Bassen began his NHL career in 1954 with the Chicago Black Hawks where he spent two seasons as the backup to
Al Rollins. Bassen went on to have starting roles in the
Western Hockey League for the
Calgary Stampeders,
Seattle Americans and the
Vancouver Canucks before moving to the Detroit Red Wings where over three seasons he would serve as the backup to
Terry Sawchuk between 1960 and 1963. During the 1963–64 season, Bassen played seven games with the
Indianapolis Capitals/Cincinnati Wings in the
CPHL and 26 games with the
Pittsburgh Hornets in the
AHL. After spending most of the season with the
Pittsburgh Hornets, Bassen returned to the Red Wings roster to serve as a backup once more, this time to
Roger Crozier during the
1963–64 NHL season. He played one final year with the
Pittsburgh Penguins, backing up
Les Binkley before retiring in 1968. After retiring Bassen managed the junior
Calgary Wranglers from 1984 to 1986, and had two sons go on to play professional hockey. Bassen died on May 29, 2009, of heart failure at age 76. ==Career statistics==