A product of rural Saskatchewan, Johnny Bower first made the NHL with the New York Rangers at age 29, where he played every minute in his rookie year (1953-54). The Goalie lost his job to Gump Worsley, and he would be relegated to the minors until the Maple Leafs took him from Cleveland of the AHL in 1958. At age 34, he was about to put forth an unexpected Hall of Fame run.
Bower remained with the Maple Leafs into his mid-40s, and he was not there to ride the pine but to provide the netminding necessary to bring Toronto to playoff dominance. In the 1960-61 Season, Bower won the Vezina Trophy, was a First Team All-Star, and backstopped the Leafs to three straight Stanley Cup wins. He followed it up with a second Vezina in 1965.
After his second Vezina, Bower’s eyesight began to fail, yet his grit kept him in the NHL. Bower, who was fearless, even in his era, helped the Leafs win another Cup in 1967, though fellow veteran, Terry Sawchuk, was the primary Goalie. He played until 45 and had 219 Wins with Toronto.
Bower was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976. In 1995, his name was hung to the rafters of the Air Canada Center, and his #1 (shared with Turk Broda) was retired by the franchise.
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