Jacques Plante Rules - We pay tribute to the late, great Jacques Plante

If you like Jacques Plante and his great mask, you might want to check out these videos and books.

Videos:

1. This 5 minute video from 2011

2. This 90 second video from 2009

3. This remarkable 47 minute video on the life and career of Jacques Plante by Historica Canada

4. These great Jacques Plante highlights (in French - 4 minutes in total)
Video #1
Video #2

5. In this four minute clip from 1977 courtesy of the CBC’s archives, three of the greatest goalies in NHL history - Jacques Plante, Johnny Bower and Glenn Hall - talk with Peter Gzowski about each other's styles, quirks and achievements.

6. This is a 5 minute tribute to Jacques Plante by Dave Hodge at the time of Plante’s death in November 1986.

7. This is an interesting four minute video done in 2009 featuring Andy Bathgate where Bathgate presents his viewpoint on the infamous 1959 game where he hit Jacques Plante in the face with the puck - quite an interesting backstory. Stick with the video right to the end - interesting how Bathgate explains how he and Plante understood each other’s point of view despite their rivalry.


Books:

Jacques Plante: The Man Who Changed the Face of Hockey
Published in 2010
Author: Todd Denault

On Goaltending: Fundamentals of Hockey Netminding by the Master of the Game

Jacques Plante
Published in 2011 by Dundurn and XYZ Publishing
Author: Raymond Plante and Vladimir Konieczny (Translator)

Goalies Rule is not only a blog, it’s also a great e-commerce store where you can buy some fun goalie-mask themed products for the goalie (or goalie lover) in your family - please visit Heritage Sports Stuff. We were working with Jacques Plante's family for a period of time but that agreement expired in November 2019 - our loss.

Please also note that we are working with a number of different goalies - The Magnificent Seven - to see/purchase products featuring those masks, please visit our website.

Goalies Rule is a celebration of great goalie masks from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Even though the era of face-fitting masks has passed, these masks are timeless in their beauty and simplicity. Goalies Rule marries some great goalie mask images with some great products ranging from t-shirts and cell phone cases to pillows and stretched canvas prints. These products will make fantastic gifts for the hockey fan / goalie fan in your family. These products are fun, iconic and really eye-catchingly beautiful.

We are a Direct-To-Consumer (D2C) company making Direct-To-Print products – what this means is that if you place an order with us today, your product will be made for you within 48 hours and shipped to you anywhere in North America from our production facility in Florida. If you are in Europe, they will be shipped from our facility in Germany or Latvia. And if you’re in Asia, they’ll be shipped to you from our facility in China.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you receive your purchase and you are dissatisfied for any reason, just let me know and I will make it right either by refunding your payment in full or sending you another product.

Goalies Rule is owned and operated by me, Scott Sillcox of Aurora, Ontario. I’m a real person and I’d like to have nothing but delighted customers. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please call me 416-315-4736 or email me.

Many thanks
Scott

Jacques Plante - A brief hockey history and one of the all-time great NHL masks

Jacques Plante was born January 17, 1929 and passed away February 27, 1986.

If not the best goalie of all time, Jacques Plante was certainly the most important - the man who introduced the art of modern goaltending to the NHL and whose influence is seen every night a game is played. "Jake the Snake" was born in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, and from the time he started playing, his destiny was to play for the Montreal Canadiens.
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​After a usual four-year apprenticeship with the Montreal Royals in Quebec senior hockey and two years with the Buffalo Bisons, Plante quickly emerged as Montreal's goalie of the future. He played a few games for the Habs in 1952-53 and 1953-54, and in his first full season began an incredible run of five consecutive Stanley Cup wins and five consecutive Vezina Trophy wins, records that have yet to be equaled.

Throughout his career he was plagued with recurring asthma and after missing 13 games due to a sinusitis operation, Plante began wearing a mask in practices in 1956. Coach Toe Blake endorsed the move cautiously because it kept his goalie healthy and happy, but he warned Plante that a mask wasn't permitted during games. However, during a Montreal versus New York game the night of November 2, 1959, Plante was hit in the face by a shot. He went off to the dressing room for stitches and when he returned he was wearing a mask. Blake was livid, but he had no other goalie to call upon and Plante refused to return to the goal unless he kept the mask. Blake agreed on condition that Plante discard the mask when the cut had healed. In the ensuing days Plante refused, and as the team continued to win, Blake became less obstinate. The Montreal record stretched into an 18-game unbeaten streak with Plante protected and the mask was in the NHL for good.

Plante was a pioneer of the style of play for goaltenders as well. While there had been other goalies before him who periodically came out of their crease to play the puck, he was the first to skate in behind the net to stop the puck for his defensemen. He also was the first to raise his arm on an icing call to let his defensemen know what was happening on the ice, and he perfected a stand-up style of goaltending that emphasized positional play, cutting down the angles and staying square to the shooter. His book, On Goaltending, was the first of its kind and solidified his place in the game as not just a great stopper but a man who truly understood hockey and wanted to have an influence on how the game would be played in the future.

