Terry Savchuk is a Canadian hockey goalkeeper of Ukrainian origin, distinguished by incredible reaction and speed. He played in the NHL from 1949 to 1970. Today Savchuk is recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in the history of the National Hockey League.
Goalkeeper childhood
Terry Savchuk was born in December 1929 in the Canadian city of Winnipeg into a family of immigrants from Ukraine. It is known that although his name is officially recorded as Terry, in the family circle he was called Taras.
When the boy was only ten, his older seventeen-year-old brother Mike, who was involved in hockey and whom coaches considered a promising goalkeeper, suddenly died of scarlet fever. Terry was shocked by this tragedy and at some point he decided to follow in Mike's footsteps. By the way, his first ammunition was exactly the ammunition left over from his deceased brother.
First Terry played in the junior league, then in the semi-professional. And at one time he had to combine playing hockey with hard work in a metal sheet company.
NHL career
Terry made his NHL debut in 1949 with the Detroit Red Wings. Already in the first season, many drew attention to the unusual stance of the young goalkeeper - on bent legs and with his back tilted almost 90 degrees. No one knew that such a stance was due to his congenital disease - Terry felt severe pain when he tried to stand up to his full height.
For the Detroit Red Wings, Savchuk played until 1955, that is, 7 seasons. And during this period he managed to become the owner of the Stanley Cup three times (in 1952, 1954 and 1955).
From 1955 to 1957, Savchuk played for the Boston Bruins, and for the next 7 years again for the Detroit Red Wings.
In the early sixties, an important change took place with the goalkeeper - he began to play in a mask. To put it on, Savchuk was forced by an incident in the 1962 match against the Chicago Black Hawks. After a powerful blow from the Chicago striker Bobby Hull, the puck flew right into the head of Savchuk and he received a severe concussion. It is worth noting that by this time Terry's entire face was already literally covered with scars. It is worth noting that he was not the first to perform in a mask. The first was Jacques Plant, who decided on this "unmanly", as many journalists and viewers then believed, a step back in 1959.
From 1964 to 1967, Terry Savchuk played with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And it was with this club that Terry won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time. After that, he no longer won any major trophies.
From 1967 to 1970 Terry Savchuk had a chance to change the team several times: from 1967 to 1968 he played for the Los Angeles Kings, from 1968 to 1969 for the Detroit Red Wings, and from 1969 to 1970 for the “New York Rangers . The last time he went out on the ice on April 14, 1970. A few days later, the season for the New York Rangers came to an end, and the contract between Savchuk and the club's management was terminated by mutual agreement of the parties.
In total, Terry played 971 games in the NHL and 447 of them ended in victory for his team. And in 103 matches the famous goalkeeper defended completely dry, that is, did not concede a single goal. For more than 39 years, Terry Savchuk was considered the record holder for this indicator. Only in 2009 this record was broken by Martin Brodeur.
Personal life
In 1953, Terry Savchuk, he married Patricia Ann Bowman-Morey. From this marriage he had seven children.
Terry had a very difficult character, and it is not surprising that the couple often quarreled, disagreed and got back together. In the end, progressive alcoholism and treason Terry (he had many novels "on the side") forced Patricia to file for divorce. She took the children and left Terry alone. It happened in 1969.
Circumstances of death
In the spring of 1970, Terry, left without a wife, rented a house in New York with another hockey player, Ron Stewart. At that time, Savchuk was in a deep depression and drank a lot, including with his roommate. One of these binges ended tragically - Ron and Terry had a fight, and as a result of this fight Savchuk received serious damage to his internal organs.
Ron himself summoned the medics. Terry was taken to the hospital and urgently underwent a complex operation.
Over the next month, doctors fought desperately for the goalkeeper's life. During this time, Terry Savchuk managed to inform reporters and the police that everything that happened was an accident and he does not consider Ron to be guilty of anything.
Unfortunately, the doctors failed to save the legendary goalkeeper. The date of his death is May 31, 1970. The official cause of death is pulmonary embolism.
