John Vanbiesbrouck

John "Beezer" Vanbiesbrouck (born September 4, 1963) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender, who was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils. He began his career playing major junior hockey for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Following a successful season with the Greyhounds, he was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 4th round, 72nd overall, in the 1981 NHL Draft. After his junior career ended, he played for the Rangers minor league affiliate the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. Despite the teams' near collapses due to financial concerns, Vanbiesbrouck lead the Oilers to a league championship and shared the league's MVP honors.

He began playing full-time with the Rangers in the 1984–85 season. Vanbiesbrouck won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender and was named a First Team NHL All-Star the following season. After playing parts of 11 season with the Rangers he was taken in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft by the Florida Panthers. In Florida Vanbiesbrouck was a three time all-star, and lead the Panthers to their first and only Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1996. While in Florida he recorded his 300th career victory, becoming the 15th and only the 2nd American goaltender in NHL history to do so. During his career Vanbiesbrouck compiled a record of 374 wins, 346 losses, 119 ties, and 40 shutouts, making him the winningest American born goaltender and tying Frank Brimsek for most career shutouts by an American born goaltender. Following his playing career he took over as the head coach and General Manager of the Greyhounds. However, after using a racial slur referencing his team captain, he resigned. Internationally Vanbiesbrouck has represented the United States on several occasions. He played in the 1982 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships as well as four IIHF World Championships. He was named to the Second All-Star team at the 1985 World Ice Hockey Championships. He also played in two Canada Cup tournaments, registering the lowest Goals against average in 1987 and was a back-up goaltender during the American's second place finish in 1991. He represented Team USA for the final time in 1998 serving as the back-up on the Olympic ice hockey team.

Early life
Vanbiesbrouck was born in Detroit, Michigan to a Belgian immigrant bricklayer, Robert Vanbiesbrouck, and an Italian immigrant Sara. He grew-up with two brothers; the oldest, Frank, who was also a goaltender in youth hockey. He inspired Vanbiesbrouck to play goaltender. John later noted that he learned more about goaltending just from watching Frank than any coaching could, adding that no one ever helped him more to become the player he was.

Junior and minor leagues
While playing midget level hockey Vanbiesbrouck joined the Little Caesars hockey club, a travel ice hockey team in Detroit. During a tournament in Toronto, Vanbiesbrouck lost his jersey and was forced to wear a teammate's uniform. He played well in the tournament with junior scouts in attendance. Since Vanbiesbrouck wore another player's jersey he went undrafted in the midget draft, while the player whose jersey he wore was drafted in the fourth round. After being unclaimed in the draft Vanbiesbrouck was offered a try-out with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, members of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, later becoming the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). At the try-out he made the team, winning a spot over several other players and became the starting goalie for the Greyhounds. Vanbiesbrouck played in 56 games and complied a 31–16–1 record during his first season in Sault Ste. Marie. Following the 1980–81 season he was drafted in the 4th round, 72nd overall of the NHL Draft by the New York Rangers.

On December 5, 1981, just months after being drafted, Vanbiesbrouck made his professional debut with the Rangers as an emergency call-up. He defeated the Colorado Rockies 2–1. Despite only allowing one goal and earning his first NHL win, the Rangers decided to return him to Sault Ste. Marie — a move intended to aid his development. He finished the year with a 12–12–2 record for the Greyhounds and made his first international appearance, representing the United States at the 1982 World Junior Championships. He played one more season for the Greyhounds, playing 62 games winning 39 of them and being named to OHL Second All-Star Team.

Following his career with the Greyhounds, Vanbiesbrouck moved on to the minor leagues joining the Central Hockey League's (CHL) Tulsa Oilers. During the 1983-84 season, his first with the Oilers, the ownership group was unable to sustain the team. They went bankrupt, were taken over by the league, and forced to play their remaining games on the road. After losing their home rink the team was housed in Denver, Colorado where they shared a practice facility with the University of Denver and fellow CHL team the Colorado Flames. The lack of ice time often forced the Oilers to practice in a Mall where they were not allowed to shoot pucks. For extra practice Vanbiesbrouck had tennis balls hit at him in the parking lot. Despite all the adversity the Oilers won the Adams Cup as league champions. Meanwhile Vanbiesbrouck won the Terry Sawchuk Award, with back-up Ron Scott, for fewest goals against in the league and shared CHL MVP honors with Bruce Affleck by winning the Tommy Ivan Trophy.

