Terry Savchuk is a Canadian hockey goalkeeper of Ukrainian descent, distinguished by incredible reaction and speed. He played in the NHL from 1949 to 1970. Today Savchuk is recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in the history of the National Hockey League.
Goalkeeper childhood
Terry Savchuk was born in December 1929 in the Canadian city of Winnipeg in a family of emigrants from Ukraine. It is known that although his name was officially recorded as Terry, in the family circle he was called Taras.
When the boy was only ten, his eldest seventeen-year-old brother Mike, who played hockey and whom the coaches considered a promising goalkeeper, suddenly died of scarlet fever. Terry was shocked by this tragedy and at some point he decided to follow in Mike's footsteps. By the way, his first ammunition was precisely the ammunition left from the deceased brother.
First, Terry played in the junior league, then in the semi-professional. And at one time he had to combine a game of hockey with hard work in a company manufacturing metal sheets.
Career in the NHL
Terry made his debut in the NHL in 1949 as part of the Detroit Red Wings. Already in the first season, many paid attention to the unusual stance of the young goalkeeper - on bent legs and with his back inclined almost 90 degrees. No one knew that such a stance was due to his congenital illness - Terry felt severe pain when he tried to straighten to his full height.
For “Detroit Red Wings” Savchuk played until 1955, that is, 7 seasons. And during this period he managed to become the owner of the Stanley Cup three times (in 1952, 1954 and 1955).
From 1955 to 1957, Savchuk played in the Boston Bruins, and the next 7 years again in the Detroit Red Wings.
In the early sixties, an important change occurred with the goalkeeper - he began to play in the mask. Savchuk was forced to put on her by an incident that happened in a 1962 match against the Chicago Black Hawks. After a powerful blow from Chicago striker Bobby Hall, the puck flew right into Savchuk’s head and he suffered a severe concussion. It is worth noting that by this time Terry's whole face was literally mottled with scars. It is worth noting that he was not the first to speak in a mask. The first was Jacques Plant, who decided on this "unmanly, " as many journalists and spectators considered then, a step back in 1959.
From 1964 to 1967, Terry Savchuk played in the Toronto Maple Leafs. And it was in this club that Terry won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time. After that, he did not win any major trophies.
From 1967 to 1970, Terry Savchuk had to change his team several times: from 1967 to 1968 he played for the Los Angeles Kings, from 1968 to 1969 for the Detroit Red Wings, and from 1969 to 1970 for New York Rangers. " The last time he went on the ice on April 14, 1970. A few days later, the season for the “New York Rangers” came to an end, and the contract between Savchuk and the club management was terminated by mutual agreement.
In total, Terry spent 971 matches in the NHL and 447 of them ended in victory for his team. A 103 match, the famous goalkeeper defended completely “dry”, that is, did not miss a single goal. For over 39 years, Terry Savchuk was considered the champion in this indicator. Only in 2009, this record was broken by Martin Broder.
Personal life
In 1953, Terry Savchuk, he married Patricia Ann Bowman-Mori. From this marriage he had seven children.
Terry had a very difficult character, and it is not surprising that the couple often quarreled, separated and converged again. In the end, Terry’s progressive alcoholism and treason (he had a lot of "on the side" novels) forced Patricia to file for divorce. She took the children and left Terry alone. It happened in 1969.
