Grant Fuhr

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grant S. Fuhr (born September 28, 1962), is a former goaltender in the National Hockey League. In 2003, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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Born of biracial parents, Fuhr was adopted as a baby and raised in Spruce Grove, Alberta. At the age of seventeen, in 1979, Fuhr joined the Victoria Cougars of the WHL. After two stellar seasons in Victoria, Fuhr was drafted 8th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL entry draft. (He had also been drafted by the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball as a catcher.) He played for the Oilers for ten seasons, winning five Stanley Cups. In 1987, he won 40 games and made the All-Star game. In 1988, Fuhr won his only Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. He battled substance abuse problems at the tail end of his career with Edmonton, and was suspended by the NHL.

Fuhr was named to the 1984 Canada Cup team but saw limited action during the tournament. Grant was again selected to represent Canada for the 1987 Canada Cup. It was here that he cemented his reputation as one of the best goaltenders in the game. Playing against a tough Soviet Union squad, Fuhr turned away shot after shot during the three-game final.

  • He was a 2nd Team All-Star in 1982, 1st Team All-Star in 1988.
  • All-Star Game - 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986(MVP), 1988, 1989
  • He doubled for Marlon Wayans in the 1998 comedy Senseless for the scenes when Wayans played goalie under the influence of an experimental drug.
  • In 1998, he was ranked number 70 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Grant Fuhr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 2, 2003. In the press at the time, it was frequently noted that Fuhr was the first black person inducted into the hall. Fuhr himself found the insistence on his race surprising for two reasons. First, Fuhr never experienced any racism during his formative years in Spruce Grove, Alberta (near Edmonton, Alberta) or within the NHL. Second, Fuhr was adopted and raised by a white Canadian family.

Arguably, the focus on race took away from a ceremony remembering one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of hockey. Wayne Gretzky has said on many occasions that he believes Fuhr is the greatest goaltender in NHL history.[citation needed]

Wayne Gretzky hired Fuhr to be the Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach on July 22, 2004. Fuhr maintains this position presently. He held a similar post with the Calgary Flames in the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 seasons.

Preceded by
Ron Hextall
Winner of the Vezina Trophy
1988
Succeeded by
Patrick Roy
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