New York Rangers
He made the Rangers full time in the 1984–85 season, playing in 42 games and posted a 4.20 goals against average (GAA). The following year Vanbiesbrouck enjoyed a breakout season, playing in 61 games, winning a career high 31. The 31 victories accounted for all but 5 of the Rangers' regular season total. His success continued over to the post-season, where he led the Rangers to an upset over the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round. He then followed it by beating a Washington Capitals team that registered 107 points in the regular season. The Rangers lost in the Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. In the off season Vanbiesbrouck was named a First Team NHL All-Star, won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender, and signed a new three year contract with the Rangers. He was unable to repeat his success in the next season, winning 18 games in 50 games played while losing 20 contests.

Prior to the 1987–88 season Vanbiesbrouck was hit by a puck under his mask in practice, which caused a non-displaced fracture of his lower jaw and a broken tooth. Fortunately for him the injury did not require his jaw to be wired shut, and he was able to return to practice the next day. He showed no ill effects from the injury, playing in 56 games, winning 27. On June 13, 1988 Vanbiesbrouck suffered nerve damage to his left wrist after a glass coffee table he was sitting on collapsed and broken glass lacerated his ulnar nerve and three tendons. He was sitting on the table assembling video equipment in anticipation of the birth of his first child. The glass broke beneath him, and as he braced for the fall, his wrist was cut by the glass. Vanbiesbrouck required five hours of microsurgery to remove glass from his wrist and repair the nerve and tendon damage. He was initially expected to miss 4–6 months, but he recovered in time to attend the Rangers pre-season training camp just 3 month later. Again he played in 56 games, and increased his win total to 28.

He began the 1989-90 season as the Rangers' starting goaltender, but after the Rangers struggled in early January, he began to share the duties with the recently called up Mike Richter. During the playoffs head coach Roger Neilson employed a rotation system between the two goaltenders. The Rangers won their first round match-up against the Islanders, but lost to the Capitals in the second round. For his part Vanbiesbrouck posted a 2–3 record with a 3.02 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

The following season the two goaltenders formed the best duo in the NHL. The duo remained together even after Vanbiesbrouck had a chance to leave via free agency in 1992. A new collective bargaining agreement established him as a group 2 free agent, allowing the Rangers to match any offer from another team or to claim draft choices as compensation if he were to sign with another team. After not receiving much interest from other clubs, Vanbiesbrouck re-signed with the Rangers, signing a two-year deal with an option for the third averaging $1 million per season. At the end of the 1992–93 season, the decision was made to trade Vanbiesbrouck. With the upcoming expansion draft the Rangers would only be able to protect one goaltender. Faced with the prospect of losing one of their two goaltenders, the Rangers traded the "equally talented" but older Vanbiesbrouck to the Vancouver Canucks for future considerations (Doug Lidster).

Florida Panthers
Vancouver made the trade not with the intention of keeping Vanbiesbrouck, but rather in an attempt to keep other players on their roster from being drafted. Rules of the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft allowed teams to protect one goaltender, nine forwards and five defensemen. Additional rules stated that teams could only lose one goaltender in the draft and prevented teams from losing both a defenseman and a goaltender. Prior to the draft Florida Panthers general manager Bobby Clarke won a coin-toss giving them the first pick in the draft. Thus with their first selection, the Panthers picked Vanbiesbrouck to be the number one goalie for their team. Upon his arrival in Florida, Vanbiesbrouck went on a "mall tour" to help elevate the visibility of the franchise and made an informative video explaining ice hockey terms for Blockbuster, then owners of the franchise. In January 1994 he made his return to Madison Square Garden. In his first game back to his former home venue, Vanbiesbrouck made 51 saves ultimately losing the game 3–2 to his former team. During the season he was also named to the All-Star game as the Panthers' sole representative. In the game Vanbiesbrouck played the third period, made six saves and was credited with the win. At the completion of his first season in Florida, he played in 57 games posting a 21–25–11 record, registering a 2.53 GAA, and his career best save percentage of .924 ranked him second in the league. Vanbiesbrouck was named a Second Team NHL All-Star and was shortlisted for the Hart and Vezina Trophies. His 21 wins tied the Minnesota North Stars' Cesare Maniago's record for the most by an expansion goaltender. The record was later passed by Ron Tugnutt during the Columbus Blue Jackets inaugural season. The Panthers finished the season with 83 points, one point behind the New York Islanders, for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The following season was shortened due to the 1994–95 NHL lockout. As a result Vanbiesbrouck played in just 37 games registering a 14–15–4 record. He lowed his GAA from the previous year to 2.47 and increased his shutout total from one to four. However his save percentage dropped to .914. The Panthers again fell a point short of making the playoffs.

