Jacques Plante

Joseph Jacques Omer "Jake the Snake" Plante (January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He grew up in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, and began to play hockey in 1932. Plante started to play organized hockey at age 12, and his first professional game was at age 18. He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963; during this time, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five wins in a row.

Plante first retired in 1965, but he was asked to come back to the NHL to play for a new team, the St. Louis Blues, in 1968. Plante was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1970, and then to the Boston Bruins in 1973. He joined the World Hockey Association, first as coach and general manager for the Quebec Nordiques in 1973–74. After his time with Quebec was not successful, Plante played goal for the Edmonton Oilers in 1974–75. Plante retired for the last time during training camp in the 1975-76 season.

Plante is considered one of the most important inventors in ice hockey. Most importantly, Plante was the first NHL goaltender to always wear mask when playing. With the help of other experts, he made and tested many versions of the goalie mask, including a version of today's mask/helmet combination. Plante was the first goaltender to regularly play the puck outside his crease in support of his team's defencemen, and often instructed his teammates from behind the play, as the goaltender usually has the best view of the game.

Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978. He was chosen as the goaltender of the Canadiens' "dream team" in 1985. He was inducted into the Quebec Sports Pantheon in 1994. Lastly, the Montreal Canadiens retired Plante's sweater, #1, in 1995.

Plante was the eldest of 11 children. In 1949, he married Jacqueline Gagné; they had two sons, Michel and Richard. In 1970, Plante met his second wife, Raymonde Udrisard, with whom he eventually moved to Switzerland. He died in Geneva, on February 27, 1986, shortly after he had been diagnosed with untreatable stomach cancer. He was buried in Sierre.

Career statistics
Regular season
     Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA 1947–48 Montreal Royals QSHL 2 0 0 2 120 5 0 2.50 1947–48 Quebec Citadelles QSHL 31 18 11 1 1840 87 2 2.84 1948–49 Quebec Citadelles QSHL 64 42 12 10 3840 119 7 1.86 1949–50 Montreal Royals QSHL 58 27 22 9 3480 180 0 3.10 1950–51 Montreal Royals QSHL 60 28 29 3 3670 201 4 3.29 1951–52 Montreal Royals QSHL 60 30 24 6 3560 201 4 3.39 1952–53 Montreal Royals QSHL 29 20 8 1 1760 61 4 2.08 1952–53 Montreal Canadiens NHL 3 2 0 1 180 4 0 1.33 1952–53 Buffalo Bisons AHL 33 13 19 1 2000 114 2 3.42 1953–54 Buffalo Bisons AHL 55 32 17 6 3370 148 3 2.64 1953–54 Montreal Canadiens NHL 17 7 5 5 1020 27 5 1.59 1954–55 Montreal Canadiens NHL 52 31 13 7 3080 110 5 2.14 1955–56 Montreal Canadiens NHL 64 42 12 10 3840 119 7 1.86 1956–57 Montreal Canadiens NHL 61 31 18 12 3660 123 9 2.02 1957–58 Montreal Canadiens NHL 57 34 14 8 3386 119 9 2.11 1958–59 Montreal Canadiens NHL 67 38 16 13 4000 144 9 2.16 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens NHL 69 40 17 12 4140 175 3 2.54 1960–61 Montreal Royals EPHL 8 3 4 1 480 24 0 3.00 1960–61 Montreal Canadiens NHL 40 22 11 7 2400 112 2 2.80 1961–62 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 42 14 14 4200 166 4 2.37 1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL 56 22 14 19 3320 138 5 2.49 1963–64 New York Rangers NHL 65 22 36 7 3900 220 3 3.38 1964–65 New York Rangers NHL 33 10 17 5 1938 109 2 3.37 1964–65 Baltimore Clippers AHL 17 6 9 1 1018 51 1 3.01 1968–69 St. Louis Blues NHL 37 18 12 6 2139 70 5 1.96 1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 32 18 9 5 1839 67 5 2.19 1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 24 11 4 2329 73 4 1.88 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 34 16 13 5 1965 86 2 2.63 1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 32 8 14 6 1717 87 1 3.04 1972–73 Boston Bruins NHL 8 7 1 0 480 16 2 2.00 1974–75 Edmonton Oilers WHA 31 15 14 1 1592 88 1 3.32 NHL Career Totals 837 434 247 146 49533 1965 82 2.38 WHA Career Totals 31 15 14 1 1592 88 1 3.32

