Normie Smith
Norman Eugene " Normie " Smith (born 18 March 1908 in Toronto, Ontario; † 2 February 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played from 1931 to 1945 for the Montreal Maroons and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League.
Career
Smith played in the 1930/31 season for the Montreal AAA and the Windsor Bulldogs, before he made his debut in the NHL was the season 1931/32 at the Montreal Maroons. Together with James Walsh, he was the goalkeeper of the team Maroons. The next few years he played again for the Windsor Bulldogs in the International Hockey League. In September 1934, the Maroons gave him away to the St. Louis Eagles, who transferred him immediately to the Detroit Red Wings on.
After another year in the IHL, now with the Detroit Olympics, he made his breakthrough with the Red Wings. He stood in the memorable 1-0 win in the playoffs against his former team from Montreal in goal and stopped all 92 shots on his goal before Mud Bruneteau the longest game of NHL history ended with his goal after 176:30 minutes. He gave the team the necessary support for the Stanley Cup for the first time to get to Detroit. The following year he was awarded the Vezina Trophy and elected to the NHL All-Star team. With the Red Wings, he was able to defend the Stanley Cup. Shortly after the beginning of the season 1938/39, it came to a fight with Jack Adams, the general manager of the Wings. It is for Tiny Thompson to the Boston Bruins. There, he saw no way to compete against Frank Brimsek and ended his career.
When it came to bottlenecks in the squad of the Red Wings because of the Second World War, he helped in the seasons 1943/44 and 1944/45, pending in some games. After the end of his career he worked for the car company Ford his retirement he spent in Florida.
NHL stats
Sporting successes
- Stanley Cup: 1936 and 1937
Personal Awards
- First All -Star Team: 1937
- Vezina Trophy: 1937