#27 - Ken Dryden

Ken Dryden (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #27)

Adjusted Stats

1970-1971  Mtl*       6 GP, 6-0-0, 1.000 win%, 344 min, 9 GA, 1.63 GAA
1971-1972  Mtl         67 GP, 41-8-16, .754 win%, 3995 min, 150 GA, 2.25 GAA
1972-1973  Mtl*       57 GP, 35-7-14, .750 win%, 3327 min, 117 GA, 2.12 GAA
1974-1975  Mtl         57 GP, 31-9-16, .696 win%, 3403 min, 137 GA, 2.42 GAA
1975-1976  Mtl*       64 GP, 43-10-8, .770 win%, 3670 min, 112 GA, 1.83 GAA
1976-1977  Mtl*       57 GP, 42-6-8, .821 win%, 3357 min, 111 GA, 1.99 GAA
1977-1978  Mtl*       53 GP, 38-7-7, .798 win%, 3148 min, 100 GA, 1.91 GAA
1978-1979  Mtl*       48 GP, 31-10-7, .719 win%, 2884 min, 97 GA, 2.02 GAA

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1970-1971   Mtl*      20 GP, 12-8, .600 win%, 1221 min, 56 GA, 2.75 GAA
1971-1972   Mtl        6 GP, 2-4, .333 win%, 360 min, 16 GA, 2.64 GAA
1972-1973   Mtl*      17 GP, 12-5, .706 win%, 1039 min, 44 GA, 2.56 GAA
1974-1975   Mtl        11 GP, 6-5, .545 win%, 688 min, 27 GA, 2.31 GAA
1975-1976   Mtl*      13 GP, 12-1, .923 win%, 780 min, 24 GA, 1.87 GAA
1976-1977   Mtl*      14 GP, 12-2, .857 win%, 849 min, 19 GA, 1.37 GAA
1977-1978   Mtl*      15 GP, 12-3, .800 win%, 919 min, 28 GA, 1.84 GAA
1978-1979   Mtl*      16 GP, 12-4, .750 win%, 990 min, 37 GA, 2.26 GAA

Career - 409 GP, 267-57-76, .784 win%, 24128 min, 833 GA, 2.07 GAA
Career-Highs - 67 GP (71-72); 43 wins (75-76); .821 win% (76-77); 3995 min (71-72); 1.83 GAA (75-76)
Avg. (7 seasons) - 58 GP, 37-8-11, .784 win%, 3398 min, 118 GA, 2.08 GAA
Peak Avg. (71-79) - 58 GP, 37-8-11, .784 win%, 3398 min, 118 GA, 2.08 GAA, 5 Cups

Playoff Career - 112 GP, 80-32, .714 win%, 6846 min, 251 GA, 2.20 GAA
Playoff-Highs - 12 wins (6 times); .923 win% (75-76); 1.37 GAA (76-77)

Accolades - 5 Vezina Trophies, Calder, 1 Conn Smythe
All-Star Teams - 5-time 1st-team, 1-time 2nd-team
6-time Stanley Cup Champion

I was writing this, with the idea that Ken Dryden was firmly in Level 4, an example of a guy who only gave us a certain glimmer of excellence before retiring too early to earn Level 5 status. But then I thought: what makes him that much different from Mike Bossy? And as I started typing out Dryden's statistics, I knew I had to change things...he's a Level 5 guy. The guy had more fucking TIES in his career than losses! I don't care if he played for a great team or not. That's insane.

Of course, because Ken Dryden is articulate, probing, intelligent and verbose, he's often derided in hockey circles as pretentious, elitist, a guy who talks on and on endlessly about simple things. So it's ironic that a man often accused of dragging out sentences, thoughts, paragraphs had one of the most comet-like careers in NHL history, tantalizingly brief yet undeniably brilliant. It's almost as if Dryden's career screams out to his critics "There, fuckheads. Was that quick enough for you?"

It's the greatest eight-year stretch any goalie has ever had, and probably ever will have. Dryden burst onto the scene in the 1971 playoffs, a huge, lanky goalie with solid reflexes, great athleticism and decent positioning. He had played in only six games in the regular season (winning all six, natch), but led the Canadiens to a stunning upset of the Orr/Esposito/Bucyk Bruins, who if not for Dryden could have won three championships in a row. Dryden won the Conn Smythe trophy and the first of what was to be many Cups.

He followed it up immediately with a Calder Trophy winning rookie campaign, then another Stanley Cup championship the following year. It seemed like they were going to be rewriting the record books with Dryden when it came to career wins, in both the regular season and the postseason. But for Dryden, while hockey was a passion that he loved, it was not the entirety of his world. He wanted to complete his law degree, and took a year off from the Canadiens (imagine a pro athlete doing this now) to finish studying outside of Quebec.

When Dryden came back, he and the Habs picked off right where he'd left off. After a year that fell short to the Flyers, the Canadiens began the greatest stretch of four years the game has seen from a team. Four straight Cups, almost always less than 15 losses in the regular season, and the intangible feeling that this was a team that was ahead of the entire competition (at least until late in their run, when the Islanders started to catch up).

Dryden is sometimes belittled historically because he played for such a great team (as if I haven't already gone over this with Brodeur, Plante, etc.). Yes, the 1970s Canadiens were probably the best defensive team ever assembled. But Dryden always played in an ultra-competitive era, when the Bruins, Flyers and Islanders could ice outstanding teams, and even the Sabres, Maple Leafs and Blues had decent squads. And as with other "great-team" goalies, when the big save was needed, it was almost always delivered.

Look, to me with Dryden it comes down to this: the guy played seven seasons. In all seven, he won 30+ games, and never lost more than 10. In five of the seven, he was considered the league's best goalie, in another one, the second-best. He played in eight playoffs, and won the Stanley Cup six times (this wasn't some Original Six run...Dryden needed 12 playoff wins each time). Was he lucky to be the #1 guy for a dynasty team? Yes. But isn't it odd that the year Dryden took off to finish his law degree, the Habs didn't win the Cup? And after Dryden retired, the Habs dynasty was over, even though all of the key components (except Cournoyer) were still there, and in many cases still at their peak. The Canadiens didn't win another championship until 1986, with a rookie goalie named Patrick Roy. So something about Dryden clicked with the Canadiens and kept them winning.

If it were close simply on the merits of his career, there's something else that would tip Ken Dryden to Level 5: he wrote The Game, hands-down the best hockey book I've read, one of the best sports books, and just a great book in its own right. Dryden's flowery language fits what he is describing perfectly: he simultaneously gets you familiar with the exact details of being a professional hockey player while adding a philosophical dimension to the pursuit of excellence, both individual and team, that the late-1970s Canadiens were involved in. The Game also serves as a great window into Dryden's mind, as he wrote it the year he had decided to retire. Dryden felt the excellence of the Habs, and of his own game, slipping away. They could have won more Stanley Cups, but Dryden measured their success against themselves, not against others. Other hockey players who ate, slept and breathed hockey would have stayed for six or seven more seasons, Dryden instead left the game he loved, having accomplished in seven seasons (and one additional playoffs) what only a hallowed few have ever accomplished in twice as long.