Grant Fuhr

Grant S. Fuhr (born September 28, 1962), is a former goaltender in the National Hockey League. In 2003, he became the first person of Black Canadian ancestry to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Background and early career

Born of bi-racial 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.

International play

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 the best money goaltender in the game. Playing against a tough Soviet Union squad, Fuhr turned away shot after shot during the three-game final.

Post-Edmonton years

The Oilers wanted to rebuild during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and after trading away Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings, the Oilers sent Fuhr to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1991. He played there until 1992, when he went to the Buffalo Sabres. Early in his stay in Buffalo, Fuhr was refused membership at the affluent Transit Valley Country Club, race was suspected as the reason for denial. This situation received national attention and was a black eye for the club; many of his teammates who had belonged to the club for years quit in protest.

Fuhr saw action with the Sabres until 1995, when he was dealt to the Kings. At this point of his career, many in the world of hockey began feeling that Fuhr's best days as a player were gone, and he only played fourteen games for the Kings. But, given another chance by the St. Louis Blues, Fuhr went on to have some of the best years of his career, including the 1995-96 where he played an astounding 79 games in the season and set two notable records, namely the most games played by a goaltender in a season and the most consecutive starts by a goaltender. His season ended during the playoffs when defenceman Chris Pronger cross-checked Nick Kypreos in the back causing Kypreos to land on top of Fuhr and tearing Fuhr's knee ligaments. In the 1997-98 season, he posted an average of 2.53 goals allowed per game.

During the 1999-2000 season, playing for the Calgary Flames, Fuhr became only the sixth goalie in NHL history to win 400 or more games. But he only won five games that year, while losing thirteen. Shortly after, he retired.

Along with Bill Ranford, he backstopped the Oilers' Alumni's shutout victory over the Montreal Canadiens' Alumni at the 2003 Heritage Classic. A number of superb saves in this match led some commentators to playfully suggest a return to the NHL.

On July 22, 2004, he was hired by the Phoenix Coyotes as goaltender coach.

Career summary

He was a 2nd Team All-Star in 1982, 1st Team All-Star in 1988.

In addition, he won the Vezina Trophy in 1988 and the William M. Jennings Trophy in 1994. He had a record of 403 wins, 295 losses and 114 ties as a goal keeper, with a 3.38 goals against average and 25 shutouts.

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.

Hall of Fame induction

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 African-Canadian 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.

Coyotes' goalie coach

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.