John Vanbiesbrouck John " Beezer " Vanbiesbrouck ( born September 4 , 1963 ) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender , who was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007 . He played in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) for the New York Rangers , Florida Panthers , Philadelphia Flyers , New York Islanders , and New Jersey Devils . He began his career playing major junior hockey for the Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) . Following a successful season with the Greyhounds , he was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 4th round , 72nd overall , in the 1981 NHL Draft . After his junior career ended , he played for the Rangers minor league affiliate the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League . Despite the teams ' near collapses due to financial concerns , Vanbiesbrouck lead the Oilers to a league championship and shared the league ' s MVP honors . He began playing full - time with the Rangers in the 1984 – 85 season . Vanbiesbrouck won the Vezina Trophy as the league ' s top goaltender and was named a First Team NHL All - Star the following season . After playing parts of 11 season with the Rangers he was taken in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft by the Florida Panthers . In Florida Vanbiesbrouck was a three time all - star , and lead the Panthers to their first and only Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1996 . While in Florida he recorded his 300th career victory , becoming the 15th and only the 2nd American goaltender in NHL history to do so . During his career Vanbiesbrouck compiled a record of 374 wins , 346 losses , 119 ties , and 40 shutouts , making him the winningest American born goaltender and tying Frank Brimsek for most career shutouts by an American born goaltender . Following his playing career he took over as the head coach and General Manager of the Greyhounds . However , after using a racial slur referencing his team captain , he resigned . Internationally Vanbiesbrouck has represented the United States on several occasions . He played in the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships as well as four IIHF World Championships . He was named to the Second All - Star team at the 1985 World Ice Hockey Championships . He also played in two Canada Cup tournaments , registering the lowest Goals against average in 1987 and was a back - up goaltender during the American ' s second place finish in 1991 . He represented Team USA for the final time in 1998 serving as the back - up on the Olympic ice hockey team . Early life . Vanbiesbrouck was born in Detroit , Michigan to a Belgian immigrant bricklayer , Robert Vanbiesbrouck , and an Italian immigrant Sara . He grew - up with two brothers ; the oldest , Frank , who was also a goaltender in youth hockey . He inspired Vanbiesbrouck to play goaltender . John later noted that he learned more about goaltending just from watching Frank than any coaching could , adding that no one ever helped him more to become the player he was . Playing career . Junior and minor leagues . While playing midget level hockey Vanbiesbrouck joined the Little Caesars hockey club , a travel ice hockey team in Detroit . During a tournament in Toronto , Vanbiesbrouck lost his jersey and was forced to wear a teammate ' s uniform . He played well in the tournament with junior scouts in attendance . Since Vanbiesbrouck wore another player ' s jersey he went undrafted in the midget draft , while the player whose jersey he wore was drafted in the fourth round . After being unclaimed in the draft Vanbiesbrouck was offered a try - out with the Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds , members of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League , later becoming the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) . At the try - out he made the team , winning a spot over several other players and became the starting goalie for the Greyhounds . Vanbiesbrouck played in 56 games and complied a 31 – 16 – 1 record during his first season in Sault Ste . Marie . Following the 1980 – 81 season he was drafted in the 4th round , 72nd overall of the NHL Draft by the New York Rangers . On December 5 , 1981 , just months after being drafted , Vanbiesbrouck made his professional debut with the Rangers as an emergency call - up . He defeated the Colorado Rockies 2 – 1 . Despite only allowing one goal and earning his first NHL win , the Rangers decided to return him to Sault Ste . Marie — a move intended to aid his development . He finished the year with a 12 – 12 – 2 record for the Greyhounds and made his first international appearance , representing the United States at the 1982 World Junior Championships . He played one more season for the Greyhounds , playing 62 games winning 39 of them and being named to OHL Second All - Star Team . Following his career with the Greyhounds , Vanbiesbrouck