Obituary: Ken Dryden

For many, if they were to write a script for the life they aspire to live, the life of Ken Dryden would do just fine.

Ken Dryden was born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1947 but grew up in nearby Islington, part of what is now the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke.  An outstanding multi-sport athlete starring in baseball, football, basketball and, yes, hockey, Dryden was also an outstanding student.

After high school, Dryden attended an Ivy League school, Cornell, and starred with the Big Red, leading them to the NCAA Championship in 1967.  Drafted 16th overall by the Boston Bruins in 1964, his rights were traded to the Canadiens in one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history with the Canadiens sending Paul Reid and Guy Allen for Dryden and Alex Campbell.  After Cornell, Dryden went to law school at McGill and continued his hockey career with the Canadian national team and the Montreal Voyageurs, the Habs’ farm team at the time.

It was the spring of 1971 when Dryden burst onto the NHL stage.  After being called up from the Voyageurs and starting only six NHL games (winning all six), Coach Al MacNeil announced that he would be the starting goaltender for the first round series against the formidable Boston Bruins.

At that time, the Bruins were defending Cup Champions and their 1970-71 regular season was record-breaking.  Led by the great Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito (who registered 76 goals and 76 assists that regular season), the Bruins were a juggernaut and were heavily favoured against a Canadiens’ team whose lineup was impressive but the talent cycle of the group was far below its peak.  A soon-to-be-retired Jean Beliveau, an aging Frank Mahovlich, and young players who had yet to reach their prime such as Rejean Houle, Marc Tardif, Dryden, Peter Mahovlich, Jacques Lemaire, and Yvan Cournoyer constituted a team that barely made the playoffs that season after missing the postseason in 1970.  It was a David and Goliath storyline and, sure enough, with Dryden starring in the nets, the Canadiens upset the Bruins in seven games.  That magical Spring, the Habs went on to defeat the Minnesota North Stars (in six games) and the Chicago Blackhawks in seven games to win the Stanley Cup with Dryden winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

It is difficult to overstate or articulate the significance of this particular Stanley Cup Championship for Hab fans of this scribbler’s generation.  Beliveau had announced his pending retirement prior to the end of the season and Guy Lafleur had not yet been drafted, although he would be selected first overall later that Spring.   Dryden, a goaltender with six games of NHL experience, had carried the Canadiens to glory that playoff year, thereby allowing Beliveau to win his tenth Stanley Cup and retire a champion.  So many of us became lifelong fans after this improbable and incredible run led by the cerebral netminder.

Of course, Dryden was not your typical hockey player.  In an era when most NHL players were Canadian and came up through the CHL ranks, leaving home in their mid-teens and sacrificing their education to pursue their hockey dreams, Dryden went the US College route and pursued his education and his hockey career.  While that is a common path to the NHL today, Dryden was a trailblazer at the time.

Similarly, even when playing in the AHL and for his first few years as an NHL player, Dryden attended and finished law school at McGill, even taking a gap year with the Canadiens to article with a Bay Street law firm after a contract dispute with Habs’ management.  When interviewed, he was thoughtful and, yes, long-winded, denying reporters the sound bites, cliches, and other drivel that so often are a material part of sports journalism.

After the 1971 Conn Smythe-winning playoff performance, Dryden won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in a year when Lafleur, Marcel Dionne, and Richard Martin all played their inaugural NHL season.  No other player has won the Conn Smythe Trophy before winning the Calder Trophy before or since.

Dryden also represented Canada in the 1972 Summit Series, widely regarded as one of the most impactful series in hockey history.  The Summit Series ushered in European players (and eventually players from behind the Iron Curtain) to the NHL and placed international hockey on the map.  Until then, NHL executives largely ignored European talent.  Dryden was the winning netminder in the pivotal eighth game when Paul Henderson scored “The Goal” that clinched Team Canada’s incredible comeback victory over the Soviets.

The rest of his hockey career was legendary as well and included five more Stanley Cups, five Vezina Trophies, five First Team All-Star selections, and backstopping one of the greatest hockey dynasties that won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1976 to 1979.  The personnel on those teams were more formidable than either the 1971 or 1973 teams and Dryden was not required to be the difference maker that he was in 1971.  However, he was the steady presence in the Canadiens’ net for each of these Championships.  All of these accomplishments and he only played eight seasons.

It was an incredible career but Dryden had other things he wanted to do with his life.  After hockey, he became an accomplished author, penning, among other works, “The Game”, which is widely regarded as the greatest hockey book ever written.  It documents a week in the Canadiens’ 1978-79 season, a time when the team knew that its dynasty was coming to a close.

From 1997-2004, Dryden served as the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  During this period, the Leafs enjoyed their greatest success since their last Stanley Cup, reaching the semifinals on two occasions.

Always community-minded, he served as Ontario’s Youth Commissioner.  In 2004, Dryden entered politics representing a federal Toronto area riding (York Centre) and served in Paul Martin’s cabinet as the Minister of Social Development.  After the Martin government’s defeat in 2006, Dryden ran for the Liberal Party leadership and continued to serve as a Parliamentarian until 2011 when he was defeated.

When this scribbler awoke to the news of his death on Saturday, September 6th, 2025, it was truly a blow.  Of course, I have read the tributes and accolades from teammates, coaches, opponents, fellow politicians and, yes, admirers such as Prime Minister Carney.  Perhaps the Prime Minister spoke for our generation when he said (and I paraphrase):  “He was the reason I became a goaltender although I never mastered the stance with my stick or his ability to keep the puck out of the net.  Ken Dryden was Big Canada.  He was the best of us.”

Mr. Dryden is survived by his wife, Lynda, their children, Sarah and Michael and their grandchildren.

Ken Dryden was a hero for many Canadians of my generation, especially for fans of the Montreal Canadiens.  Unfortunately, I never met Ken Dryden but I will miss him forever.