Jacques Plante Quotes

Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963; during his tenure, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five consecutive wins. In 2017 Plante was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.Plante retired in 1965 but was persuaded to return to the National Hockey League to play for the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1968. He was later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1970 and to the Boston Bruins in 1973. He joined the World Hockey Association as coach and general manager for the Quebec Nordiques in 1973–74. He then played goal for the Edmonton Oilers in 1974–75, ending his professional career with that team.

Plante was the first NHL goaltender to wear a goaltender mask in regulation play on a regular basis. He developed and tested many versions of the mask with the assistance of other experts. Plante was the first NHL goaltender to regularly play the puck outside his crease in support of his team's defencemen, and he often instructed his teammates from behind the play. Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978, was chosen as the goaltender of the Canadiens' "dream team" in 1985, and was inducted into the Quebec Sports Pantheon in 1994. The Montreal Canadiens retired Plante's jersey, #1, the following year. Plante ranks seventh among NHL goalies for all-time career wins with 437. Wikipedia  

✵ 17. January 1929 – 27. February 1986
Jacques Plante photo
Jacques Plante: 5   quotes 0   likes

Famous Jacques Plante Quotes

“The shot by [Andy] Bathgate nearly ripped my nose off. I told Toe [Blake] I would only return if I could wear the mask, so there was no choice. He never wanted me to wear the mask because he thought it would make me too complacent.”

Plante refers to November 1, 1959, when he debuted the first practical goaltender mask.
Quoted in Kevin Shea, "One on One with Jacques Plante," http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep197802.htm Legends of Hockey.net (2005-05-24)

“My knees started to shake. In the dressing room that night, I was so nervous I couldn't tie my skates. Maurice Richard walked over and held out his hands. 'Look at them,' he said. 'They shake before a big game. You'll feel better when you get out on the ice.”

Plante recalls his first playoff game, which he won 3–0.
Quoted in Kevin Shea, "One on One with Jacques Plante," http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep197802.htm Legends of Hockey.net (2005-05-24)

“Hockey is an art. It requires speed, precision, and strength like other sports, but it also demands an extraordinary intelligence to develop a logical sequence of movements, a technique which is smooth, graceful and in rhythm with the rest of the game.”

Quoted in Kevin Shea, "One on One with Jacques Plante," http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep197802.htm Legends of Hockey.net (2005-05-24)

Similar authors

Margaret Atwood photo
Margaret Atwood 348
Canadian writer
Jean Vanier photo
Jean Vanier 36
Canadian humanitarian
Alice Munro photo
Alice Munro 38
Canadian novelist
George Raymond Richard Martin photo
George Raymond Richard Martin 35
American writer, screenwriter and television producer
Saul Bellow photo
Saul Bellow 103
Canadian-born American writer
Brian Tracy photo
Brian Tracy 63
American motivational speaker and writer
Max Planck photo
Max Planck 30
German theoretical physicist
Leon Trotsky photo
Leon Trotsky 106
Marxist revolutionary from Russia
Jack Kerouac photo
Jack Kerouac 266
American writer
Jimi Hendrix photo
Jimi Hendrix 52
American musician, singer and songwriter