 Brimsek played a stand-up style of goaltending. Goalies playing this style usually stay on their feet instead of dropping down on their knees to make a save. Brimsek is also remembered for having a quick catching hand and for "taking the feet out" of opposing players that were being a nuisance in front of his net. After retiring, Brimsek returned to Minnesota and worked as a railroad engineer. Even after his retirement, Brimsek regularly received fan mail. In 1966, Brimsek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the first American-born goalie to be inducted, and in 1973 he was an inaugural inductee of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Brimsek died on November 11, 1998 in Virginia, Minnesota, leaving behind his wife, Marguerite, his two daughters, Chris and Karen, and his five grandchildren.
