Jacques Plante—"Jake The Snake"

In the early years of the World Hockey Association (WHA), the Edmonton Oilers were associated with two of the greatest goaltenders of all time. One is Glenn Hall, who became the team’s goaltending coach during their inaugural 1972-73 season, and the other is Jacques Plante.

In 1974, the year that the team moved from the old Edmonton Gardens to the 15,000-seat-plus Northlands Coliseum, 45 year-old Jacques Plante had agreed to come and play for the Oilers.

By the time Plante came to the team, he had established himself as a true goaltending legend. He was a seven-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the National Hockey League’s (NHL) top goaltender, and he backstopped the Montréal Canadiens of 1956-1960 dynasty teams that won an unprecedented five Stanley Cups in a row.

In his career, Plante won six Stanley Cups between 1952 and 1963, all with the Canadiens. After spending two years with the New York Rangers, Plante left the game until the NHL expanded to 12 teams in 1967. He spent time with St. Louis, Toronto and Boston before deciding to come to the WHA. In his 18 NHL seasons, Plante won 435 games and recorded an amazing 82 shutouts.

Although recognized for his exceptional play, Plante is also famous for his hockey innovation. While he was not the first goalie to wear a mask, he was the one who made the mask an accepted piece of goaltending equipment. On November 1, 1959, New York Ranger Andy Bathgate shot a rising puck that badly cut Plante’s face. Plante went to the trainers’ room for stitches, with his face already swelling badly. He then told coach "Toe" Blake that he would not return to the game unless he could wear a mask he had designed and used in practice. While Blake was not happy with the request, his goalie was far too important to the team to argue the point. Plante never removed the mask, and throughout the 1960s, other NHL goalies began to emulate him.

In 1974, Plante’s arrival in Edmonton was big news, and, at the time, the biggest name to don an Oilers’ sweater. Plante would win the first-ever pro game held at Northlands Coliseum, backstopping a Edmonton 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Crusaders on November 10, 1974.

Goalie Ken Brown, who backed up Plante fondly remembers the legend; "He was 46, he had spent three years away from the game at that point in his career," said Brown. "I was 24 or 25 and I was getting goosebumps watching this guy play. He was such a good angles goalie. He always knew where he should stand on the ice. His style was that he would give you the good shot, but he would take most of the net away. If you hit the perfect shot, put in off the post, he would say ’OK, you beat me.’ But he made it so you had to have the perfect shot."

Plante played one season with the Oilers and posted a solid 15-14-1 record with one shutout. At the end of the season, Plante once again left the ice, and this time for good. He stayed in the WHA as the general manager of the Quebec Nordiques.

Plante died February 27, 1986 in Switzerland.

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