Eddie Shore
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Eddie "The Edmonton Express" Shore (born November 25, 1902 in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, Canada - died 1985) was a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL).
In 1924, he began his hockey career with the Regina Capitals in the Western Hockey League. Originally a forward, he converted to defense while playing for the Edmonton Eskimos (hockey).
When the WHL folded in 1927, Shore was sold to the Boston Bruins of the NHL. As a rookie, he scored 12 goals and 8 assists for a total of 18 points. This was during an era when defense players scored few goals.
A bruiser known for NHL violence, Shore set an NHL record for 165 penalty minutes in his second season. He frequently ran over players and skated in a trademark crouch so that it was hard for rivals such as Billy Coutu to knock him down. In the 1925/26 season, defensemen Coutu and Sprague Cleghorn of the Montreal Canadiens were traded to the Boston Bruins. During their first practice with the Bruins, Eddie Shore strutted back and forth in front of Coutu and Cleghorn, presumably to show his authority as lead defenseman. Coutu body-slammed Eddie Shore, headbutting Shore's skull and severing the ear. Shore visited several doctors who wanted to amputate the ear, but, at the end of that day, finally found one who sewed it back on. After refusing anaesthetic, Shore used a mirror to watch the doctor sew on the ear. Shore claimed Coutu used his hockey stick to cut off the ear, and Coutu was fined $50. However, Shore later recanted and Coutu's money was refunded. Coutu is quoted as saying he always gave Shore a "limp hand" after that.
Named to the NHL All-Star team for eight of the team's first nine years, Shore was the only NHL defenseman to win the Hart Trophy four times. While playing for the Bruins, he won two Stanley Cups.
When he retired, Shore bought and operated the American Hockey League's Springfield Indians for thirty-five years. Today, the trophy given annually to the AHL's best defenceman is named in his honour.
Eddie Shore was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.
Career Statistics
- GP 553
- G 105
- A 179
- Pts 284
- Ttl 1037
External link
- Hockey Hall of Fame Biography and Career Statistics (http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p194705&type=Player&page=bio&list=#photo)