Rogie Vachon

Rogie Vachon
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2016
Rogie Vachon pictured in 2008 (photo by Mark Mauno)
Born	(1945-09-08) September 8, 1945 Palmarolle, QC, CAN
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	AHL Quebec Aces NHL Montreal Canadiens Los Angeles Kings Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins
National team	Canada
Playing career	1965–1982

Rogatien Rosaire Vachon (born September 8, 1945) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He was the first Red Wing to break $1 million/year.

Montreal Canadiens (1967–71)

Vachon entered the National Hockey League in 1967 as a backup goaltender to Gump Worsley on the Montreal Canadiens. He played 11 games during the season, but it was in the playoffs that Vachon started to shine. Vachon played the majority of the games and led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Finals. They ended up losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Vachon now had a permanent spot on the Canadiens roster. In a famous quote Punch Imlach, coach of the Leafs, called Rogie a Jr. B goaltender in an attempt to rattle Vachon during the Stanley Cup final.

Vachon started the next season with 39 games played. He won 23 games, and won the Vezina Trophy with Worsley. They had a combined 2.26 GAA, the lowest since 1959. Montreal would win the Stanley Cup that season and the season after that. During the 1969–70 season, Worsley was traded to the Minnesota North Stars. Vachon got the top job, but the Canadiens ended up missing the playoffs. In November 1971, after losing his number one status to rookie Ken Dryden, Vachon demanded a trade and he was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Denis DeJordy, Dale Hoganson, Noel Price and Doug Robinson.

Los Angeles Kings (1971–78)

It was with the Kings that Vachon had his finest moments of his NHL career. He was runner-up for the 1975 Vezina Trophy. He was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1975 and in 1977. Vachon was named the team MVP four times between 1973 and 1977. In the 1976–77 season, he briefly became the first goaltender to be credited with a goal when the opposing New York Islanders scored on themselves during a delayed penalty; however, after video review, the goal was given to Vic Venasky after it was determined that Vachon was the second-to-last Kings player to touch the puck before it went in the net. Vachon also set many goaltending records in Kings history that still stand to this day. His number 30 was the first number retired by the Kings in a ceremony on February 14, 1985. He has since served in a variety of executive positions with the Los Angeles Kings organization.

Rogie Vachon

Medal record
Representing Canada
Men's ice hockey
Canada Cup
	1976 Canada	Ice hockey

Canada Cup

In 1976, Vachon was named to represent Canada. Vachon, along with Gerry Cheevers, and Glenn Resch, were the goaltenders for the Canadian team. Vachon earned the top spot, and played in every game during the tournament. He achieved a record of 6 wins and 1 loss, with 2 shutouts and a 1.39 goals against average. His play helped Canada win the tournament, and he was named to the All-Star Team and was named Team MVP.

Later career

Vachon became a free agent following the 1977–78 season and signed with the Detroit Red Wings. In 1980, he was traded to the Boston Bruins, where he ended his career in 1982.

Legacy

Known for his great reflexes and quick glove hand, Vachon was considered one of the premier one-on-one goaltenders of his era. He never allowed a goal on a penalty shot in his entire career. After retiring, Vachon served as general manager of the Kings from 1984 to 1992. He also served as interim head coach of the Kings on three separate occasions. On June 27, 2016, Vachon was named as an Honored Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, along with fellow players Eric Lindros, Sergei Makarov, and coach Pat Quinn. He was inducted on November 14, 2016.

Achievements

• Named to the QJHL First All-Star Team in 1966.
• Stanley Cup Championships in 1968, 1969, 1971 (with Montreal).
• Canada Cup Winner in 1976.
• Vezina Trophy Winner in 1968.
• Named to the Canada Cup All-Star Team in 1976.
• Named Team MVP during the 1976 Canada Cup.
• Played in 1973, 1975, 1978 NHL All-Star Games.
• Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1975, 1977.
• Named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Players category in 2016.

Los Angeles Kings records

• Most career games played by a goaltender (389).
• Most minutes played (22,922).
• Most career losses (148).
• Most career ties (66) (shared with Kelly Hrudey).

