Mike Vernon: Hall of Fame goaltender

Mike Vernon starred as the Calgary Flames' goaltender in the last half of the '80s, helping them win the 1989 Stanley Cup.

Source: https://www.hhof.com/induction/induction2023/mikevernon.html

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Sometimes you don’t know greatness when it is right in front of you.

My first reaction to Mike Vernon was disdain, bordering on hatred. After all, he was the goaltender for the Calgary Wranglers, the much-hated rivals of my beloved Lethbridge Broncos in the early 1980s.

That hatred was just intensified in 1983 when Vernon spurned the Broncos to play for the Portland Winter Hawks in the Memorial Cup.

Yet, all that would change when Vernon joined the Calgary Flames and immediately shored up their goaltending for the better part of a decade. He backstopped them to a Stanley Cup championship and another appearance in the finals, then pretty much did the same thing in the mid-90s with the Detroit Red Wings.

The Hockey Hall of Fame recently announced its class of 2023, and Mike Vernon is part of it.

His induction is well deserved.

Junior sensation
Mike Vernon joined the Calgary Wranglers for the 1980-1981 season where he led the Wranglers to the Western Hockey League final before losing to the Victoria Cougars.

He was then selected by his hometown Calgary Flames in the third round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft.

Vernon was back with the Wranglers for the 1981-1982 season where he was named a WHL all-star, the league’s top goaltender, and the league’s most valuable player. After the Wranglers were eliminated from the playoffs, the league champion Portland Winter Hawks could add a goaltender, so they picked up Vernon, who appeared in all three Portland games, winning one and losing two.

He played a third season with Calgary in 1982-1983, which was an eventful one. The Calgary Flames had injuries in net, so Vernon was called up and made his NHL debut, a loss to the Detroit Red Wings. He played one more game with the Flames, before going back to the Wranglers. He once again was named the WHL’s top goaltender and most valuable player. He also suited up for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, helping Canada win bronze.

After the Wranglers were eliminated from he playoffs, by rights the league champion Lethbridge Broncos chose Vernon to join them for the Memorial Cup. However, that was the first year the host team also qualified for the Memorial Cup. That was Portland, so they claimed they could pick up a goalie too. The rules were unclear because this was the first time two teams from the same league went to the Memorial Cup. Vernon refused to go to the Broncos because he didn’t want to play for their coach John Chapman. Instead he joined the Winter Hawks, and helped them become the first American team to win the Memorial Cup. He was also named the top goaltender in the Memorial Cup.

That still bugs me.

Turning pro
Vernon turned pro for the 1983-1984 season where he played for the Colorado Flames of the Central Hockey League, then appeared in one game for the Calgary Flames. He spent the entire 1984-1985 season in the minors with the Moncton Golden Flames of the American Hockey League.

The 1985-1986 season looked to be more of the same. He played 10 games for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League then six with Moncton.

Then, everything would change.

Upset special
The Flames were mired in a slump. They called Vernon up to rest starting goaltender Rejean Lemelin and injured back-up Marc D’Amour, after losing their 11th straight game.

He got his first regular season start on January 9, 1986. He beat the Vancouver Canucks in overtime, earning his first NHL win. He would also earn his first shut out, blanking the Canucks, and went on a run where he did not lose a start for two months.

The Flames made the playoffs where they would face the Winnipeg Jets, a team Vernon had beaten three times that season.

With just 21 games of NHL experience coach Bob Johnson named Vernon the Flames starting goaltender for the playoffs. He made the right choice.

Vernon led the Flames to a three-game sweep of the Jets. He followed that by backstopping Calgary to a shocking upset over the heavily-favoured Edmonton Oilers in seven games, then helped the Flames beat the St. Louis Blues in seven games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

The clock struck midnight for the Cinderella Flames, as they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

But the Flames had their guy in net.

Settling in
Vernon became the Flames’ number one goalie for the 1986-1987 season, recording 30 wins, although the Flames lost to the Jets in the first round of the playoffs.

The following year, the 1987-1988 season, Vernon was second in the league in wins with 39, trailing only Grant Fuhr of the Edmonton Oilers. Vernon helped the Flames win the President’s Trophy as the league’s top team in the regular season, and appeared in his first of four straight all-star games. The Flames would face the Oilers in the second round of the playoffs, after Calgary dispatched Los Angeles, only to have the Oilers sweep the Flames in four straight games.

The next year would be Vernon’s best of the decade, and one of the best of his career.

Champion
Vernon led the league in wins with 37 in the 1988-1989 season, and was second with a goals against average of 2.65. The Flames again had the best record in the league and he appeared in his second straight all-star game. He also finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie, which went to Montreal’s Patrick Roy.

The Flames opened the playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks. They gave Calgary all they could handle, taking them to overtime in Game 7 and the brink of elimination, before Calgary defeated the Canucks. Vernon made perhaps the greatest save of his career in that overtime when he stopped Stan Smyl on a breakaway. Joel Otto would later score the overtime winner and Calgary never looked back.

They beat the Los Angeles Kings and Wayne Gretzky in the second round, Chicago in the third round, and got their revenge on the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final, beating them in Montreal.

Mike Vernon was a Stanley Cup champion.

The years after
Mike Vernon remained with the Flames until the summer of 1994 when he was traded to Detroit. He was intended to be a mentor to Chris Osgood who would be the Red Wings’ goalie of the future. He backed Osgood up for the better part of three seasons.

Then, with Osgood struggling at the end of the 1996-1997 regular season, coach Scotty Bowman tapped Vernon on the shoulder to start in the playoffs. Vernon did not disappoint. He led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup championship and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.

He was traded to San Jose after the season, played 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 with them before being traded to Florida on Dec. 30 of 1999. He was claimed by Minnesota in the 2000 expansion draft then immediately traded back to the Flames.

He played two seasons in Calgary, then retired on Sept. 13, 2002, the Flames’ leader in virtually every category.

His #30 jersey was retired in 2007, and he was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

This year, he was named to the Hockey Hall Of Fame.

Parting thoughts
Looking back to the 1980s, it always seemed Mike Vernon was destined for greatness in Calgary. It was no surprise he was drafted by the Flames, and we all thought it was just a matter of time until he joined them.

When he did in 1986, it was like he was the saviour of the team, it just seemed destined. We just knew he was going to help them win – and he did.

And he kept on winning, even when he was cast aside, he kept on winning.

Quite frankly, it’s about time he went into the Hockey Hall Of Fame, because he has been a hall-of-fame goaltender for some time.