moved on to the minor leagues joining the Central Hockey League ' s ( CHL ) Tulsa Oilers . During the 1983 - 84 season , his first with the Oilers , the ownership group was unable to sustain the team . They went bankrupt , were taken over by the league , and forced to play their remaining games on the road . After losing their home rink the team was housed in Denver , Colorado where they shared a practice facility with the University of Denver and fellow CHL team the Colorado Flames . The lack of ice time often forced the Oilers to practice in a Mall where they were not allowed to shoot pucks . For extra practice Vanbiesbrouck had tennis balls hit at him in the parking lot . Despite all the adversity the Oilers won the Adams Cup as league champions . Meanwhile Vanbiesbrouck won the Terry Sawchuk Award , with back - up Ron Scott , for fewest goals against in the league and shared CHL MVP honors with Bruce Affleck by winning the Tommy Ivan Trophy . New York Rangers . He made the Rangers full time in the 1984 – 85 season , playing in 42 games and posted a 4 . 20 goals against average ( GAA ) . The following year Vanbiesbrouck enjoyed a breakout season , playing in 61 games , winning a career high 31 . The 31 victories accounted for all but 5 of the Rangers ' regular season total . His success continued over to the post - season , where he led the Rangers to an upset over the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round . He then followed it by beating a Washington Capitals team that registered 107 points in the regular season . The Rangers lost in the Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens . In the off season Vanbiesbrouck was named a First Team NHL All - Star , won the Vezina Trophy as the league ' s top goaltender , and signed a new three year contract with the Rangers . He was unable to repeat his success in the next season , winning 18 games in 50 games played while losing 20 contests . Prior to the 1987 – 88 season Vanbiesbrouck was hit by a puck under his mask in practice , which caused a non - displaced fracture of his lower jaw and a broken tooth . Fortunately for him the injury did not require his jaw to be wired shut , and he was able to return to practice the next day . He showed no ill effects from the injury , playing in 56 games , winning 27 . On June 13 , 1988 Vanbiesbrouck suffered nerve damage to his left wrist after a glass coffee table he was sitting on collapsed and broken glass lacerated his ulnar nerve and three tendons . He was sitting on the table assembling video equipment in anticipation of the birth of his first child . The glass broke beneath him , and as he braced for the fall , his wrist was cut by the glass . Vanbiesbrouck required five hours of microsurgery to remove glass from his wrist and repair the nerve and tendon damage . He was initially expected to miss 4 – 6 months , but he recovered in time to attend the Rangers pre - season training camp just 3 month later . Again he played in 56 games , and increased his win total to 28 . He began the 1989 - 90 season as the Rangers ' starting goaltender , but after the Rangers struggled in early January , he began to share the duties with the recently called up Mike Richter . During the playoffs head coach Roger Neilson employed a rotation system between the two goaltenders . The Rangers won their first round match - up against the Islanders , but lost to the Capitals in the second round . For his part Vanbiesbrouck posted a 2 – 3 record with a 3 . 02 GAA and a . 902 save percentage . The following season the two goaltenders formed the best duo in the NHL . The duo remained together even after Vanbiesbrouck had a chance to leave via free agency in 1992 . A new collective bargaining agreement established him as a group 2 free agent , allowing the Rangers to match any offer from another team or to claim draft choices as compensation if he were to sign with another team . After not receiving much interest from other clubs , Vanbiesbrouck re - signed with the Rangers , signing a two - year deal with an option for the third averaging $ 1 million per season . At the end of the 1992 – 93 season , the decision was made to trade Vanbiesbrouck . With the upcoming expansion draft the Rangers would only be able to protect one goaltender . Faced with the prospect of losing one of their two goaltenders , the Rangers traded the " equally talented " but older Vanbiesbrouck to the Vancouver Canucks for future considerations ( Doug Lidster ) . Florida Panthers . Vancouver made the trade not with the intention of keeping Vanbiesbrouck , but rather in an attempt to keep other players on their roster from being drafted . Rules of the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft allowed teams to protect one goaltender , nine forwards and five defensemen . Additional rules stated that teams could only lose one goaltender in the draft and prevented teams from losing both a defenseman