Shutout: The Legend of Terry Sawchuk

Raymond B. Blake is director of the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount
Allison University, the author of Canadians at Last: Canada Integrates
Newfoundland as a Province, and co-editor of Social Welfare Policy in
Canada: Historical Readings.

When Terry Sawchuk played his first season in the NHL in 1950 and won
the Calder Memorial Trophy as the League’s outstanding rookie,
goaltending was the most dangerous position on the team. Substandard
equipment and the absence of face masks left goaltenders highly
susceptible to injuries. The injury-plagued Sawchuk played in nearly a
thousand League games over 21 seasons and became the all-time shutout
leader. He captured the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender four times
and also led his team to the Stanley Cup four times.

This chronicle of Sawchuck’s short life (he died in 1970, at the age
of 40, from accidental injuries sustained in a fight with a teammate) is
splendid in detailing the professional side. We learn about the
goaltender’s initiation of the “crouch” position, about his
handling of injuries, and about his treatment by management. Off the
ice, Sawchuck was a loner who was often unpredictable and angry at the
world. Unfortunately, Kendall only teases the reader with hints about
the goaltender’s personal life. Nevertheless, this is one the best
hockey books of the year.