In the 1995–96 season, Vanbiesbrouck was named to the All-Star Game. In the game he played the second period and gave up three goals on seven shots. The Panthers were in playoff position for more than half of the season, but faltered late in the season and were close to falling out of the playoff race. Late in the season Vanbiesbrouck shutout the New Jersey Devils putting Florida into the playoffs. At the end of the regular season he played in 57 games posting a 21–25–11 with 2 shutouts. His games played ranked him tenth in the league while his GAA of 2.68 was ninth. In the first round Florida defeated the Boston Bruins in five games. Their second round match-up was against the heavily favored Philadelphia Flyers. Vanbiesbrouck posted a shutout in the first game of the series, the third post season shutout of his career and the first in Panthers playoff history. During the series Vanbiesbrouck held the Flyers scoreless for 116:46 straight minutes, as Florida upset Philadelphia winning four games to two. In the Conference Finals the Panthers were again huge underdogs to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that featured the leagues two top scorers in Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr. The Penguins took a 3–2 series lead, but the Panthers won game six 4–3 to force game seven. In game 7 Vanbiesbrouck made 39 saves in a 3–1 Panthers victory, winning the Eastern Conference and putting them in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Panthers fell behind the Colorado Avalanche 3–0 in the series. Game four was considered one of the classic games in finals' history. The game was a 0–0 tie entering the third overtime period. Early in the period, a long shot from Colorado's Uwe Krupp eluded Vanbiesbrouck giving the Avalanche a 1–0 win and the Stanley Cup. Vanbiesbrouck made 55 saves in the loss and finished third in voting for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

During the 1996–97 season he was elected by the fans to the All-Star Game as the starting goaltender. Vanbiesbrouck' 200,457 votes led the Eastern Conference. By season's end Vanbiesbrouck finished in the top ten in the NHL for save percentage (6), GAA (5) and tied for 11 in wins (27). The Panthers finished fourth in the Eastern conference and faced the Rangers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vanbiesbrouck made 34 saves in game one, shutting out the Rangers 3–0. It was the only game the Panthers won as the Rangers defeated them 4–1 in the series. The following season Vanbiesbrouck reached a personal milestone. On December 27, 1997 the Panthers defeated the New York Islanders 6–2 at Nassau Coliseum. The win marked the 300th of his career, making him the 15th goaltender, and second American, in NHL history to reach the mark. Despite his personal milestone Vanbiesbrouck suffered through his worst statistical season with the Panthers. The team fared no better as they finished the season in 12th place in the Eastern conference and out of the playoffs.

Post Panthers
During the off-season Vanbiesbrouck signed a two-year $7.25 million contract, with an option for a third year, with the Philadelphia Flyers. His first season with Philadelphia was successful, he posted a career best 2.18 GAA, notching 6 shutouts, playing in a career high 62 games and registering a 27–18–15 record. However, he struggled in the playoffs. Despite posting good individual numbers, Vanbiesbrouck let in "soft" goals that cost the Flyers games. Philadelphia was eliminated in the first round 4–2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He continued to be "shaky" at the beginning of the 1999–2000 season. As a result rookie Brian Boucher began playing more. Vanbiesbrouck reached another milestone during the season, becoming the 8th goaltender in NHL history to play in 800 games. He played in 50 games during the season registering a 25–15–9 record, but in the playoff the Flyers went with Boucher.

