The Eagle lands in Hall

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This article was published 29/06/2011 (5393 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ask just about anyone every associated with Eddie Belfour — freshly minted member of the Hockey Hall of Fame — and they’ll all speak of the same characteristics that have put the gifted goaltender in the shrine.

 

Things like his dedication, his competitive drive and, of course, a basic skill set he was forever honing right up to the day the proud son of Carman retired.

Actually, for the record it could be said he’s still working at his craft.

And so it was that when the call from the HHOF committee came on Tuesday, Belfour was already in his pre-game mode. After all, he had to be sharp for a big tilt last night for the Rex’s Seafood Restaurant team he plays defence for — yes, defence — in the Senior Stars Hockey League in Dallas.

“I was actually taking a pre-game nap for my men’s league game and my brother-in-law came over to the house and knocked on the door and woke me up. That’s how I found out,” said Belfour with a chuckle on Tuesday.

“I didn’t expect it in any way. It was a real surprise and, obviously, a real honour and even more of an honour to be picked right away. I was just flabbergasted when I heard about it.”

Inducted in his first year of eligibility, Belfour will join former teammate Joe Nieuwendyk as well as Doug Gilmour and Mark Howe at the official ceremony in Toronto on Nov. 14.

While the path to greatness for this quartet would have its share of potholes along the way, Belfour’s route was particularly circuitous.

Undrafted and unheralded, Belfour was playing hockey with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Winkler Flyers when the likes of Rod Collins and Ernie Sutherland — among others — helped him with his game and his schooling, which opened a door for him at the University of North Dakota.

Belfour, 46, was able to parlay one year with the Sioux into a free-agent deal with the Chicago Blackhawks and the rest, as they say, is history.

Consider this: he is a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy, Stanley Cup and Olympic champion who posted 76 shutouts, ninth all-time, and is third on the all-time wins list behind Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy.

“I would like (fans) to remember me as a competitive player and one of the best goalies in the game,” said Belfour.

“(The Flyers) were the team I wanted to play for. I got the chance to play three years there and I really enjoyed my time there because I could live at home and had a good support system with my mom and dad. We didn’t win a championship in Winkler, but we did have some success. It’s a great organization.”

It’s a great organization that, it’s worth noting, once cut Belfour. But he would return to star for the Flyers from 1984-86 and was inducted into the organization’s hall of fame last year and serves as a director.

“I remember him being sort of green,” said Flyers’ club president Dan Giesbrecht, one of the team’s founding fathers.

“He was fresh from high school and had a lot to learn. But he learned very, very quickly and was very determined and he had a lot of skill and that carried him throughout his career.

“I remember guys, lesser guys, taunting him a little bit. He would say, ‘When I get to the NHL…’ He would be jesting, but he was so determined to do everything he could to get there. The other guys would say, ‘Oh yeah Eddie, when you get there…’ Later on these were the same guys asking him for free tickets and admission to the some of the arenas.

“Here’s the thing about Eddie: he talked about getting there, but also did the work,” Giesbrecht continued. “I remember being on a drive west of Carman and seeing this guy running up the hills. Here was Eddie Belfour in the off-season running hills in the Pembina Valley for conditioning. We stopped and had a little chat, but it showed me this other aspect to him. Here he is, while the other guys are probably on the golf course or having a good time during the summer, running in the heat of the day and getting his conditioning in. He did everything possible to get where he is today.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

EDDIE BELFOUR

 

Born: Apri 21, 1965

Hometown: Carman

Resides: Dallas

Nickname: The Eagle

Teams:

Winkler Flyers, 1984-86

University of North Dakota, 1986-87

Saginaw Hawks (IHL), 1987-88

Chicago Blackhawks 1988-89, 1990-97

Canadian national team, 1989-90

San Jose Sharks, 1996-97

Dallas Stars, 1997-98 to 2001-02

Toronto Maple Leafs, 2002-03 to 2005-06

Florida Panthers, 2006-07

Leksands (Sweden), 2007-08.

Awards:

Garry F. Longman Memorial Trophy (IHL top rookie), 1987-88

William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals against), 1990-91, 1992-93, 1994-95, 1998-99

Calder Trophy (NHL rookie of the year), 1990-91

Vezina Trophy (NHL top goaltender), 1990-91, 1992-93

Roger Crozier Award (top goals against), 1999-00

NHL First All-Star Team, 1991, 1993; Second All-Star Team, 1995

Won Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999

Won gold as member of Team Canada at 1991 Canada Cup and 2002 Winter Olympics

Notable:

His 484 wins ranks third all-time behind Martin Brodeur (625) and Patrick Roy (551)

76 career shutouts ties him with Tony Esposito for ninth all-time.