Editing Gerry Cheevers (section)

==Playing career==
Cheevers's hockey career began in 1956 at the age of 16 when he played for the [[Toronto St. Michael's Majors|St. Michael's Majors]] of the [[Ontario Hockey Association]].

The right to sign him to an NHL contract was held by the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] (with whom he played two games) until the [[Boston Bruins]] drafted him in 1965, despite Toronto general manager [[Punch Imlach]] trying to slip Cheevers through unselected by listing him as a forward.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Monahan |first1=Tom |title=B'S CHEEVERS RANKED AS MOST CONSISTENT OF ALL NHL GOALIES |url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/archive-in-1972-star-goaltender-cheevers-was-thriving-with-bruins |publisher=The Hockey News |access-date=April 14, 2024 |date=April 7, 1972}}</ref> In the [[1964–65 AHL season|1964–65]] season he won 48 games in leading the Rochester Americans to their first [[Calder Cup]] championship, becoming the final goaltender in league history to play every game (coincidentally, he did this one season after his future Bruins teammate [[Eddie Johnston]] was the final goaltender to do so in the NHL). Cheevers still holds the AHL record for most victories in a season by a goaltender.

He was claimed [[1965–66 AHL season|that offseason]] by the Boston Bruins in the [[1965 NHL Intra-League Draft|Intra-League Draft]] and saw his first action with the Bruins [[1965–66 Boston Bruins season|in the 1966 season]], although he spent the bulk of the next two years with the Bruins' farm club, the [[Oklahoma City Blazers (1965–1977)|Oklahoma City Blazers]] of the [[Central Professional Hockey League]].

With [[1967 NHL expansion|the six-team expansion]] in 1967, and the Bruins losing goaltenders [[Bernie Parent]] and [[Doug Favell]] to the expansion [[Philadelphia Flyers]], Cheevers became the number one goaltender in Boston for the next five seasons.

He was a member of both the [[1969–70 NHL season|1970]] and [[1971–72 NHL season|1972]] [[Stanley Cup]] winning teams, gaining a reputation as a driven, "money" goaltender. Cheevers held the Boston Bruins' record for most playoff wins by a goaltender (with 53) until it was surpassed by [[Tuukka Rask]] in 2021.  Cheevers had held the record since 1977 when he surpassed Frank Brimsek's mark of 32.

In [[1971–72 NHL season|1972]], he went undefeated in 32 consecutive games, an NHL record that still stands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://beta.thescore.com/news/457792|title=This Day in Hockey History|publisher=The Score|date=March 19, 2014 |access-date=March 24, 2014 |first=Ian|last=McLaren}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/14/sports/no-headline-230307.html|title=Bruins Keep Rolling |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 14, 1983|access-date=March 2, 2014}}</ref>

In the [[1972–73 WHA season|fall of 1972]], he jumped to the fledgling [[World Hockey Association]], where he played three and a half seasons for the [[Cleveland Crusaders]]. He made the First All-Star Team in [[1972–73 WHA season|1973]] and Second All-Star Team in [[1973–74 WHA season|1974]] and [[1974–75 WHA season|1975]]. He finished 2nd in league [[Gordie Howe Trophy|MVP voting]] in the 1972-73 season.<ref>https://newspaperarchive.com/post-herald-jun-08-1973-p-3/</ref> In 1974, he played seven of the eight games for Team Canada in the [[1974 Summit Series]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Summit in 1974: Team Canada Players|url=http://www.chidlovski.net/1974/74_playersca.asp?playerid=ca30|access-date=2021-04-30|website=www.chidlovski.net}}</ref> Cheevers sat out the third game since his father was gravely ill in hospital.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gerry Cheevers expects to complete series|last=Proudfoot|first=Jim|author-link=Jim Proudfoot (journalist)|date=September 23, 1974|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-1974-summit-series/146472208/|access-date=May 2, 2024}}</ref>

Cheevers returned to the Bruins during the [[1975–76 NHL season|1975–76 season]] after a financial dispute with the Crusaders' management. In the [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80 season]] Cheevers and [[Gilles Gilbert]] were runners-up for the [[Vezina Trophy]], which was won by [[Don Edwards (ice hockey)|Don Edwards]] and [[Bob Sauvé]] of the [[Buffalo Sabres]]. He retired at the end of that season.

