| Gilles Gilbert | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Gilbert signing autographs for fans in 1975 | |||
| Born | (1949-03-31)March 31, 1949 Saint-Esprit, Limoilou,Quebec, Canada | ||
| Died | August 6, 2023(2023-08-06) (aged 74) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for | Minnesota North Stars Boston Bruins Detroit Red Wings | ||
| NHL draft | 25th overall,1969 Minnesota North Stars | ||
| Playing career | 1969–1983 | ||
Gilles Gilbert (March 31, 1949 – August 6, 2023) was a Canadian professionalgoaltender inice hockey who was drafted in the third round of the1969 NHL Amateur Draft from theLondon Knights. He played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theMinnesota North Stars andDetroit Red Wings, but most notably for theBoston Bruins.
Gilbert played in the 1961Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the junior Quebec Aces.[1]
Gilbert played in theNHL between 1969 and 1983 and retired with a 3.27goals against average.
In net for theMinnesota North Stars, he surrenderedJean Beliveau's 500th career goal on February 11, 1971.[2] During the 1972-73 he was awarded the WTCN-TV Trophy which was given to Minnesota North Stars' player selected by his teammates as most proficient first-year NHL player.[3]
In1973-74, he was traded to the Bruins as a replacement forGerry Cheevers who had gone to theWorld Hockey Association (WHA). Gilbert's arrival immediately boosted the Bruins while sinking the North Stars whose general manager was later fired as a result of that trade.[4] Gilbert would have a tremendous season going 34-12-8 overall. This resulted in him playing in the NHL All-Star Game, and helped the team to theStanley Cup finals that year. The Bruins lost the Finals series 4-2 to thePhiladelphia Flyers, but over these six games Gilbert played as brilliantly as his opposing counterpartBernie Parent who was named playoff MVP.[5][6]
In the1975–76 NHL season, Gilbert set the NHL record formost consecutive wins by a goaltender with 17, and finished with a 33-8-10 record for a .843 winning percentage in 55 games.[7]
From 1976 to 1980, he teamed withGerry Cheevers to form one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL, being runners-up for theVezina Trophy in 1980.
Gilbert recorded 17 playoff victories for Boston. As of 2019 he ranks sixth in all-time playoff wins among Boston goaltenders. He also set the Bruins record for most assists by a goaltender in one singular postseason with 3. He also holds the record for most assist by a Bruins goalie in the postseason with 4.
Gilbert was the Bruins goalie during the1979 Stanley Cup playoffs semifinal game 7 against theMontreal Canadiens, whenGuy Lafleur tied the game after the infamoustoo many men penalty against Boston, and thenYvon Lambert scored the series-winning goal in overtime; Gilbert was still named the game's first star. Cheevers was benched after losing the first two games of the series, and Gilbert took over as the starter thereafter, overall being named the game's first star three times in the five games against Montreal. Montreal'sSteve Shutt exclaimed of these performances that “Gilles Gilbert stood on his head. He was the reason they got to the seventh game”.[8][9]
Gilbert was in net for Detroit on February 11, 1982, when theVancouver Canucks became the first team[10] with two successfulpenalty shots in the same game, asThomas Gradin andIvan Hlinka scored for the Canucks in the third period of a 4-4 tie.[11][12] After severing in a backup role for the red wings for 3 seasons he would ultimately retire after the 1982-83 season putting an end to his NHL career that lasted over a decade. He is still remembered fondly by Bruins fans for his 7 great seasons with the team and all of his acrobatic saves. As a result in 2023 he would benamed one of the 100 best Bruins players of all time.[13]
Gilbert was a pro scout and goaltending coach for theNew York Islanders from 1996 to 2001.[14]
Gilles Gilbert latterly resided inQuebec City where he was born and raised. He was married to his wife Diane. The two of them have had one son named Terry and a daughter Jennifer. He also worked for the Canadian Hockey Enterprises an organizations that helped set up hockey tournaments for youth and adults. Gilbert was also a golfer and ran a yearly celebrity golf tournament for charity inWinchendon Massachusetts.[15]
He died on August 6, 2023, at the age of 74.[16]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1966–67 | Trois-Rivières Reds | QJHL | 43 | 23 | 18 | 2 | 2540 | 188 | 1 | 4.44 | — | 14 | 9 | 5 | 850 | 65 | 0 | 4.59 | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Thetford Mines Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | 276 | 18 | 0 | 3.91 | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Trois-Rivières Reds | QJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | London Knights | OHA-Jr. | 37 | — | — | — | 2200 | 167 | 1 | 4.55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Iowa Stars | CHL | 39 | 17 | 16 | 5 | 2340 | 127 | 2 | 3.26 | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | 245 | 14 | 0 | 3.43 | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | .846 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 17 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 931 | 59 | 0 | 3.80 | .889 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 218 | 11 | 0 | 3.03 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 41 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 2319 | 140 | 2 | 3.62 | — | 4 | 1 | 2 | 187 | 18 | 0 | 5.78 | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 22 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1320 | 67 | 2 | 3.05 | .904 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | .900 | ||
| 1973–74 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 54 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 3210 | 158 | 6 | 2.95 | .900 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 977 | 43 | 1 | 2.64 | .912 | ||
| 1974–75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 53 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 3029 | 158 | 3 | 3.13 | .893 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 188 | 12 | 0 | 3.83 | .859 | ||
| 1975–76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 55 | 33 | 8 | 10 | 3123 | 151 | 3 | 2.90 | .887 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 360 | 19 | 2 | 3.17 | .868 | ||
| 1976–77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2040 | 97 | 1 | 2.85 | .884 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 9.00 | .571 | ||
| 1977–78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 25 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1326 | 56 | 2 | 2.53 | .885 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 23 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 1254 | 74 | 0 | 3.54 | .869 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 314 | 16 | 0 | 3.06 | .901 | ||
| 1979–80 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 33 | 20 | 9 | 3 | 1933 | 88 | 1 | 2.73 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 11 | 24 | 9 | 2618 | 175 | 0 | 4.01 | .866 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 27 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 1478 | 105 | 0 | 4.26 | .849 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 20 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 1137 | 85 | 0 | 4.49 | .850 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 11 | 0 | 3.33 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 416 | 192 | 143 | 60 | 23677 | 1290 | 18 | 3.27 | .883 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 1919 | 97 | 3 | 3.03 | .895 | ||||
"Gilbert's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. RetrievedSeptember 28, 2017.