Background Bio

Ken Dryden is regarded as one of the best goalies to ever to play the game of hockey, and he put himself in the discussion as a rookie. On a team as good as the Montreal Canadiens were in the early 1970’s, rookies saw the press box, being healthy scratched for games, about as much as the ice, if not more. When Dryden got his call-up from Montreal’s farm team, however, he made an immediate impact and was not taken off of the ice. When the playoffs rolled around, the Canadiens shocked the hockey world when they started the inexperienced Dryden, with only six NHL games under his belt, over seasoned veteran Rogatien Vachon in the first round against the Boston Bruins.

Dryden’s impressive feats did not stop there. After helping the Canadiens win a Stanley Cup that year with unprecedented stats for a rookie goaltender, Dryden received the Conn Smythe Trophy for Playoff MVP. The next year Dryden continued his impressive play and captured another Stanley Cup, along with the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league’s best rookie (Dryden was the first goalie to ever win the Conn Smythe before the Calder), and the George Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league’s best goaltender. Dryden would finish his eight year career with a Calder Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, five Vezina Trophies, six Stanley Cups, and six All-Star team appearances. Dryden was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983.

With a pedigree so impressive, it should not be a surprise that Dryden would also write arguably the greatest hockey book ever written.  The Game offers an inside look to the 1978-79 Montreal Canadiens team that was at the tail-end of its dynastic four straight Stanley Cups. He takes you into the locker room, full of legends such as Serge Savard, Scotty Bowman, and Guy LaFleur. He takes you on some of their many road trips as they visited and played against Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, and more. He offers you the ability to step inside his own mind, possibly tormented by the effects of years of undiagnosed depression. He allows you to step inside the belly of the beast of one of the greatest teams to ever step out on to an NHL ice surface. The Game is a recount of the losses, wins, ups, and downs of that season, the last consecutive Stanley Cup for Dryden and his team, through the eyes of arguably the greatest goalie to put on the pads.