Post season
     Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA 1947–48 Quebec QJHL 9 4 5 0 545 28 2 3.08 1948–49 Quebec QJHL 13 7 6 0 790 43 0 3.27 1949–50 Montreal Royals QSHL 6 ?? ?? ?? 360 20 0 3.33 1950–51 Montreal Royals QSHL 7 2 5 0 420 26 1 3.71 1951–52 Montreal Royals QSHL 7 3 4 0 420 21 1 3.00 1952–53 Montreal Canadiens NHL 4 3 1 0 240 7 1 1.75 1953–54 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8 5 3 0 480 15 2 1.88 1954–55 Montreal Canadiens NHL 12 6 4 0 640 30 0 2.81 1955–56 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 8 2 0 600 18 2 1.80 1956–57 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 8 2 0 616 18 1 1.75 1957–58 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 8 2 0 618 20 1 1.94 1958–59 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 8 3 0 670 28 0 2.51 1959–60 Montreal Canadiens NHL 8 8 0 0 489 11 3 1.35 1960–61 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 2 4 0 412 16 0 2.33 1961–62 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 2 4 0 360 19 0 3.17 1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 1 4 0 300 14 0 2.80 1964–65 Baltimore Clippers AHL 5 2 3 0 315 14 1 2.67 1968–69 St. Louis Blues NHL 10 8 2 0 589 14 3 1.43 1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 6 4 1 0 324 8 1 1.48 1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 2 0 134 7 0 3.13 1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 0 1 0 60 5 0 5.00 1972–73 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 2 0 120 10 0 5.00 NHL CAREER TOTALS 112 71 37 0 6652 240 14 2.16
Awards and honours
 AwardYear/SeasonVezina Trophy1955–56 NHL seasonSelected to National Hockey League All-Star First Team1955–56 NHL seasonPlayed in National Hockey League All-Star Game1956Vezina Trophy1956–57 NHL seasonSelected to National Hockey League All-Star Second Team1956–57 NHL seasonPlayed in National Hockey League All-Star Game1957Vezina Trophy1957–58 NHL seasonSelected to National Hockey League All-Star Second Team1957–58 NHL seasonPlayed in National Hockey League All-Star Game1958Vezina Trophy1958–59 NHL seasonSelected to National Hockey League All-Star First Team1958–59 NHL seasonPlayed in National Hockey League All-Star Game1959Vezina Trophy1959–60 NHL seasonSelected to National Hockey League All-Star Second Team1959–60 NHL seasonPlayed in National Hockey League All-Star Game1960Hart Memorial Trophy1961–62 NHL seasonVezina Trophy1961–62 NHL seasonSelected to National Hockey League All-Star First Team1961–62 NHL seasonPlayed in National Hockey League All-Star Game1962Shared (with Glenn Hall) Vezina Trophy1968–69 NHL seasonPlayed in National Hockey League All-Star Game1969Played in National Hockey League All-Star Game1970Selected to National Hockey League All-Star Second Team1970–71 NHL seasonElected to the Hockey Hall of Fame1978Selected to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame1981

Related pages
Goalie mask
Glenn Hall
Terry Sawchuk

Bibliography
O'Brien, Andy with Plante, Jacques (1973) The Jacques Plante Story. Toronto: McGraw Hill. .
Plante, Jacques (1972). On goaltending: Fundamentals of hockey netminding by the master of the game. Toronto: Collier MacMillan Canada. .
Published 1972 in French as Devant le filet. Toronto: Collier MacMillan Canada.  .
Both editions reprinted 1997. Montreal: Multimedia Robert Davies.  (English) and  (French).

References

Notes

 Other websites 

History by the Minute—re-enactment of the game where Plante first wore a goaltender mask in regulation play
NHL Network Online video article on Plante, including footage from November 1, 1959 

Category:1929 births
Category:1986 deaths
Category:Baltimore Clippers players
Category:Boston Bruins players
Category:Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players
Category:Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Category:Deaths from stomach cancer
Category:Hart Memorial Trophy winners
Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Ice hockey people from Quebec
Category:Montreal Canadiens players
Category:New York Rangers players
Category:Philadelphia Flyers coaches
Category:Quebec Nordiques coaches
Category:St. Louis Blues players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players
Category:Vezina Trophy winners
Category:World Hockey Association players