Cheevers had a career NHL [[goals against average]] of 2.89, recorded 230 NHL wins, played in 419 NHL games, and registered 26 NHL shutouts. He is second in the WHA's history in career GAA and shutouts, even though he played during only half the league's existence. If one combines both their NHL and WHA statistics, Gerry Cheevers (329), [[Mike Liut]] (325), and [[Bernie Parent]] (304) all would have at least 300 wins. Cheevers was inducted into the [[Hockey Hall of Fame]] in 1985, and is one of the few goaltenders in the Hall to have never been named to the All-Star Team or won the Vezina Trophy in the [[National Hockey League]].

===Style===
Cheevers was not afraid to stray from the crease to cut down the shooter's angle or to act as a "third defenseman". He was very aggressive with opposing players who strayed into or near the crease and was not afraid to hit opposing players with his goalie stick if they got too close to the crease.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Not a "stand-up" goalie, Cheevers could often be found on his knees or even his side. He perfected this "flopping" style while playing for Rochester during the 1962–63 season. Americans' coach Rudy Migay had Cheevers practice without his stick, thus requiring him to rely more on using his body and his pads.

[[File:Gerry Cheevers Mask.jpg |thumb|right|200px|Cheevers wearing his distinctive mask with the [[Boston Bruins]] in 1980]]

===Mask===
Cheevers was inspired to create his distinctive stitch pattern [[Goaltender mask|mask]] when a puck hit him in the face during practice. Cheevers, never one to miss an opportunity to skip out of practice, went to the [[dressing room]]. Bruins coach [[Harry Sinden]] followed him to the dressing room, where he found Cheevers enjoying a beer and smoking a cigarette. Annoyed, Sinden ordered Cheevers, who wasn't injured, to get back on the ice. In jest, John "Frosty" Forristall, the Bruins' assistant trainer, drew a stitch mark on his mask, which amused the team.<ref name="O'Reilly">{{cite news|last1=O'Reilly|first1=Terry|title=The Crazy World of Trademarks |url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/the-crazy-world-of-trademarks-1.3918789 |access-date=January 7, 2017 |work=Under the Influence|agency=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]|publisher=[[CBC Radio]]|date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> After that, any time he was similarly struck, he had a new stitch-mark drawn on his mask. Cheevers later claimed that the mask spared him from over 150 medical stitches over his career and was the first to be custom decorated in the sport.<ref name="O'Reilly"/> The mask became one of the most recognized of the era, and the original is now on the wall of his grandson's bedroom.

Years later, goalie [[Steve Shields (ice hockey)|Steve Shields]] paid tribute to Cheevers when he played for the Bruins in 2002 and 2003, sporting a modern airbrushed version of the stitch-covered mask.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/050210&num=3 |title=Masked Marvels |access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> In 2008, ''[[The Hockey News]]'' rated his mask the greatest ever by a wide margin. It received 221 of a possible 300 points; [[Gilles Gratton]]'s mask was rated second with 66.

Cheevers's mask design has appeared in rock-n-roll culture. [[Black Veil Brides]]' lead singer [[Andy Biersack]] cited it as the reason he got interested in hockey and played goalie when he was younger. In homage to Cheevers, Biersack painted stitches on his face for live shows.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/thelife/music/news/story?id=5987025 |title=Hockey, music part of singer's makeup |date=January 4, 2011 |access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>

===Publications===
In 1971, Cheevers published the book ''Goaltender'', detailing his experiences during the 1970–71 season, through to the unexpected loss in the first round to the underdog [[Montreal Canadiens]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Goaltender |publisher=Dodd Mead|oclc = 70356023}}</ref>