Frank Brimsek is one of the better goalies you maybe never knew about. He may also not know that he had one of the best nicknames of all-time, in all sports. How’s that for a teaser?

Frank Brimsek entered the NHL in a less than desirable fashion. Early in the 1938-39 season, the Boston Bruins sold their star goalie, Tiny Thompson, to the Detroit Red Wings. Thompson was a four-time Vezina winner, led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup, and was a fan favourite, so his departure was a bit of a risk and shock to the Boston fan base. All potential animosity towards Brimsek was erased during his first season as he would go 33-9-1 that first season while posting a 1.56 GAA. He would also record ten shutouts and go on two scoreless streaks of 220+ minutes; this earned him the nickname, Mr. Zero. The Bruins would win the Cup that season while Brimsek would take home the Calder and Vezina while being named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team.

Brimsek followed his rookie campaign with a 31 win season, 1.99 GAA, and 6 shutouts. The following year, he would help lead the Bruins to another Stanley Cup. The year after that, he would win his second Vezina and be named to his second NHL All-Star 1st Team. Like many players during WWII, Brimsek would serve in the military during his peak, missing two seasons. He returned for the ’45-’46 season and while being a solid keeper, would never repeat his early dominance. He was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for the start of the ’48-’49 season, but would only play that one year before retiring at the age of 34.

Let’s take a look at his career numbers…

He played just ten seasons and recorded 252 wins which is good for 39th all-time. He also recorded 40 shutouts which is 30th all-time. When you factor in that he lost potentially two of his prime seasons to the war, it’s not inconceivable that Brimsek could have easily reached 300 wins and 50 shutouts. Not too shabby for a guy who would’ve only played twelve seasons. The war also broke up a very good Bruins team (Schmidt, Dumart, Bauer), so we could maybe say another Stanley Cup was in the mix. Regardless, Brimsek was one of the best of his era.

He would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966 and become the first American-born player to do so. He died in 1998 at the age of 84.

This card is a bit of a mystery. You may recognize it from the ’04-’05 Ultimate Memorabilia autographed set. The story on this set is that in the mid to 90′s, future In The Game President Brian Price wanted to release a set showcasing players from the 1930′s. He designed these cards and had them autographed by the players. There are fourteen in all and includes guys like Dumart, The Rocket, Howe, Abel, etc. Unfortunately, the set fell through but some of them were sold through the back door. From the back of the card, apparently there are 1,000 signed of each player. Years later, Price finally got In The Game off the ground and started producing licensed cards. For the ’04-’05 Ultimate Memorabilia set, whatever leftover stock of these signed cards that Price had were made into encased, autographed cards. Some of them were also cut and used in cut signature products. So technically this card is not certified authentic, but I have it on good authority that it is the real deal. I never see the Ultimate Memorabilia versions anywhere, so this is a good (and inexpensive) way to get some on-card autographs of deceased players. Also, the cards are smaller than normal cards, measuring at about 2.5″ X 3.25″ and have a sort of Allen & Ginter/Champ’s look and feel to them. Overall, I sort of really dig them and will try and pick up the other players I need.

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