and a goaltender . Prior to the draft Florida Panthers general manager Bobby Clarke won a coin - toss giving them the first pick in the draft . Thus with their first selection , the Panthers picked Vanbiesbrouck to be the number one goalie for their team . Upon his arrival in Florida , Vanbiesbrouck went on a " mall tour " to help elevate the visibility of the franchise and made an informative video explaining ice hockey terms for Blockbuster , then owners of the franchise . In January 1994 he made his return to Madison Square Garden . In his first game back to his former home venue , Vanbiesbrouck made 51 saves ultimately losing the game 3 – 2 to his former team . During the season he was also named to the All - Star game as the Panthers ' sole representative . In the game Vanbiesbrouck played the third period , made six saves and was credited with the win . At the completion of his first season in Florida , he played in 57 games posting a 21 – 25 – 11 record , registering a 2 . 53 GAA , and his career best save percentage of . 924 ranked him second in the league . Vanbiesbrouck was named a Second Team NHL All - Star and was shortlisted for the Hart and Vezina Trophies . His 21 wins tied the Minnesota North Stars ' Cesare Maniago ' s record for the most by an expansion goaltender . The record was later passed by Ron Tugnutt during the Columbus Blue Jackets inaugural season . The Panthers finished the season with 83 points , one point behind the New York Islanders , for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference . The following season was shortened due to the 1994 – 95 NHL lockout . As a result Vanbiesbrouck played in just 37 games registering a 14 – 15 – 4 record . He lowed his GAA from the previous year to 2 . 47 and increased his shutout total from one to four . However his save percentage dropped to . 914 . The Panthers again fell a point short of making the playoffs . In the 1995 – 96 season , Vanbiesbrouck was named to the All - Star Game . In the game he played the second period and gave up three goals on seven shots . The Panthers were in playoff position for more than half of the season , but faltered late in the season and were close to falling out of the playoff race . Late in the season Vanbiesbrouck shutout the New Jersey Devils putting Florida into the playoffs . At the end of the regular season he played in 57 games posting a 21 – 25 – 11 with 2 shutouts . His games played ranked him tenth in the league while his GAA of 2 . 68 was ninth . In the first round Florida defeated the Boston Bruins in five games . Their second round match - up was against the heavily favored Philadelphia Flyers . Vanbiesbrouck posted a shutout in the first game of the series , the third post season shutout of his career and the first in Panthers playoff history . During the series Vanbiesbrouck held the Flyers scoreless for 116 : 46 straight minutes , as Florida upset Philadelphia winning four games to two . In the Conference Finals the Panthers were again huge underdogs to the Pittsburgh Penguins , a team that featured the leagues two top scorers in Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr . The Penguins took a 3 – 2 series lead , but the Panthers won game six 4 – 3 to force game seven . In game 7 Vanbiesbrouck made 39 saves in a 3 – 1 Panthers victory , winning the Eastern Conference and putting them in the Stanley Cup Finals . The Panthers fell behind the Colorado Avalanche 3 – 0 in the series . Game four was considered one of the classic games in finals ' history . The game was a 0 – 0 tie entering the third overtime period . Early in the period , a long shot from Colorado ' s Uwe Krupp eluded Vanbiesbrouck giving the Avalanche a 1 – 0 win and the Stanley Cup . Vanbiesbrouck made 55 saves in the loss and finished third in voting for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP . During the 1996 – 97 season he was elected by the fans to the All - Star Game as the starting goaltender . Vanbiesbrouck ' 200 , 457 votes led the Eastern Conference . By season ' s end Vanbiesbrouck finished in the top ten in the NHL for save percentage ( 6 ) , GAA ( 5 ) and tied for 11 in wins ( 27 ) . The Panthers finished fourth in the Eastern conference and faced the Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs . Vanbiesbrouck made 34 saves in game one , shutting out the Rangers 3 – 0 . It was the only game the Panthers won as the Rangers defeated them 4 – 1 in the series . The following season Vanbiesbrouck reached a personal milestone . On December 27 , 1997 the Panthers defeated the New York Islanders 6 – 2 at Nassau Coliseum . The win marked the 300th of his career , making him the 15th goaltender , and second American , in NHL history to reach the mark . Despite his personal milestone Vanbiesbrouck suffered through his worst statistical season with the Panthers . The team fared no better as they finished the season in 12th place in the Eastern conference and out of the playoffs . Post Panthers . During the off - season Vanbiesbrouck signed a two - year $ 7 . 