Martin Brodeur finally broke his record for career shutouts some four decades later but, Terry Sawchuk will always be considered in some circles as the best goaltender to ever play the game of hockey.

Shutout: The Legend Of Terry Sawchuk is a 252 page book written by Brian Kendall in 1996 that chronicles the life of this often controversial goalie that forever left his mark on the National Hockey League. From his early days as a youth in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to his untimely death in New York City, Terry fought as many demons as he did pucks.

Sawchuk played 971 regular season games in the NHL, as well as an additional 106 in the playoffs. He began his NHL career during the 1949-50 season and played until his death after the 1969-70 season. Terry played fourteen seasons with the Detroit Red Wings over three different stints. He also played two seasons with the Boston Bruins, three with the Toronto Maple Leafs and one each with the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.

The book focuses on his constant pain, not just physically but emotionally and mentally. Due to the nature of the equipment in the early history of the NHL and the fact that a goaltender was expected to play every single game for his team, Terry played most of his career with some sort of nagging injury. Like most goaltenders in the age before the mask, Sawchuk’s face was a roadmap of scars.

Kendall tells of the Terry Sawchuk that was a miserable and lonely player that was always questioning his own abilities. He was considered the best goalie in hockey but always felt that he was letting his team down when they were at the losing end of a game. The media was always on their guard around Terry because they never knew when he would snap at them.

What is very evident is the fact that Sawchuk was a Detroit Red Wing forever. He was traded to Boston for the 1955-56 season and did nothing but try and get back to Detroit for the two seasons he was a Bruin. He did return to Detroit for the 1957-58 season. Again, after leaving the Wings following the 1963-64 season, he would return again for a season after being away for three with Toronto and one with Los Angeles.

The book culminates in the tragic events the surrounded Terry’s death in 1970. What started as a drunken fight with roommate Ron Stewart about money owed and whether they should do a better job of cleaning their rental before leaving for the summer, ended in Sawchuk entering the hospital and never leaving. A fight broke out between the two and when a friend of Sawchuk’s went to break it up, Terry fell awkwardly causing damage to his liver and unstoppable internal bleeding.

Sawchuk posthumously entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971. His career featured four Stanley Cups, four Vezina Trophies, the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year and, of course, the 103 regular season shutouts.

Shutout: The Legend Of Terry Sawchuk is a great read full of interesting details about Terry and about the game in general.