Gilles Gilbert
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox ice hockey player
Gilles Gilbert (March 31, 1949 – August 6, 2023) was a Canadian professional goaltender in ice hockey who was drafted in the third round of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft from the London Knights. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars and Detroit Red Wings, but most notably for the Boston Bruins.
Playing career
Gilbert played in the 1961 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the junior Quebec Aces.[1]
Gilbert played in the NHL between 1969 and 1983 and retired with a 3.27 goals against average.
In net for the Minnesota North Stars, he surrendered Jean Beliveau's 500th career goal on February 11, 1971.[2]
In 1973-74, he was traded to the Bruins as a replacement for Gerry Cheevers who had gone to the World Hockey Association (WHA). Gilbert's arrival immediately boosted the Bruins while sinking the North Stars whose general manager was later fired as a result of that trade.[3] Gilbert played in the NHL All-Star Game, and helped the team to the Stanley Cup finals that year. The Bruins lost the Finals series 4-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers, but over these six games Gilbert played as brilliantly as his opposing counterpart Bernie Parent who was named playoff MVP.[4][5]
In the 1975–76 NHL season, Gilbert set the NHL record for most consecutive wins by a goaltender with 17, and finished with a 33-8-10 record for a .843 winning percentage in 55 games.[6]
From 1976 to 1980, he teamed with Gerry Cheevers to form one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL, being runners-up for the Vezina Trophy in 1980.
Gilbert recorded 17 playoff victories for Boston. As of 2019 he ranks sixth in all-time playoff wins among Boston goaltenders.
Gilbert was the Bruins goalie during the 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs semifinal game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, when Guy Lafleur tied the game after the infamous too many men penalty against Boston, and then Yvon Lambert scored the series-winning goal in overtime; Gilbert was still named the game's first star. Cheevers was benched after losing the first two games of the series, and Gilbert took over as the starter thereafter, overall being named the game's first star three times in the five games against Montreal. Montreal's Steve Shutt exclaimed of these performances that “Gilles Gilbert stood on his head. He was the reason they got to the seventh game”.[7][8]
Gilbert was in net for Detroit on February 11, 1982, when the Vancouver Canucks became the first team[9] with two successful penalty shots in the same game, as Thomas Gradin and Ivan Hlinka scored for the Canucks in the third period of a 4-4 tie.[10][11]
Post Playing Career
Gilbert was a pro scout and goaltending coach for the New York Islanders from 1996 to 2001.[12]
In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.[13]
Later life and death
Gilles Gilbert latterly resided in Quebec City.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". He died on August 6, 2023, at the age of 74.[14]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1966–67 | Trois-Rivières Reds | QJHL | 43 | 23 | 18 | 2 | 2540 | 188 | 1 | 4.44 | — | 14 | 9 | 5 | 850 | 65 | 0 | 4.59 | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Thetford Mines Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | 276 | 18 | 0 | 3.91 | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Trois-Rivières Reds | QJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | London Knights | OHA-Jr. | 37 | — | — | — | 2200 | 167 | 1 | 4.55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Iowa Stars | CHL | 39 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 2340 | 127 | 2 | 3.26 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | 245 | 14 | 0 | 3.43 | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | .846 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 17 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 931 | 59 | 0 | 3.80 | .889 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 218 | 11 | 0 | 3.03 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 41 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 2319 | 140 | 2 | 3.62 | — | 4 | 1 | 2 | 187 | 18 | 0 | 5.78 | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 22 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1320 | 67 | 2 | 3.05 | .904 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | .900 | ||
| 1973–74 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 54 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 3210 | 158 | 6 | 2.95 | .900 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 977 | 43 | 1 | 2.64 | .912 | ||
| 1974–75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 53 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 3029 | 158 | 3 | 3.13 | .893 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 188 | 12 | 0 | 3.83 | .859 | ||
| 1975–76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 55 | 33 | 8 | 10 | 3123 | 151 | 3 | 2.90 | .887 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 360 | 19 | 2 | 3.17 | .868 | ||
| 1976–77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2040 | 97 | 1 | 2.85 | .884 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 9.00 | .571 | ||
| 1977–78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 25 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1326 | 56 | 2 | 2.53 | .885 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 23 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 1254 | 74 | 0 | 3.54 | .869 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 314 | 16 | 0 | 3.06 | .901 | ||
| 1979–80 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 33 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 1933 | 88 | 1 | 2.73 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 11 | 24 | 9 | 2618 | 175 | 0 | 4.01 | .866 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 27 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 1478 | 105 | 0 | 4.26 | .849 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 20 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 1137 | 85 | 0 | 4.49 | .850 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 11 | 0 | 3.33 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 416 | 192 | 143 | 60 | 23677 | 1290 | 18 | 3.27 | .883 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 1919 | 97 | 3 | 3.03 | .895 | ||||
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References
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- ↑ https://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/hm.cgi?004hm
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- ↑ https://vault.si.com/vault/1974/05/27/jubilation-and-a-cup-in-philly Template:Bare URL inline
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- ↑ Bruins Announce “Historic 100” Ahead of All-Centennial Team Reveal https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/bruins-announce-historic-100-ahead-of-all-centennial-team-reveal
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External links
- Pages with script errors
- 1949 births
- 2023 deaths
- Adirondack Red Wings players
- Boston Bruins players
- Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players
- Detroit Red Wings players
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- London Knights players
- Minnesota North Stars draft picks
- Minnesota North Stars players
- 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
- Ice hockey people from Lanaudière
- New York Islanders coaches
- Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
- Canadian ice hockey coaches