Gilles Gilbert was given his big break in the National Hockey League after Gerry Cheevers jumped to the WHA for the 1972-73 season. Gilbert was then relegated back to a backup role, following three years of stardom, when Cheevers returned from the Cleveland Crusaders to rejoin the Bruins late in 1975-76 season.
Gilles Gilbert – Junior/Minor Pro
Gilbert was the first big name goaltender to play for the London Knights. He played 36 games for the Ontario Hockey League club in 1968-69, in just the franchise’s fourth year of existence.
Playing 36 of the team’s 54 regular season games, Gilles recorded one shutout and a 4.55 goals against average. The Knights, even with Darryl Sittler and Dan Maloney in the lineup, finished just seventh in the ten team league. London did reach the post season but fell in the opening round to the Peterborough Petes.
The Gilles Gilbert Collection:
The following year, 1969-70, Gilbert played his first year of pro hockey with the Iowa Stars in the Central Hockey League. The Minnesota North Stars drafted Gilles in the third round of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft, 25th overall and Iowa was their minor league affiliate.
With the Stars, Gilbert appeared in 39 regular season games, posting two shutouts and recording a 3.26 GAA for the Parker MacDonald coached team. Gilles then played just four games in the playoffs, taking a back seat to Fern Rivard who appeared in seven games as the second place Stars reached the finals before falling the first place Omaha Knights. Rivard would go on to play sparingly in the NHL with the North Stars.
His last season in the minors before going up to the National Hockey League full-time was 1971-72. Gilbert played 41 games in the American Hockey League with the Cleveland Barons, posting two shutouts and recording a 3.62 GAA for the John Muckler coached team. Fern Rivard was his partner once again and the two split the season pretty much 50/50.
Gilles returned to the AHL at the end of his career. He appeared in four games with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1982-83, his last year in pro hockey.
Gilles Gilbert – NHL
As mentioned, Gilbert was a third round pick by the North Stars in 1969. Gilles was the second goaltender taken in the draft, behind Jim Rutherford who was taken tenth overall by the Detroit Red Wings.
Between 1969-70 and 1982-83, Gilbert appeared in 416 regular season NHL games with the North Stars, Bruins and Red Wings. He finished his career with 18 shutouts and a 3.27 goals against average. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Gilles played in an additional 32 games, with three more shutouts and a 3.03 GAA.
Gilles played sparingly with the North Stars over his first four years in the NHL, appearing in a total of 44 games. Before the 1973-74 season, Gilbert was traded to the Bruins from Minnesota, in exchange for Fred Stanfield. He was to fill a gap left when Gerry Cheevers jumped to the WHA for the 1972-73 season. In 1972-73, Ed Johnston played the bulk of games for the Bruins with Jacques Plante, Ross Brooks and John Adams seeing some action.
In his first year with Boston, Gilbert played 54 games during the regular season and appeared in all 16 games in the playoffs. The Bruins reached the Stanley Cup finals before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Over his first three years with the Bruins, Gilles played more than 50 games in each season. He was returned to a backup role in 1976-77 after Cheevers rejoined the Bruins late in 1975-76. He would go on to have just one more year with over 40 games played. In 1980-81, Gilles played 48 games for the Red Wings, the second worst team in the NHL.
However, before Cheevers returned in 1975-76, Gilbert set the mark for consecutive wins by a goaltender in the NHL with 17 straight. That record still stands today and most likely will never be broken. Even rarer than a team that wins 17 straight games is a goaltender that plays in 17 straight games. Gilles also owns the record for highest winning percentage by a goalie in a season when playing in 50 or more games. In 1975-76, he helped the Bruins to 33 wins and eight ties while losing just eight games for a .833 winning percentage.
Gilles Gilbert – Rookie Card
The Gilles Gilbert rookie card appears as number 74 in both the 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee and 1973-74 Topps hockey card sets. The card is valued at between three and four times that of a common card. Gilles is shown as a member of the Bruins, having come over in the trade during the off-season. At this point, he had already been in the NHL for four years, appearing in 44 games for the North Stars by the end of 1972-73.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | A | PIM | SO | GAA |
| 1968-69 | London Knights | OHA | 36 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 4.55 |
| 1969-70 | Iowa Stars | CHL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.26 |
| 1969-70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| 1970-71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.80 |
| 1971-72 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 41 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 3.62 |
| 1971-72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.03 |
| 1972-73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 22 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3.05 |
| 1973-74 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 54 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 2.95 |
| 1974-75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 53 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 3.13 |
| 1975-76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 55 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 2.90 |
| 1976-77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 34 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 2.85 |
| 1977-78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 25 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 2.53 |
| 1978-79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 23 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3.54 |
| 1979-80 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 33 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 2.73 |
| 1980-81 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4.01 |
| 1981-82 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.26 |
| 1982-83 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.33 |
| 1982-83 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 20 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4.49 |