During the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Philadelphia traded Vanbiesbrouck to the New York Islanders for a fourth-round draft pick. The Islanders made the trade with the intention of having Vanbiesbrouck mentor first overall draft pick Rick DiPietro. He played in 44 games for the Islanders winning 10 of them and recording a shutout. On the eve of the NHL trade deadline, the Islanders traded Vanbiesbrouck to the New Jersey Devils for Chris Terreri and a ninth-round pick. New Jersey made the deal with the intent to give starting goaltender Martin Brodeur some rest prior to the playoffs. With Terreri struggling they felt it best to bring in someone who had played regularly throughout the year. Vanbiesbrouck played in 4 games for the Devils, winning them all, and recorded his 40th career shutout. The shutout tied him with Frank Brimsek for the most shutouts by an American born goaltender in NHL history. Vanbiesbrouck did not play during the playoffs, but the Devils advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Devils played the Colorado Avalanche and lost in seven games. Vanbiesbrouck retired immediately after game seven on June 10, 2001. He stated that "it's time" and he wanted to leave the game healthy. He was retired for only eight months before he agreed to terms with the Devils to come out of retirement. He posted a 2–3–0 record as the Devils back up, finishing his career with 374 wins. His win total is the most by an American born goaltender in NHL history. He again did not play in the playoffs as the Devils were eliminated in the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes. Vanbiesbrouck retired for the second and final time on May 24, 2002.

Following his playing career Vanbiesbrouck earned several accolades. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds retired his number (1). NHL.com named him the best NHL player to wear jersey number 34, and on October 12, 2007 Vanbiesbrouck was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. He remains thirteenth in NHL history in wins. However, he is also fourth all-time in losses.

International play
Vanbiesbrouck made his international debut in 1982 representing the United States at the World Junior Championship. In five games he posted a 1–3–0 record with a 5.70 GAA, as the Americans finished in sixth place. The next year he again participated in the World Junior Championship. He appeared in five games and lowered his GAA to 3.64, helping the American team improve to fifth place.

In 1985 he played for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships. Vanbiesbrouck posted a 6–3–0 record, defeating three of three top ranked teams in the world (Canada, Czech Republic and Sweden). He later noted that those three victories gave him the confidence to be successful at the NHL level. The Americans were the second seed following the preliminary round. However they failed to win a single game in the championship round and finished the tournament in fourth place. Individually Vanbiesbrouck was named to the Second All-Star team. Two years later he played in his second World Championship. He was unable to duplicate his prior success posting a 2–5–0 record, as Team USA finished in seventh place one position away from being relegated to Division I. During 1987 Vanbiesbrouck also participated in the Canada Cup, registering a 2–2–0 record with a 2.25 GAA. He registered the lowest GAA in the tournament, but the United States finished in fifth place. He played in two more World Championships in 1989 and 1991 going 1–2–1 and 3–4–2 respectively, as the US improved to sixth place in 1989 and finished just short of winning a medal in 1991 placing fourth. Vanbiesbrouck was named to the Canada Cup team in 1991, but spent the tournament as Mike Richter's back-up. He played only one game in the tournament defeating Finland 4–3. The United States finished the Canada Cup in second place losing the best of three championship to Canada 2–0. He was named to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey team but missed the Americans' victory due to a small cartilage tear in his right shoulder that required off-season surgery to repair.

Prior to the 1998 Winter Olympics an announcement was made that NHL would shut down for two and a half weeks to allow its players to participate in the international tournament for the first time. Vanbiesbrouck was named to the United States team, but spent the majority of the tournament on the bench, playing in one game for only one minute. As a team the Americans finished in a "disappointing" sixth place.

Playing style
Vanbiesbrouck was a Hybrid goaltender who combined the butterfly style and the more traditional Stand-up style. He was strong at playing his angles and challenged shooters well. Small for a goaltender, standing only 5' 8", he relied on his quickness to regain his feet after making saves or to make additional saves in goalmouth scrambles. Vanbiesbrouck was aggressive when it came to playing the puck, which helped him tie the Rangers single season record for assists by a goaltender and set the Rangers career record as well. Although he was considered one of the best positional goaltenders in the league, his greatest attribute may have been his self-confidence. Former teammate Tom Laidlaw once noted that he believed Vanbiesbrouck's confidence carried him farther than his talent.

