Archive: In 1972, Star Goaltender Cheevers Was Thriving With Bruins

In 1972, Boston Bruins goaltender Gerry Cheevers was a key component of his team's success. And in this story from THN's archive, writer Tom Monahan shone the spotlight on Cheevers.

The Boston Bruins have been an elite goalie factory in recent years, and in this feature story from The Hockey News’ April. 7, 1972 edition (Volume 25, Issue 27), writer Tom Monahan profiled iconic Bruins netminder Gerry Cheevers.

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Cheevers had a huge impact on the Bruins, playing in Boston for parts of seven NHL seasons before he departed for the World Hockey Association’s Cleveland Crusaders in 1972-73. Cheevers was a passionate player, but he never concerned himself with individual glory.

“I don’t worry about records or shutouts or whether I’m playing good or bad,” Cheevers told Monahan. “I just look to see if we have more goals for us than we have against us.”

After three-and-a-half seasons with Cleveland, Cheevers returned to the Bruins in the 1975-76 campaign, and playing his final four full seasons in Boston before retiring in 1980. A two-time Stanley Cup champion, Cheevers’ legacy is cemented in hockey history. And in 1972, Bruins coach Tom Johnson put Cheevers at the very top of the league’s elite goalies.

“I honestly believe,” Johnson said, “there isn’t a better or more consistent goalie in the league than Cheevers. I do think he does what comes naturally to him. Take Ken Dryden of Montreal, he has won a lot of games for Montreal since he came into the league but he still hasn’t done what Cheevers has done for us this year.

“And I know that Gerry doesn’t have any idea that he had gone through 30 games without a loss. But he knows what the standings are and he always knows what the score is.”

By Tom Monahan

April 7, 1972

BOSTON – They say facetiously around the Bruins’ dressing room that no one ever taught Gerry Cheevers how to be a goaltender. The word is that someone helped him on with the tools of ignorance, pointed him towards the cage, and that was it.

But for the fact that the Bruins drafted him from Toronto in 1965 after Punch Imlach tried to hide him as a forward, there would be some basis for the fabrication.

Cheevers’ record of 30 games without a loss from Nov. 10 through March 19 has been Something to marvel at.

But the 31-year-old native of St. Catharines, Ont. actually believes he is doing just what comes naturally.

“I just go out there to try to stop as much rubber as I can,” says the witty and apparently nerveless Cheevers.

“I don’t worry about records or shutouts or whether I’m playing good or bad. I just look to see if we have more goals for us than we have against us.”

It can’t be said that Cheeveres is exaggerating on this because his record shows that he will win by a shutout, by one goal or as many as four as he did turning back Minnesota for his 23rd victory against the North Stars.

And it is for this reason that coach Tom Johnson decided to break his rotation of Cheevers with Eddie Johnston last week when the Bruins seemed a bit shaky and the veteran Johnston was bothered by a cold.

“I honestly believe,” said the coach, “there isn’t a better or more consistent goalie in the league than Cheevers.

“I do think he does what comes naturally to him. Take Ken Dryden of Montreal, he has won a lot of games for Montreal since he came into the league but he still hasn’t done what Cheevers has done for us this year.

“And I know that Gerry doesn’t have any idea that he had gone through 30 games without a loss. But he knows what the standings are and he always knows what the score is.”

It has been written before that Cheevers is one of the Bruins real assets when the opposition is pressing because of his ability to clear the puck and to get it to an open teammate.

And his technique of flipping the puck over the dasher to cause a halt in play influenced an experiment with the rules to prevent such action.

The experiment didn’t pan out and Cheevers and every other goalie in the league still will force a whistle when necessary.

But Cheevers is the first to point out that his success with the Bruins is directly attributable to the men in front of him.

“The way our guys skate and check and play defense,” makes it easy for a goal-tender to be relaxed,” he says.

“You know when you are facing from 40 to 50 shots a game, it’s a lot different that 25 or 35.

“It makes it a lot easier to grow old gracefully when you are playing with a team like the Bruins in front of you.”

But it’s also nice for the Bruins to know that age and grace are not synonymous when Cheevers is in the nets.

The Hockey News Archive is a treasure trove collection of more than 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively produced for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until this day. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com