Montreal Canadiens in 1969 Vachon entered the
National Hockey League in
1966-67 with the
Montreal Canadiens, as a backup goaltender to
Gump Worsley. He played only 19 games during the season, but played most of the games in the playoffs and led the Canadiens to the
Stanley Cup Finals. They lost to the
Toronto Maple Leafs, but Vachon now had a permanent spot on the Canadiens roster.
Punch Imlach, the coach of the Leafs, referred to Vachon as a junior B goaltender in an attempt to rattle him during the Stanley Cup finals. Vachon played 39 games in the
1967–68 season and won 23 of them. He and Worsley shared the
Vezina Trophy, with a combined 2.26
GAA, the lowest since
1958-59. Montreal won the
Stanley Cup that season and in
1968–69 as well. During the
1969–70 season, Worsley was traded to the
Minnesota North Stars and Vachon got the starting job, but the Canadiens missed the playoffs.
Los Angeles Kings in 1976 After losing the
Canadiens' starting job to rookie
Ken Dryden early in
1971–72, Vachon requested a trade to a team that needed a starter, which happened on November 4, 1971, when he was sent to the
Los Angeles Kings for
Denis DeJordy,
Dale Hoganson,
Noel Price and
Doug Robinson. It was with the Kings that Vachon had the finest moments of his NHL career. He was runner-up for the Vezina Trophy in
1974–75, and he was named to the
NHL second All-Star team in
1974-75 and
1976-77. He was named the team MVP four times between 1973 and 1977. In one game in 1976–77, it appeared he was due credit for
scoring a goal when the
New York Islanders scored on themselves during a delayed penalty; however, after video review, the goal was credited to
Vic Venasky after it was determined that Vachon was the second-to-last Kings player to touch the puck before it went in the net. Vachon also set many goaltending records in Kings history that still stand. His number 30 was the first number retired by the Kings, in a ceremony on February 14, 1985. He has since served in a variety of executive positions with the Kings organization.
Canada Cup In
1976, Vachon was chosen to play for Canada, along with fellow goaltenders
Gerry Cheevers and
Glenn Resch. He was given the top spot and played in every game of the tournament. He recorded six wins and one loss, two shutouts and a 1.39 goals against average. Canada won the tournament, and Vachon was selected for the All-Star team and named team MVP.
Detroit Red Wings Vachon became a restricted free agent following the
1977–78 season and signed with the
Detroit Red Wings. The five-year deal paid Vachon $1.9 million and made him the league's highest paid goaltender. Vachon struggled from the beginning in Detroit. In his first game, he managed just nine saves against 14 shots in a game Detroit lost 5–4.
Boston Bruins After two disappointing seasons in Detroit, the Red Wings traded Vachon to the
Boston Bruins in the summer of 1980 for fellow netminder
Gilles Gilbert. In Boston, Vachon served as a mentor to rookie goalies
Marco Baron and
Jim Craig, who had starred for the US National Team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Vachon played 53 games for the Bruins and improved his numbers marginally from his time in Detroit; he also won more games than he lost for his first time since leaving Los Angeles. However, in the playoffs, things went poorly as the Bruins were swept in three games by the Minnesota North Stars and surrendered twenty goals in the process. Vachon allowed five goals in the first game, then gave up six in game two before getting pulled. He gave up five more goals in game three and ended the playoffs with a 5.85 goals against average. In the 1981–82 season, Baron took over the starting job from Vachon, who played 38 games as the back-up. Vachon's final NHL appearance came in the 1982 playoffs, when he played one period in relief of starter
Mike Moffat in a 7–2 loss to the Quebec Nordiques. He faced just three shots in twenty minutes and allowed a power-play goal to
Peter Stastny. Vachon hung up his pads for good six days later. ==Legacy==