Murray Bannerman

Murray Bannerman
Bannerman in 1985
Born	(1957-04-27) April 27, 1957 Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Vancouver Canucks Chicago Blackhawks
NHL draft	58th overall, 1977 Vancouver Canucks
WHA draft	88th overall, 1977 Winnipeg Jets
Playing career	1977–1988

Murray Bannerman (born April 27, 1957) is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender. He spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, though also briefly played for the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him in the 1977 NHL amateur draft.

Playing career

Bannerman was born in Fort Frances, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1969 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Winnipeg.

His NHL career started with the Vancouver Canucks in the 1977 season, where he played one period for the team. He spent most of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1983, he was a part of the Campbell Conference's roster at the 35th National Hockey League All-Star Game. Tony Esposito's backup for the early portion of his career, Bannerman finally got a chance to shine in the first round of the 1982 playoffs. He won his first two games-on the road-and powered his Chicago team to a series victory over the Minnesota North Stars. His career ended after the 1988 season.

He became the number one goaltender in Chicago the next season, with Esposito acting as his backup, and eventually tended goal twice in the NHL All-Star game for his yeoman work in the Chicago net. Bannerman was the 'player to be named later' when he came to Chicago in 1978. Pit Martin, once traded for Phil Esposito, was dealt by Chicago to Vancouver in 1977.

Bannerman sits fifth on the Blackhawks' all-time goaltender list with 116 wins and 288 games played. He finished with 3.83 goals against average and over 16,000 minutes played in a Chicago jersey. Bannerman is also fourth on the all-time Blackhawks' goaltender playoff statistics list with 20 wins and 40 games played.

Post-playing career

Murray resides and works in the Chicago area. He still follows the Hawks and has many great memories of his time wearing the Indianhead. He fondly recalls the intensity of the fans back at the old Chicago Stadium.

He also does periodic work for the Blackhawk Alumni Association.

As of 2019, Bannerman is the vice president of sales at the USA at Traffic Tech, Inc. a Montreal-based transportation and logistics provider.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	Min	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	T	Min	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1972–73	St. James Canadians	MJHL		31	—	—	—	1778	104	1	3.51	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	St. James Canadians	MJHL		17	—	—	—	930	69	0	4.45	.895		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Winnipeg Clubs	WCHL		6	—	—	—	258	29	0	6.74	.793		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Winnipeg Clubs	WCHL		28	3	12	5	1351	113	0	5.02	.847		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Assiniboine Park Monarchs	MJHL		8	—	—	—	480	22	1	2.75	.904		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		44	23	15	3	2450	178	1	4.36	.860		15	7	5	3	878	50	0	3.42	—
1976–77	Victoria Cougars	WCHL		67	—	—	—	3893	262	2	4.04	.893		4	—	—	—	234	20	0	5.13	.861
1977–78	Fort Wayne Komets	IHL		44	—	—	—	2435	133	1	3.28	—		6	—	—	—	335	26	0	4.66	—
1977–78	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		1	0	0	0	20	0	0	0.00	1.000		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1978–79	New Brunswick Hawks	AHL		47	22	14	5	2557	152	0	3.57	.881		3	1	1	—	122	10	0	4.92	—
1979–80	New Brunswick Hawks	AHL		61	32	20	5	3361	186	3	3.32	.874		17	10	6	—	1049	51	0	2.92	—
1980–81	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		15	2	10	2	863	62	0	4.31	.866		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1981–82	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		29	11	12	4	1667	116	1	4.18	.867		10	5	4	—	555	35	0	3.79	.886
1982–83	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		41	24	12	5	2457	127	4	3.10	.901		8	4	4	—	480	32	0	4.01	.866
1983–84	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		56	23	29	4	3326	188	2	3.39	.887		5	2	3	—	299	17	0	3.41	.900
1984–85	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		60	27	25	4	3364	215	0	3.84	.883		15	9	6	—	903	72	0	4.79	.868
1985–86	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		48	20	19	6	2680	201	1	4.50	.869		2	0	1	—	82	9	0	6.65	.775
1986–87	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		39	9	18	8	2053	142	0	4.15	.873		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Baltimore Skipjacks	AHL		41	6	21	5	2014	154	0	4.59	.865		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Saginaw Hawks	IHL		3	0	2	0	140	15	0	6.43	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				289	116	125	33	16,427	1051	8	3.84	.880		40	20	18	—	2319	165	0	4.27	.873

Awards and achievements

• MJHL Second All-Star Team (1973)
• MJHL top goaltender (1973)

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database