August 8 NHL History
Two members of the Hockey Hall of Fame share this birthday.
1927: Defenseman Bill Gadsby is born in Calgary, Alberta. Gadsby comes to the NHL as a 19-year-old with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1946 after being signed as a free agent, is traded to the New York Rangers on Nov. 23, 1954, and to the Detroit Red Wings on June 12, 1961. He plays in eight NHL All-Star Games, is selected as a First-Team All-Star three times and a Second-Team All-Star four times, and ends his NHL career with 568 points (130 goals, 438 assists) in 1,248 games during 20 seasons. The only thing that eludes Gadsby is playing on a Stanley Cup-winning team; he gets to the Final three times with Detroit without success. Gadsby is inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970.
1947: Goaltender Ken Dryden is born in Hamilton, Ontario. Unlike Gadsby, Dryden spends seven full seasons in the League after joining the Montreal Canadiens for the final six games of 1970-71 and wins the Stanley Cup six times. Dryden plays six regular-season games at the end of the 1970-71 season, but wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after helping the Canadiens win the Cup in 1971, then wins the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 1971-72. Behind Dryden, the Canadiens win the Cup in 1973 and four straight championships from 1976-79. Dryden retires after the 1979 championship; he is 258-57-74 with a 2.24 goals-against average and 46 shutouts in 397 NHL games. He wins the Vezina Trophy five times and is inducted into the Hall in 1983.
1977: Charlie Simmer, a left wing who’s played 80 NHL games during the previous three seasons with the California Seals/Cleveland Barons franchise, signs as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings. Simmer doesn’t earn a full-time job with the Kings until midway through the 1978-79 season, but winds up as the left wing on the “Triple Crown Line” with center Marcel Dionne and right wing Dave Taylor. He scores 56 goals in 1979-80 and 1980-81, earning First-Team All-Star honors each time; with 101 and 105 points, he also becomes the first left wing in NHL history to surpass 100 points in consecutive seasons. The Kings trade Simmer to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 24, 1984 and he retires after playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1987-88, finishing with 711 points (342 goals, 369 assists) points in 712 NHL games.
