Roger Crozier

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CanadaCanada  Roger Crozier Ice hockey player
Date of birth March 16, 1942
place of birth Bracebridge , Ontario , Canada
date of death January 11, 1996
size 173 cm
Weight 73 kg
position goalkeeper
Catch hand Right
Career stations
1959-1962 St. Catharines Teepees
1962-1963 St. Louis Braves
1963-1970 Detroit Red Wings
1970-1976 Buffalo Sabers
1976-1977 Washington Capitals

Roger Allan Crozier (born March 16, 1942 in Bracebridge , Ontario , † January 11, 1996 ) was a Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper who was active for the Detroit Red Wings , Buffalo Sabers and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League .

Career

Roger Crozier began his career in 1959 in the Canadian Junior League Ontario Hockey Association , where he played for the St. Catharines Teepees for three years . Since the team cooperated with the Chicago Blackhawks from the National Hockey League , the NHL team secured the rights to Crozier. In their first season with the Teepees, he led the team to win the Memorial Cup . In all three seasons in the OHA he was elected to the First Allstar team and completed his first three games in the lower-class professional league American Hockey League with the Buffalo Bisons , the farm team of the Blackhawks , in the 1960/61 season .

Crozier completed his first full season as a professional in the 1962/63 season in the EPHL and was transferred from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 1963 . In his first season in the NHL, he was the back-up -Galie behind the goalkeeper legend Terry Sawchuk , but he was mainly used in the AHL with the Pittsburgh Hornets , the farm team of the Red Wings. There he received the awards after the season as the best rookie of the AHL and as a goalkeeper with the best goal average.

In 1964/65 , after Sawchuk left, Crozier's path to the goalkeeper was clear. He was in the starting line-up in all 70 regular season games, won 40 games and achieved six shutouts . After the season he was elected to the NHL First All-Star Team . Since there was no award for the best goalkeeper in the NHL at that time, the election to the First Allstar team should be understood as such. There was also the Calder Memorial Trophy as the best rookie in the NHL.

He missed the start of the 1965/66 season because of a pancreatitis . He struggled with this and other health problems throughout his career. After his return he led the team with great performances in the playoffs up to the final of the Stanley Cup . There the team lost to the Montréal Canadiens . Crozier sustained a knee injury in the third game of the final series, but returned to the ice for the next game, although the injury had not yet healed. After six games, the Red Wings had to admit defeat, but Roger Crozier was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He was the first player to receive this trophy, even though he was not part of the Stanley Cup winner's team. He was also the first goalkeeper to receive this honor.

With the 1966/67 season , the most difficult phase of its existence should begin for the Detroit Red Wings. In the following 17 years they reached the playoffs only twice and were nicknamed "Detroit Dead Wings". The beginning of this time was almost spared Crozier, because due to persistent health problems he ended his career during the 1966/67 season, but returned to the team after a few weeks.

He stayed in Detroit until the summer of 1970 and shared the post as regular goalkeeper with Roy Edwards in the years before he was transferred to the Buffalo Sabers for Tom Webster . The Sabers were about to begin their first season in the NHL and the first year was without any major positive moments. In addition, Crozier had to fight again with a pancreatitis and several games were canceled. However, it was he who stood in goal in the Sabers' first game and blocked 35 of 36 shots, giving the team the first victory in franchise history.

After his gall bladder was removed in the summer of 1971 , he played the 1971/72 season without any major problems . However, he could celebrate only 13 wins in 63 games and Dave Dryden was an experienced goalkeeper in wait. Dryden was also used more often the following season, but Crozier remained number one and was able to celebrate the first entry into the playoffs with the team. In the 1973/74 season he was thrown back again by a pancreatitis and finally he was replaced by Dryden as the goalkeeper.

In 1974/75 , Crozier was the back-up goalie of young Gary Bromley and played 23 games in which he recorded 17 wins. The team reached the Stanley Cup final, in which Crozier was allowed to play two games, but they eventually lost to the Philadelphia Flyers .

Crozier's time in Buffalo was almost up. In 1975/76 he was allowed to play eleven games on the ice, the following year he was no longer used. In March 1977 he was transferred to the Washington Capitals , where he played three more games, but then ended his career.

Roger Crozier stayed in Washington and worked in the management of the Capitals. In the 1981/82 season he was appointed interim general manager of the Capitals after the dismissal of Max McNab and took over the post of head coach for one game. Under his responsibility, the Capitals selected the future star defender Scott Stevens in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft .

After retiring from the ice hockey business in 1983, he became Vice President of MBNA Bank America and remained so until his death. During this time, he oversaw the renovation of the headquarters. Three new wings were added to the building, which were named "Red Wing", "Saber Wing" and "Capital Wing", based on the Crozier NHL teams.

Roger Crozier died of prostate cancer on January 11, 1996 at the age of 53 .

In 2000, the NHL introduced the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award in honor of Roger Crozier , which is presented annually to the goalkeeper with the best catch rate.

NHL statistics

Seasons Games Victory cut Conceded goal Shutouts
Regular season 14th 518 0.398 3.04 30th
Playoffs 6th 32 0.438 2.75 1

Others

Expansion Draft 1970

In the summer of 1970 the NHL was increased by some teams, which is why an expansion draft was held to fill the roster of the new teams with players. The new teams included the Buffalo Sabers. The Boston Bruins had been part of the league for a long time and could ban players who could not be selected in the Expansion Draft. Tom Webster wasn't on that list . Boston's general manager Milt Schmidt had already held talks with Detroit's general manager Sid Abel before the draft that Webster should move to Detroit in exchange for Roger Crozier. Shortly before the draft, Schmidt went to Buffalo's General Manager Punch Imlach and suggested that he choose Garnet Bailey with his first right to vote, in the hope that Webster would be overlooked in the draft. Schmidt believed that he had made a firm deal with Imlach, but did not know that Imlach had been advised of the possible transfer deal by Sid Abel. Imlach finally went to the podium and, to Schmidt's displeasure, selected Tom Webster. Webster was transferred to the Detroit Red Wings a little later and Roger Crozier went to Buffalo instead of Boston.

Health problems

While Roger Crozier had persistent pancreatic problems as early as the late 1960s and other gallbladder problems and ulcers, in the 1970s he was mostly only able to play with pain. Buffalo's coach Joe Crozier often did not know which goalkeeper he should or could use until shortly before the start of the game. As he warmed up before a game, he waited by the boards to see if Roger Crozier nodded to him. That was a sign that he felt good enough to play the game.

Achievements and Awards

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Crozier, Roger
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Crozier, Roger Allan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Bracebridge , Canada
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1996