25 million contract , with an option for a third year , with the Philadelphia Flyers . His first season with Philadelphia was successful , he posted a career best 2 . 18 GAA , notching 6 shutouts , playing in a career high 62 games and registering a 27 – 18 – 15 record . However , he struggled in the playoffs . Despite posting good individual numbers , Vanbiesbrouck let in " soft " goals that cost the Flyers games . Philadelphia was eliminated in the first round 4 – 2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs . He continued to be " shaky " at the beginning of the 1999 – 2000 season . As a result rookie Brian Boucher began playing more . Vanbiesbrouck reached another milestone during the season , becoming the 8th goaltender in NHL history to play in 800 games . He played in 50 games during the season registering a 25 – 15 – 9 record , but in the playoff the Flyers went with Boucher . During the 2000 NHL Entry Draft , Philadelphia traded Vanbiesbrouck to the New York Islanders for a fourth - round draft pick . The Islanders made the trade with the intention of having Vanbiesbrouck mentor first overall draft pick Rick DiPietro . He played in 44 games for the Islanders winning 10 of them and recording a shutout . On the eve of the NHL trade deadline , the Islanders traded Vanbiesbrouck to the New Jersey Devils for Chris Terreri and a ninth - round pick . New Jersey made the deal with the intent to give starting goaltender Martin Brodeur some rest prior to the playoffs . With Terreri struggling they felt it best to bring in someone who had played regularly throughout the year . Vanbiesbrouck played in 4 games for the Devils , winning them all , and recorded his 40th career shutout . The shutout tied him with Frank Brimsek for the most shutouts by an American born goaltender in NHL history . Vanbiesbrouck did not play during the playoffs , but the Devils advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals . The Devils played the Colorado Avalanche and lost in seven games . Vanbiesbrouck retired immediately after game seven on June 10 , 2001 . He stated that " it ' s time " and he wanted to leave the game healthy . He was retired for only eight months before he agreed to terms with the Devils to come out of retirement . He posted a 2 – 3 – 0 record as the Devils back up , finishing his career with 374 wins . His win total is the most by an American born goaltender in NHL history . He again did not play in the playoffs as the Devils were eliminated in the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes . Vanbiesbrouck retired for the second and final time on May 24 , 2002 . Following his playing career Vanbiesbrouck earned several accolades . The Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds retired his number ( 1 ) . NHL . com named him the best NHL player to wear jersey number 34 , and on October 12 , 2007 Vanbiesbrouck was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame . He remains thirteenth in NHL history in wins . However , he is also fourth all - time in losses . International play . Vanbiesbrouck made his international debut in 1982 representing the United States at the World Junior Championship . In five games he posted a 1 – 3 – 0 record with a 5 . 70 GAA , as the Americans finished in sixth place . The next year he again participated in the World Junior Championship . He appeared in five games and lowered his GAA to 3 . 64 , helping the American team improve to fifth place . In 1985 he played for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships . Vanbiesbrouck posted a 6 – 3 – 0 record , defeating three of three top ranked teams in the world ( Canada , Czech Republic and Sweden ) . He later noted that those three victories gave him the confidence to be successful at the NHL level . The Americans were the second seed following the preliminary round . However they failed to win a single game in the championship round and finished the tournament in fourth place . Individually Vanbiesbrouck was named to the Second All - Star team . Two years later he played in his second World Championship . He was unable to duplicate his prior success posting a 2 – 5 – 0 record , as Team USA finished in seventh place one position away from being relegated to Division I . During 1987 Vanbiesbrouck also participated in the Canada Cup , registering a 2 – 2 – 0 record with a 2 . 