Allan Roy Edwards (March 12, 1937 – August 16, 1999) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played 236 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the Detroit Red Wings and the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

between 1967 and 1973. Internationally he played for the Canadian national team at the 1958 World Championships, winning the gold medal.

Playing career

In 1958, at age 21, Edwards backstopped the Whitby Dunlops, Canada's representative, to the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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. He posted a perfect 7–0 record in the eight-team round-robin tournament. In those seven games, Edwards played every minute. He recorded three shutouts and allowed six total goals to have an 0.86 goals-against average. In 1960 he became property of the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1961 even though he never played a single game for Chicago. Edwards' road to the NHL was a long, winding one. In nine years, he played for seven teams in four leagues. On June 6, 1967 the

selected him in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...

, but traded him to the Detroit Red Wings the very next day. In 1967–68,

Roger Crozier Roger Allan Crozier (March 16, 1942 – January 11, 1996) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. During ...

, the Red Wings' first-string goaltender, retired due to illness, and Edwards was called upon to take his place. He led the team in games and wins for four consecutive seasons. A collision in 1970 with an opposing forward and the goalpost caused a hairline fracture in Edwards' skull, and this caused him headaches and dizzy spells. His health caused him to retire, but only briefly. He made a comeback with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and after one season there he returned to the Wings. He had his best season in 1972–73: he won 27 games and led the NHL with six shutouts. The following season, he lost his first three games and retired for good.

Personal life

Edwards was the uncle of

Don Edwards William Donlon Edwards (January 6, 1915 – October 1, 2015) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a member of the United States House of Representatives from California for 32 years in the late 20th century. Early life Edwar ...

, also an NHL goalie.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

External links

*
Obituary at LostHockey.com
1937 births 1999 deaths Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Calgary Stampeders (WHL) players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from Ontario Pittsburgh Hornets players Pittsburgh Penguins players Portland Buckaroos players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Sault Thunderbirds players St. Catharines Teepees players Spokane Comets players Stanley Cup champions Sportspeople from Haldimand County {{Canada-icehockey-goaltender-stub