Plante retired in 1965 after playing two seasons with the Rangers, but he was lured out of retirement by the St. Louis Blues and the prospects of sharing the goaltending with the great Glenn Hall for the expansion team. Together they took the Blues to two Stanley Cup finals, and in 1969 Plante shared the Vezina Trophy with Hall at the ripe old age of 40. He also played with Toronto and Boston and played for one final season with the Edmonton Oilers in the WHA before becoming a scout and goalie coach in St. Louis. In 1962 he was the last goalie to win the Hart Trophy before Dominik Hasek in 1997, and he ranks among the leaders in games played and shutouts. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.

Jacques Plante passed away in 1986 at just 57 years of age.

Primary Source: The Hockey Hall Of Fame’s Player Search

Here is what our friends at Wikipedia have to say about Jacques:

Here are Jacques’ lifetime stats courtesy of HockeyDB.com:

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If you like the look of Jacques Plante’s mask, then you should consider buying something from our fun Heritage Sports Stuff website where we are selling some great vintage goalie mask products. Our agreement with Jacques Plante's family expired in November 2019 - our loss - but we are still working with some other great goalies and some other great masks. Here are the Magnificent Seven Goalies and their masks.

Goalies Rule is a celebration of great goalie masks from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Even though the era of face-fitting masks has passed, these masks are timeless in their beauty and simplicity. Goalies Rule marries some great goalie mask images with some great products ranging from t-shirts and cell phone cases to pillows and stretched canvas prints. These products will make fantastic gifts for the hockey fan / goalie fan in your family. These products are fun, iconic and really eye-catchingly beautiful.

We are a Direct-To-Consumer (D2C) company making Direct-To-Print products – what this means is that if you place an order with us today, your product will be made for you within 48 hours and shipped to you anywhere in North America from our production facility in Florida. If you are in Europe, they will be shipped from our facility in Germany or Latvia. And if you’re in Asia, they’ll be shipped to you from our facility in China.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you receive your purchase and you are dissatisfied for any reason, just let me know and I will make it right either by refunding your payment in full or sending you another product.

Goalies Rule is owned and operated by me, Scott Sillcox of Aurora, Ontario. I’m a real person and I’d like to have nothing but delighted customers. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please call me 416-315-4736 or email me.

Many thanks
Scott

Celebrating Jacques Plante's Mask-That Started It All

Do you or someone in your family love Jacques Plante's wildly famous goalie mask that he first wore with the Montreal Canadiens in 1959?

Then here’s your chance to buy some great products that feature Jacques' brilliant goalie mask. These products are made with the full knowledge and backing of Jacques Plante's family, and they make fantastic gifts for the hockey fan / goalie fan / Jacques Plante fan in your family.

The 12 products that feature Jacques Plante's mask are:

T-Shirts
Phone Cases
Coffee Mugs
Magic Coffee Mugs (when you add a hot liquid, they change color from black to normal)
Pillows
Canvas Prints
Mouse Pads
Puzzles
Photo Paper Posters
Acrylic Wall Hangings
Acrylic Blocks
Foamcore Wall Hangings

We have actually married Jacques' mask with eight different sayings or catch phrases. For instance, if you’d like to buy Jacques' mask on a coffee mug, you can choose one of the following eight phrases:

The Puck Stops Here

Born To Save

And On The 7th Day, God Created Goalies

Beware – Old Goalie Inside

My Crease Is My Castle

Goalies Rule

Eat. Sleep. Stop Pucks.

Card Carrying Goalie

To PURCHASE any product with Jacques Plante's goalie mask, simply click on the phrase of your choice above and then you will be presented with 12 different products (from coffee mugs to t-shirts) with that phrase.

To READ MORE about Jacques Plante, click here.

If you have any questions, please call 416-315-4736 or email me.

Thanks!
Scott

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About Goalies Rule

Goalies Rule is a celebration of great goalie masks from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Even though the era of face-fitting masks has passed, these masks are timeless in their beauty and simplicity. Goalies Rule marries some great goalie mask images with some great products ranging from t-shirts and cell phone cases to pillows and stretched canvas prints. These products will make fantastic gifts for the hockey fan / goalie fan in your family. These products are fun, iconic and really eye-catchingly beautiful.
​
We are a Direct-To-Consumer (D2C) company making Direct-To-Print products – what this means is that if you place an order with us today, your product will be made for you within 48 hours and shipped to you anywhere in North America from our production facility in Florida. If you are in Europe, they will be shipped from our facility in Germany or Latvia. And if you’re in Asia, they’ll be shipped to you from our facility in China.
​
Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you receive your purchase and you are dissatisfied for any reason, just let me know and I will make it right either by refunding your payment in full or sending you another product.
​
Goalies Rule is owned and operated by me, Scott Sillcox of Aurora, Ontario. I’m a real person and I’d like to have nothing but delighted customers. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please call or email me.

Our goalies include:

Steve Baker

Gary Bromley

Gerry Cheevers

Doug Favell

Gilles Gratton

Mike Palmateer

Jacques Plante

Wayne Stephenson