41 1 2.31
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 32 21 7 2 1855 70 1 2.26 4 2 2 243 11 0 2.72
1996–97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 33 13 11 8 1952 79 0 2.43 20 16 4 1229 36 1 1.76
1997–98 San Jose Sharks NHL 62 30 22 8 3564 146 5 2.46 6 2 4 348 14 1 2.41
1998–99 San Jose Sharks NHL 49 16 22 10 2831 107 4 2.27 5 2 3 321 13 0 2.43
1999–00 San Jose Sharks NHL 15 6 5 1 772 32 0 2.49 - - - - - - -
1999–00 Florida Panthers NHL 34 18 13 2 2019 83 1 2.47 4 0 4 237 12 0 3.04
2000–01 Calgary Flames NHL 41 12 23 5 2246 121 3 3.23 - - - - - - -
2001–02 Calgary Flames NHL 18 2 9 1 825 38 1 2.76 - - - - - - -
NHL Career Totals 781 385 273 92 44449 2206 27 2.98 138 77 56 8211 367 6 2.68

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Flames set to retire Mike Vernon's No. 30" Calgary Flames official website, November 29, 2006, retrieved December 1, 2006
  2. ^ "Mike Vernon franchise goaltending records" Calgary Flames official website, November 29, 2006, retrieved December 1, 2006
Preceded by
Joe Sakic		 Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy
1997		 Succeeded by
Steve Yzerman
Preceded by
Ed Belfour		 Winner of the Jennings Trophy
1996
(with Chris Osgood)		 Succeeded by
Martin Brodeur, Mike Dunham