{"id":205141,"date":"2025-09-06T14:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/205141\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T14:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:05:11","slug":"hall-of-fame-canadiens-goaltender-ken-dryden-dies-of-cancer-at-age-78","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/205141\/","title":{"rendered":"Hall of Fame Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden dies of cancer at age 78"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ken Dryden, the Hall of Fame goaltender who helped the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> win six Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s, has died after a fight with cancer. He was 78.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens announced the death early Saturday<\/a>, saying Dryden\u2019s family asked for privacy. A team spokesperson said a close friend of Dryden\u2019s appointed by the family contacted the organization, adding he died peacefully Friday at his home.<\/p>\n

\u201cKen Dryden was an exceptional athlete, but he was also an exceptional man,\u201d Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said. \u201cBehind the mask he was larger than life. We mourn today not only the loss of the cornerstone of one of hockey\u2019s greatest dynasties but also a family man, a thoughtful citizen and a gentleman who deeply impacted our lives and communities across generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dryden backstopped the NHL\u2019s most successful franchise to championships in seven of his eight seasons in the league from 1970-71 to \u201978-79. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, the Vezina as the best goalie five times and the Conn Smythe once as playoff MVP, while being a six-time All-Star.<\/p>\n

\"KenMontreal Canadiens alumni Ken Dryden in Montreal, Canada, in 2024.Minas Panagiotakis \/ Getty Images file<\/p>\n

\u201cKen embodied the best of everything the Montreal Canadiens are about,\u201d Molson said.<\/p>\n

Dryden, from Hamilton, Ontario, played three seasons at Cornell University from 1966-69, leading the Big Red to the 1967 NCAA title. He also was a cornerstone of Canada\u2019s 1972 Summit Series team that defeated the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on social media<\/a> he was \u201cdeeply saddened to learn of the passing of the Hon. Ken Dryden, a Canadian hockey legend and hall of famer, public servant and inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFew Canadians have given more, or stood taller, for our country,\u201d Carney said. \u201cKen Dryden was Big Canada. And he was Best Canada. Rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dryden entered the NHL in 1971 and spent just six games in the crease before making his NHL postseason debut. He and Montreal went on to upset rival Boston in the first round and beat Chicago in the final.<\/p>\n

At 6-foot-4, he revolutionized the position. He also worked at a Toronto firm while sitting out the 1973-74 NHL season \u2014 after previously earning a law degree at Montreal\u2019s McGill University.<\/p>\n

He ended his playing days at 32, went into broadcasting and wrote \u201cThe Game,\u201d one of the best known books about the sport, after publishing \u201cFace-off at the Summit\u201d as part of an accomplished career as an author.<\/p>\n

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.<\/p>\n

Dryden is survived by wife Lynda and their two children.<\/p>\n

Brother Dave Dryden was a longtime NHL and WHA goalie. He died in 2022 at the age of 81.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ken Dryden, the Hall of Fame goaltender who helped the Montreal Canadiens win six Stanley Cup titles in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":205142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-205141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-nhl","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115157737714487727","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}