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1963-64	Montreal NDG Monarchs	MMJHL		29	—	—	—	1740	71	4	2.45	—
1963–64	Montreal Jr. Canadiens	OHA-Jr.		7	—	—	—	400	29	0	4.35	—
1964-65	Thetford Mines Aces	QJHL		13	10	3	0	780	35	0	2.69	—
1964-65	Montreal Jr. Canadiens	OHA-Jr.		14	—	—	—	840	58	0	4.14	—
1965-66	Thetford Mines Aces	QJHL		39	25	13	1	2340	117	2	3.00	—
1965–66	Quebec Aces	AHL		10	6	4	0	601	30	0	3.00	—
1966–67	Houston Apollos	CPHL		34	17	12	5	2020	99	2	2.91	—
1966–67	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		19	11	3	4	1137	47	1	2.48	.915
1967–68	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		39	23	13	2	2227	92	4	2.48	—
1968–69	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		36	22	9	3	2051	98	2	2.87	—
1969–70	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		64	31	18	12	3697	162	4	2.63	.917
1970–71	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		47	23	12	9	2676	118	2	2.64	.914
1971–72	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		1	0	1	0	20	4	0	12.00	—
1971–72	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		28	6	18	3	1586	107	0	4.05	—
1972–73	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		52	22	20	10	3120	148	4	2.85	.931
1973–74	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		65	28	26	10	3751	175	5	2.80	—
1974–75	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		54	27	14	13	3239	121	6	2.24	.926
1975–76	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		51	26	20	5	3060	160	5	3.14	.891
1976–77	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		68	33	23	12	4059	184	8	2.72	.903
1977–78	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		70	29	27	13	4107	196	4	2.86	.891
1978–79	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		50	10	27	11	2908	189	0	3.90	.863
1979–80	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		59	20	30	8	3474	209	4	3.61	.873
1980–81	Boston Bruins	NHL		53	25	19	6	3021	168	1	3.34	.863
1981–82	Boston Bruins	NHL		38	19	11	6	2165	132	1	3.66	.861
NHL totals				795	355	291	127	46,298	2310	51	2.99	—

Playoffs

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1963-64	Montreal NDG Monarchs	MMJHL		18	12	6	1080	57	1	3.17
1963-64	Montreal NDG Monarchs	M-Cup		10	7	3	600	34	4	3.40
1964-65	Thetford Mines Aces	QJHL		5	1	4	300	30	0	6.00
1965-66	Thetford Mines Aces	QJHL		11	7	4	659	31	1	2.82
1966–67	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		9	6	3	555	22	0	2.38
1967–68	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		2	1	1	113	4	0	2.12
1968–69	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		7	7	1	507	12	1	1.42
1973–74	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		4	0	4	240	7	0	1.75
1974–75	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		3	1	2	199	7	0	2.11
1975–76	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		7	4	3	438	17	1	2.33
1976–77	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		9	4	5	520	36	0	4.15
1977–78	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		2	0	2	120	11	0	5.50
1980–81	Boston Bruins	NHL		3	0	2	164	16	0	5.85
1981–82	Boston Bruins	NHL		1	0	0	20	1	0	3.00
NHL totals				48	23	23	2876	133	2	2.77

International play

• Played for Team Canada in the 1976 Canada Cup.

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1976	Canada	Can-Cup		7	6	1	0	432	10	2	1.39
Int'l Senior totals				7	6	1	0	432	10	2	1.39

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Finish	Result
Los Angeles Kings	1983–84	2	1	0	1	(59)	5th in Smythe	(interim; returned to GM's role)
Los Angeles Kings	1987–88	1	0	1	0	(68)	4th in Smythe	(interim; returned to GM's role)
Los Angeles Kings	1994–95	7	3	2	2	(41)	4th in Pacific	Missed Playoffs
Total		10	4	3	3

See also

• List of NHL goaltenders with 300 wins

External links

• Rogie Vachon career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database