Harry Howell

Here is an interesting trivia question. Who was the last player in to win the Norris Trophy as best defenseman before the arrival and subsequent dominance of the trophy by Bobby Orr?

The answer: Harry Howell.

It could be said that Howell was the last defensive defenseman to win the trophy, as the award took on a different definition after Bobby Orr.

Harry Howell played 24 NHL seasons and three more in the WHA. When he retired no defenseman had played more big league games than the ironman Howell.

Ironman would be an appropriate nickname for the man who never played for a Stanley Cup winner. In his first 16 NHL seasons he missed an amazingly minuscule total of just 17 games.

Although not an overly aggressive rearguard he used his hockey sense to become an extremely effective defensive player. He was quite the unsung hero, buried with the largely unsuccessful Rangers. It was rare that he was rightfully recognized as one of hockey's top players. In fact it was not until 1966-67, his 15th year in the league, that he was honored with the Norris trophy as the league's best defenseman and with all star status.

Although not regarded as an offensive threat by today's standards, Howell was a slick passer who always made the safe play. He was a reliable work horse who could always be counted on to bring his steady game every night of the week. A master of the poke check, his understated brilliance was certainly appreciated by his coaches and teammates, especially his goaltenders. He always was able to steer oncoming attackers to the boards and away from scoring spots.

Howell was all too happy to play in the shadows of more popular defense partners. His most notable co-workers were the belligerent Lou Fontinanto, a Manhattan fan favorite, and Doug Harvey, to that time the greatest defenseman of all.

“They don’t come much better than Harry," Harvey said soon after joining the Rangers.

"The thing that makes him the great hockey player he is," Emile Francis once said "is that the quality of his game seldom varies. Some defensemen, they look like all-stars one night, or maybe for three games in a row, and then they tail off. But Harry, he's like the Rock of Gibraltar."

Francis added "Hockey is a game of mistakes, and Harry doesn't make many of them."

Howell would have stops in Oakland, Los Angeles and the WHA after 17 seasons with the Rangers where he was captain for two years and one year was a playing assistant coach.

In 1979 he was elected to Hockey's Hall of Fame.

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Lorne Chabot

Think of all the great goalies in the Hall of Fame. Ken Dryden. Turk Broda. Gump Worsley. Terry Sawchuk .... the list is seemingly endless. Or is it? If it was truly complete, then Lorne Chabot would be there too.

A veteran of 10 NHL season, Chabot retired with 73 career shutouts with a career goals against average of 2.04! His playoff GAA is an even smaller 1.50. Those stats compare favorably with Hall of Fame goaltenders, and in many cases are better. It's ridiculous that one of the game's true greats isn't in the Hall of Fame.

A veteran of World War I and a former police officer, Chabot was an outstanding senior hockey player, leading the Port Arthur Bearcats to back-to-back Allan Cup championships in 1925 and 1926.

In 1926 he caught the eye of a young Conn Smythe who signed him for the New York Rangers. The Rangers marketing department thought they could use Chabot to draw interest from the city's large Jewish population. He was, believe it or not, to be listed and promoted as "Chabotsky," although Chabot refused to play along.

Chabot battled for the starters job with Hal Winkler his first season but eventually won out. By his second season he guided the Rangers all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. However in the finals Chabot got clipped in the eye and was unable to continue the game. Coach Lester Patrick asked to use a borrowed goaltender (Dave Kerr of the Rangers, who was in the stands) as a replacement, but wasn't allowed to. Patrick, at the age of 44 decided to put the pads on himself. This move energized his Rangers. They played inspired hockey and the game went in to overtime. In a game that Hollywood couldn't dream of, Frank Boucher went on to score in overtime for the Rangers. The Rangers went on to win the Stanley Cup. At that moment Patrick was immortalized forever. This is one of the NHL's most legendary moment.

Chabot's eye injury was slow to heal that summer and the Rangers feared it would end his career so they shuffled him off to Toronto. It proved to be a steal for the Leafs as Chabot enjoyed his 5 seasons in Toronto, including helping the Buds win the 1932 Stanley Cup.

Chabot was traded to Montreal for another all time great - George Hainsworth. It marked the beginning of a lot of trades for Chabot. After one season with Les Habitants he, along with Howie Morenz and Marty Burke were traded to Chicago for Lionel Conacher, Roger Jenkins and Leroy Goldsworthy.

In Chicago Chabot's job was to replace Charlie Gardiner who weeks earlier backstopped the Hawks to the 1934 Stanley Cup but died of a brain tumor shortly afterwards. After posting a league leading 1.83 GAA and winning the Vezina Trophy, Chabot lost his job to Mike Karakas. Chabot refused to be sent to the minors and spent most of his final two seasons toiling with the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans.

Interestingly Chabot played in the two longest games in NHL history. He was the winning goalie in a 1-0 shutout victory in 1933 when the Leafs beat the Bruins that went into a 6th overtime. Three years later Chabot was on the losing end of a 1-0 game while playing with the Montreal Maroons against Mud Bruneteau and the Detroit Red Wings. That game also went into a 6th overtime - lasting 12 minutes longer than the previous record.

Chabot, who has also been credited for introducing the modern day goalie blocker, died in 1946 from a kidney disease. He also had severe arthritis, leaving him bedridden late in his life.

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