Hockey legend Ken Dryden Reflects on Playoffs, Legacy Beyond the Net
Montreal, QC – Ken Dryden, the Hall of Fame goaltender and six-time Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens, recently shared his unique perspective on the NHL Playoffs, offering insights that underscored why he’s remembered as much for his intellect and character as for his remarkable on-ice achievements. Dryden, 78, observed his final playoff run with the same analytical depth he brought to the game as a player.
Dryden described the playoff atmosphere as “magic,” noting the relentless pace.”You’re going back-to-back with games every night. It’s amazing. It’s almost as if, while there are all these games, there’s one long continuous game,” he explained.”Each exciting moment of one comes to feel as if it’s part of an exciting moment of the next and the next and the next… you end up reacting as if it’s one game, all of these things that are happening in one game that’s going on night after night.”
Despite a deep affection for the Canadiens, Dryden emphasized his impartiality during the postseason. “There are certain teams that I have a certain affection for and in some cases a big affection,but I end up really kind of hoping for the team that deserves to win,” he said. He believed the deserving team would become evident as the series progressed. “It becomes clear with each game in a series who is really earning it. There are very few teams that I really don’t like, there are very few that I really, really like a lot. I can come to like, a lot, a team that’s really earning it, even a team that I have no history with at all.”
Dryden predicted the eventual Stanley Cup winner would be a team that had truly earned the title, stating, “Whoever will win the Stanley Cup will have earned it. That’s why you play the game. The players are going to determine it. I’m not going to determine it with whatever I think or do with any fantasy league.” He reiterated the players’ agency, adding, “It’s in thier hands and those hands are terrific and exciting and competitive.Whoever makes it to the end is going to have wholly earned and deserved it.” He noted the Florida Panthers where ultimately bound for their second consecutive championship.
Observers noted the comments were quintessential dryden – thoughtful, nuanced, and far from a simple soundbite. He approached the playoffs with the same insight and depth that defined his life and career, qualities for which he will continue to be remembered. Beyond his six Stanley Cups with Montreal, Dryden’s legacy extends to his post-hockey career as a lawyer, author, and politician, solidifying his place as one of Canada’s most respected public figures.
Top photo: Ken Dryden early in his Canadiens career, watching a puck fly to the corner during a Montreal Forum game.
