As NHL.com’s Stan Fischler notes this morning, former Red Wings coach and GM Jack Adams had one hell of a knack for finding NHL-caliber goaltenders during the Original Six era. If only he held onto them…
No NHL executive has had as good fortune at discovering elite goalies as former Detroit Red Wings boss Jack Adams.
Adams had the uncanny ability to find the right goalie at the right time, beginning in 1934 when the Red Wings acquired Normie Smith from the Montreal Maroons. Smith helped Detroit win the Stanley Cup in 1936 and 1937 and led the League in wins each season. He starred in the longest game ever played in the NHL, when he made 92 saves in a 1-0 win against the Maroons that was decided at 16:30 of the sixth overtime on March 24, 1936.
Smith merely was the first in Adams’ production line of quality goalies. His next ace arrived in 1940 when future Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy-winner Johnny Mowers signed with the Red Wings. Adams’ goalie magic lasted until the mid-1960’s when his final discovery, Roger Crozier, became the first player from a losing team to win a Conn Smythe Trophy voted as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Between the reigns of Mowers and Crozier, Detroit’s minor league farm teams produced such legendary goalies as Harry Lumley, Terry Sawchuk and Glenn Hall, each a Hall of Famer.
