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‘Mr. Goalie’ Glenn Hall, whose hockey roots trace back to playing for the Edmonton Flyers, dies at 94
Glenn Hall helps lead the way for the Edmonton Flyers to an eventual WHL championship. Image credit: Edmonton Journal, March 27, 1953.
Michael Menzies
Jan 9, 2026, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 9, 2026, 09:44 EST
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One of the all-time hockey legends, a symbol of the romantic era of the game, Glenn Hall, passed away at the age of 94 on Wednesday in Stony Plain. 
Born in Humboldt, Sask., Hall became an Edmonton sporting legend for his three years playing for the Edmonton Flyers in the 1950s. He returned at NHL season’s end to his farm outside the city, and often fibbed about being late to training camps because he “had to paint the barn.” 
Mr. Goalie is most famous for holding an NHL record that will never be touched, starting 502 consecutive games, all while never wearing a mask, even after Jacques Plante famously began donning headgear in 1959. 
A Stanley Cup champion, Calder Trophy winner, a three-time Vezina winner, and Conn Smythe recipient, Hall is also known for his penchant for throwing up as a pre-game ritual. 
Talk about superstitious.
Hall was an innovator, with the butterfly owing its debts to Hall’s style of play. He’s also arguably the greatest goaltender Edmontonians have ever seen play in their city. 

City of Champions

The Edmonton Flyers were a minor league powerhouse in the defunct Western Hockey League in the 1950s, as an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. 
In the era of no backup goaltenders, Hall was a Red Wings prospect while Terry Sawchuk was in Detroit’s crease, on a meteoric rise as the world’s best goaltender. 
This allowed Hall to develop his game with the Edmonton Flyers for three seasons from 1952-53 to 1954-55 before making the jump to the NHL. 
Twice in those three seasons, 1952-53 and 1954-55, the Flyers won the WHL championship, called the President’s Cup. 
Many great players donned the Flyers’ sweater and played in front of fans at the Edmonton Gardens alongside Hall. 
Some include Hockey Fall of Famers like Al Arbour, Johnny Bucyk, and Norm Ullman, the latter two Edmonton natives themselves. And there were other great names of the past, like Bronco Horvath, Larry Zeidel, or Earl “Dutch” Reibel, who rounded up lineups that kept the Gardens full. 
Hall stands tall as the Flyers continue to collect playoff wins in the 1953 WHL playoffs. Image credit: Edmonton Journal, April 21, 1953.
Hall stands tall as the Flyers continue to collect playoff wins in the 1953 WHL playoffs. Image credit: Edmonton Journal, April 21, 1953.
Coached by Bud Poile, father of long-time NHL general manager David Poile, his tenure began at the same time as Hall’s in 1952-53. 
The 1954-55 Flyers were a powerhouse. They swept the Calgary Stampeders in four games and became the first team in the WHL to win both the Director’s Cup, for the best regular season record, and the President’s Cup. 
Hall backstopped the Flyers for 66 games that season, missing a few only due to this call-up to the Detroit Red Wings. He produced his best season to date with a 38-18 record, a 2.83 GAA, and five shutouts. 
In the post-season, he tightened up for a 2.53 GAA and an 11-5 record. 

‘A terrific time in our lives’

That summer, Sawchuk was traded with Hall’s teammate Vic Stasiuk to the Boston Bruins, one part of the famous “Uke Line” with Horvath and Bucyk. The Uke Line would reunite in the Bruins lineup years later. 
That trade allowed Hall to be in the NHL full-time, where he’d win the Calder Trophy in 1955-56, and etch his name as one of the greatest goaltenders of all-time. 
“We were just thrilled to be playing together in Edmonton with the Flyers and had no idea if we’d make to the NHL or not,” said Hall, in Terry Jones’ book Edmonton’s Hockey Knights: 79 to 99. 
“I don’t remember spending a whole lot of time worrying about it. I didn’t really care. I loved to play hockey. We weren’t getting paid much money. I think I made $4500 and the minimum in the NHL was $6000. We had a great team and we were having a great time. 
“The Gardens was generally full. We had a great rivalry with Calgary. The two cities hated each other back then, too. The atmosphere was great. Everybody on that team really liked each other. It was a terrific time in our lives.” 
The Edmonton Flyers challenge to be the best in the country after defeating the Calgary Stampeders in four straight in 1955. Image credit: Edmonton Journal, April 12, 1955.
Hall played for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues, lifting the Stanley Cup in 1961. He backstopped the Blues to three straight final appearances, alongside Jacques Plante, after their inception into the league in 1967. Hall retired in 1971 with 407 wins. 
In 2017, Mr. Goalie was part of the first group of players to be named as one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players.” 
His legacy will live on in the capital region, for those who remember those great Flyers teams, and those who visit the Glenn Hall Centennial Arena in Stony Plain. 

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