height_ft played_for halloffame death_date weight_lb death_place birth_place image_size career_end position catches height_in birth_date image article_title career_start
5 montreal canadiens 1945 27 march 1926 185 chicoutimi , qc , can chicoutimi , qc , can 230px 1925 goaltender left 6 21 january 1887 vezina19221924.jpg georges vézina
 1910
georges vézina

joseph georges gonzague vézina -lrb- ; ; , 1887 -- , 1926 -rrb- was a canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven seasons in the national hockey association -lrb- nha -rrb- and nine in the national hockey league -lrb- nhl -rrb- , all with the montreal canadiens .
after being signed by the canadiens in 1910 , vézina played in 327 consecutive regular season games and a further 39 playoff games , before leaving early during a game in 1925 due to illness .
vézina was diagnosed with tuberculosis , and died on , 1926 .
the only goaltender to play for the canadiens between 1910 and 1925 , vézina helped the team win the stanley cup in 1916 and 1924 , while reaching the stanley cup finals three more times .
nicknamed the `` chicoutimi cucumber '' for his calm composure while in goal , vézina allowed the fewest goals against in the league seven times in his career : four times in the nha and three times in the nhl .
in 1918 , vézina became the first nhl goaltender to both record a shutout and earn an assist on a goal .
at the start of the 1926 -- 27 nhl season , the canadiens donated the vezina trophy to the nhl as an award to the goaltender who allowed the fewest goals during the season .
since 1981 , the award has been given to the most outstanding goaltender as determined by a vote of nhl general managers .
in vézina 's hometown of chicoutimi , the sports arena is named the centre georges-vézina in his honour .
when the hockey hall of fame opened in 1945 , vézina was one of the original nine inductees .
