{"id":396934,"date":"2026-01-08T05:03:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T05:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/396934\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T05:03:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T05:03:39","slug":"glenn-hall-whose-nhl-goalie-starts-streak-may-never-be-broken-dies-at-age-94-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/396934\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenn Hall, whose NHL goalie starts streak may never be broken, dies at age 94"},"content":{"rendered":"

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts<\/a> as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.<\/p>\n

Nicknamed \u201cMr. Goalie,\u201d Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall\u2019s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall\u2019s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.<\/p>\n

His 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. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,\u201d Commissioner Gary Bettman said. \u201cThat record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable \u2014 especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.\u201d<\/p>\n

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.<\/p>\n

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. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis influence extended far beyond the crease,” Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. \u201cFrom the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.\u201d<\/p>\n

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.<\/p>\n

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league’s first 100 years.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and \u201cone of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,\u201d Wirtz said.<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford<\/a> with a moment of silence before Wednesday night\u2019s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.<\/p>\n

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.<\/p>\n

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league’s all-time leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo<\/a> of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,\u201d Brodeur said on social media. \u201cHe set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NHL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nhl<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n