25 GAA . He registered the lowest GAA in the tournament , but the United States finished in fifth place . He played in two more World Championships in 1989 and 1991 going 1 – 2 – 1 and 3 – 4 – 2 respectively , as the US improved to sixth place in 1989 and finished just short of winning a medal in 1991 placing fourth . Vanbiesbrouck was named to the Canada Cup team in 1991 , but spent the tournament as Mike Richter ' s back - up . He played only one game in the tournament defeating Finland 4 – 3 . The United States finished the Canada Cup in second place losing the best of three championship to Canada 2 – 0 . He was named to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey team but missed the Americans ' victory due to a small cartilage tear in his right shoulder that required off - season surgery to repair . Prior to the 1998 Winter Olympics an announcement was made that NHL would shut down for two and a half weeks to allow its players to participate in the international tournament for the first time . Vanbiesbrouck was named to the United States team , but spent the majority of the tournament on the bench , playing in one game for only one minute . As a team the Americans finished in a " disappointing " sixth place . Playing style . Vanbiesbrouck was a Hybrid goaltender who combined the butterfly style and the more traditional Stand - up style . He was strong at playing his angles and challenged shooters well . Small for a goaltender , standing only 5 ' 8 " , he relied on his quickness to regain his feet after making saves or to make additional saves in goalmouth scrambles . Vanbiesbrouck was aggressive when it came to playing the puck , which helped him tie the Rangers single season record for assists by a goaltender and set the Rangers career record as well . Although he was considered one of the best positional goaltenders in the league , his greatest attribute may have been his self - confidence . Former teammate Tom Laidlaw once noted that he believed Vanbiesbrouck ' s confidence carried him farther than his talent . After playing career . Trevor Daley incident . When he retired from the NHL , Vanbiesbrouck took over as the head coach and director of hockey operations for the Sault Ste . Marie Greyhounds . In February 2003 , the team had a record of 18 - 24 - 4 - 3 . A month later on March 7 , the Greyhounds lost 6 – 1 to the Guelph Storm . After the game Vanbiesbrouck used a racial slur in expressing his anger with Trevor Daley ( now with the Dallas Stars ) , a black player and Greyhounds ' team captain , to two of Daley ' s white teammates . Daley was told of the remarks by his teammates and was advised to leave the team by his agent Bobby Orr . Daley returned home to Toronto and informed the commissioner of the OHL about the remarks . The day after Daley left the team , Vanbiesbrouck resigned his positions as coach and general manager , and sold his ownership stake in the team . In his apology Vanbiesbrouck stated " I used the ' N ' word instead of calling him Trevor , I used it just not thinking . It ' s a mistake and consequences have to be paid by me , I ' ve embarrassed everybody and my family by this one comment . It ' s not what they represent and it ' s not what the Sault Greyhounds organization represents . " He added " I told Trev this is an old wound with me , I grew up with it . I ' m as sorry as anybody that it ' s stuck with me . " Daley returned to the team three days after leaving , but Vanbiesbrouck never returned to a coaching position . Career . After leaving the Greyhounds Vanbiesbrouck spent some time as a broadcaster , working as an analyst for Versus network as well as hockey broadcasts on HDNet . In 2010 Vanbiesbrouck , along with Steve Goldstein , formed the broadcast team for Westwood One ' s radio coverage of the Winter Olympic hockey games . He is the President of VBK Sports Viewer . com , a website dedicated to helping athletes train and develop into better athletes . Personal . When Vanbiesbrouck was with the Rangers , his brother Frank showed signs of severe depression and suicidal tendencies . During this time John attempted to reach out to Frank , occasionally flying separately from the team on road trips to check in on his brother , and talking to him every day . Despite his efforts Frank committed suicide in 1993 . Vanbiesbrouck called Frank ' s death " devastating " and that he " felt very empty " when Frank died adding that his Christian faith and the Bible helped him through the difficult time . While playing with the Flyers , Vanbiesbrouck and his family lived in Moorestown Township , New Jersey . He and his wife , Rosalinde , have four sons , Ian , Ben , Nicholas and Daniel . His son Ian was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder ( ADD ) when he was five - years old . As a result Vanbiesbrouck started the " Vanbiesbrouck Foundation for children with Attention Deficit Disorder " to increase awareness of and raise money for children with ADD . However , when he left Florida via free agency the foundation was dissolved and the mission of the program went into an information service based in South Florida . Vanbiesbrouck is also the celebrity sponsor of a golf event in support of " The Alan T . Brown Foundation to Cure Paralysis " . He returned to his home state of Michigan following his playing days . Career statistics . Bolded numbers indicate league leader .