Jacques Plante: First and Last

Jacques Plante first played in the National Hockey League during the 1952-53 season, appearing in three regular season games for the Montreal Canadiens. More importantly, Plante shared duties with Gerry McNeil during the Stanley Cup playoffs as Montreal defeated the Boston Bruins to be crowned champions. The following year, he played 17 during the regular season and eight in the playoffs as the Habs fell to the Detroit Red Wings in the finals.

Two years later, Jacques was finally placed on an NHL hockey card. The Jacques Plante rookie card appears as number 50 in the 1955-56 Parkhurst set. The card is the highest valued in the set at $800. The 1955-56 set consists of 79 cards and a complete collection is valued at $5000. Plante also appears on two ‘In Action’ cards that year.

Two decades later, Plante appeared on his last hockey card as an active player. Jacques turned 46 during the 1974-75 season, wearing an Edmonton Oilers jersey in the World Hockey Association. He played 31 games for the Oilers, a team that finished last in the Canadian Division. His final hockey card appears as number 34 in the 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee WHA set. The card is valued at $40. Only the hockey cards of Mark Howe (RC), Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull are valued higher at $50 each. The set consists of 132 cards and a complete collection is valued at $400.

Plante played in the NHL from 1952-53 to 1972-73, missing the 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons. The bulk of his career, and success, came with the Canadiens. However, he also played for the New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.

Over his career, Jacques was awarded the Vezina Trophy seven times. Five of those came consecutively from 1955-56 to 1959-60. In each of those five years, the Canadiens were crowned Stanley Cup champions. Plante has his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup six times. On four other occasions, he played in the Stanley Cup finals, twice with Montreal and twice with the St. Louis Blues.

Jacques was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP just once. In 1961-62, he was one of two goalies, along with Glenn Hall of the Chicago Black Hawks, to play in all their team’s 70 games. Plante had the lowest goals against average and highest number of wins in the league. The Habs placed first overall during the regular season but were upset in the semi-finals and denied a chance at the Cup.

Jacques Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978, along with Andy Bathgate and Marcel Pronovost. In 1981, he became a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. It took the Montreal Canadiens until 1995, nearly a decade after Plante’s death, to retire his number 1.