Trevor Daley incident
When he retired from the NHL, Vanbiesbrouck took over as the head coach and director of hockey operations for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In February 2003, the team had a record of 18-24-4-3. A month later on March 7, the Greyhounds lost 6–1 to the Guelph Storm. After the game Vanbiesbrouck used a racial slur in expressing his anger with Trevor Daley (now with the Dallas Stars), a black player and Greyhounds' team captain, to two of Daley's white teammates. Daley was told of the remarks by his teammates and was advised to leave the team by his agent Bobby Orr. Daley returned home to Toronto and informed the commissioner of the OHL about the remarks. The day after Daley left the team, Vanbiesbrouck resigned his positions as coach and general manager, and sold his ownership stake in the team. In his apology Vanbiesbrouck stated "I used the 'N' word instead of calling him Trevor, I used it just not thinking. It's a mistake and consequences have to be paid by me, I've embarrassed everybody and my family by this one comment. It's not what they represent and it's not what the Sault Greyhounds organization represents." He added "I told Trev this is an old wound with me, I grew up with it. I'm as sorry as anybody that it's stuck with me." Daley returned to the team three days after leaving, but Vanbiesbrouck never returned to a coaching position.

Career
After leaving the Greyhounds Vanbiesbrouck spent some time as a broadcaster, working as an analyst for Versus network as well as hockey broadcasts on HDNet. In 2010 Vanbiesbrouck, along with Steve Goldstein, formed the broadcast team for Westwood One's radio coverage of the Winter Olympic hockey games. He is the President of VBK Sports Viewer.com, a website dedicated to helping athletes train and develop into better athletes.

Personal
When Vanbiesbrouck was with the Rangers, his brother Frank showed signs of severe depression and suicidal tendencies. During this time John attempted to reach out to Frank, occasionally flying separately from the team on road trips to check in on his brother, and talking to him every day. Despite his efforts Frank committed suicide in 1993. Vanbiesbrouck called Frank's death "devastating" and that he "felt very empty" when Frank died adding that his Christian faith and the Bible helped him through the difficult time.

While playing with the Flyers, Vanbiesbrouck and his family lived in Moorestown Township, New Jersey. He and his wife, Rosalinde, have four sons, Ian, Ben, Nicholas and Daniel. His son Ian was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) when he was five-years old. As a result Vanbiesbrouck started the Vanbiesbrouck Foundation for children with Attention Deficit Disorder to increase awareness of and raise money for children with ADD. However, when he left Florida via free agency the foundation was dissolved and the mission of the program went into an information service based in South Florida. Vanbiesbrouck is also the celebrity sponsor of a golf event in support of The Alan T. Brown Foundation to Cure Paralysis. He returned to his home state of Michigan following his playing days.

Awards and honors

 * Selected to the OHL Second All-Star team in 1983.
 * Selectd to the CHL First All-Star Team in 1984.
 * Terry Sawchuk Trophy winner in 1984 (shared with Ron Scott).
 * Tommy Ivan Trophy (MVP-CHL) winner in 1984 (shared with Bruce Affleck).
 * Selected to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1986.
 * Vezina Trophy Winner in 1986.
 * Played in 1994, 1996, 1997 NHL All-Star Games.
 * Became the 15th, and only the 2nd American, goaltender in NHL history to record 300 career wins.
 * Inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in October 2007.
 * Ranked No. 31 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats.
 * Vanbiesbrouck appears on the NHL 97 cover.

Records

 * Holds New York Rangers all-time franchise record for most assists in a single season by a goaltender (5). (shared)
 * Holds New York Rangers all-time franchise record for most career assists by a goaltender (25).
 * Holds NHL all-time record for most Victories among American born goaltenders (374).
 * Holds NHL all-time record for most Shutouts among American born goaltenders (40). (shared with Frank Brimsek)

Career statistics
Bolded numbers indicate league leader.