Glenn Hall, whose NHL goalie starts streak may never be broken, dies at age 94

One of hockey's greatest goaltenders, Glenn Hall, died in hospital in Stony Plain at age 94.

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alta, on Wednesday.

Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961 and was named the most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal.

Hall’s run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable, and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league’s top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and ’67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence.

Hall was in net when Boston’s Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that’s among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed.

Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press