William Ronald Durnan (January 22, 1916 – October 31, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1943 and 1950. He was one of the best goaltenders in his time, winning the Vezina Trophy for fewest goals allowed six times, being named First All-Star team as best goaltender six times, and helping the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup twice. Suffering from a nervous condition throughout his career, Durnan retired in 1950, citing the stress of playing professional hockey. He served as the captain of the Canadiens in 1948, the last goaltender to be allowed to do so. In 1964 Durnan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and in 2017 he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Durnan entered the National Hockey League at the age of 27 and played only seven seasons, but accomplished much in his short NHL career. He won the Vezina Trophy for allowing the fewest goals against in each of his first four seasons, from 1943–44 to 1946–47, becoming the first to capture the award in four consecutive seasons. The Montreal Canadiens fared poorly in 1947–48 and Turk Broda of the Toronto Maple Leafs won it that year instead. Durnan and the Canadiens, however, returned to form the next two seasons, and he won the Vezina twice more, in 1948–49 and 1949–50. He was also selected to the First All-Star Team six times during his career, including four consecutive selections from 1944 to 1947.
During the 1947–48 season, Durnan served as the Canadiens' captain. However, he left the crease so often to argue calls that other teams claimed he was giving the Canadiens unscheduled timeouts. After the season, the NHL passed a rule barring goaltenders from performing as captain, known as the "Durnan Rule."[1][2]
Durnan set a long-standing modern NHL record between February 26 and March 6, 1949, when he registered four consecutive shutouts and did not allow a goal over a span of 309 minutes, 21 seconds. This record stood until 2004, when Brian Boucher of the Phoenix Coyotes recorded five straight shutouts and 332 minutes, 1 second without being scored upon.[3] Durnan was ranked 5th all-time in career wins, shutouts and GAA.
Durnan retired following the 1949–50 NHL season at the age of 34, being no longer able to stand the stress of playing professional hockey. He went into coaching, most notably with the Ottawa Senators of the QSHL in 1950–51, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen of the OHA in 1958–59.
Durnan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964. In 383 regular-season games, he recorded 208 wins, 112 losses, 34 shutouts and a 2.36 goals-against average. In 45 playoff games he had 27 wins, 12 losses, two shutouts and a 2.07 average. Before he entered the NHL he won the 1940 Allan Cup with the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils.[4]
Durnan was an ambidextrous goalie, equally adept at catching and stickhandling with either hand; he wore gloves designed to let him switch hands instantly. He was a very good stand-up goaltender due to his relatively taller stature for his time.[5]
Durnan was born and raised in Toronto. He was married to Mandy Durnan, originally Mandy Kant (born 1915).
Durnan died of kidney failure on October 31, 1972. He suffered from diabetes in his last years and his health had been failing steadily.[4]
The Aréna Bill-Durnan, a community ice rink, is located in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough of Montreal.