On Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, Eddie Giacomin passed away at the age of 86.

One of the greatest New York Rangers in franchise history, Giacomin had 267 wins out of 290 with the Rangers for his career. A staple in the net during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he became a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden. Affably known as “Edd-ie” by the Garden crowd, Giacomin won 30 or more games five times during as a Blueshirt. That included a stretch from 1966-67 through 1969-70.

In 1966-67, he finished second for the Hart Trophy behind Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks. In what was only his second season, Giacomin appeared in a league high 68 games, winning 30 games with a 2.61 goals-against-average (GAA), .917 save percentage, and a league best nine shutouts. That helped the Rangers make their first postseason appearance since 1961-62.

Although they were swept by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, it was a positive step in the right direction. With Giacomin as the starting goalie along with the emergence of the GAG Line, featuring Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, and Vic Hadfield, the Rangers eventually became a Stanley Cup contender under coach and general manager Emile “Cat” Francis.

After losing in the NHL Quarterfinals four straight years, the Rangers had a great 1970-71 season by finishing with the second most points (109) in the league. A superb team that also featured leading scorer Walt Tkaczuk, star defenseman Brad Park along with a strong supporting cast, which included Bob Nevin, Pete Stemkowski, Dave Balon, Rod Seiling, and Jim Neilson, the Rangers went 49-18-11 under Francis.

With Giacomin and Gilles Villemure sharing the net, they won the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed to win the Vezina Trophy. In 45 games, Giacomin won 27 games while posting a 2.16 GAA, .922 save percentage, and a league-leading eight shutouts. In 34 appearances, Villemure won 22 games with a 2.30 GAA, .919 save percentage, and four shutouts.

In a six-game series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Giacomin won four of five starts. He posted a 2.33 GAA and .910 save percentage. The Rangers advanced to the NHL Semifinals where they took on the Chicago Blackhawks.

The winners of the West Division were formidable. Featuring future Hall of Famers Bobby Hull, Mikita, and Tony Esposito, the Blackhawks bested the Rangers in a hard fought seven-game series. Best remembered for Stemkowski scoring in the third overtime of Game 6 at MSG, the Rangers lost to the Blackhawks 4-2 in the deciding Game 7 at Chicago Stadium. Despite building a 2-1 lead on goals from Stemkowski and Gilbert, the Rangers couldn’t hold on. With the game tied, Hull got the series clincher in the third period. Chico Maki added an empty netter to eliminate the Blueshirts.

In 1971-72, the Rangers again had a great season. They went 48-17-13 with 109 points to finish second behind the Boston Bruins in the East Division. With Gilbert, Ratelle, and Hadfield producing at a high clip along with both Park and Tkaczuk having great seasons, the Rangers looked like they might win the Stanley Cup. They also had a strong supporting cast that featured Bill Fairbairn, Bobby Rousseau, Bruce MacGregor, Stemkowski, Ted Irvine, Seiling, Neilson, Dale Rolfe, and Glen Sather.

Despite losing Ratelle to a broken ankle, the Rangers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in six games. Giacomin was in goal for all six, posting a .914 save percentage. In a Semifinal rematch, they got revenge by sweeping the Blackhawks in four straight led by the scoring of Gilbert, Rousseau, and Hadfield. Villemure went 3-0 in the series with a .916 save percentage. Giacomin won his only start making 25 saves.

For the first time since losing to the Detroit Red Wings in 1950, the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. They took on the powerful Bruins, who only were led by the game’s best player, Bobby Orr along with Hall of Famers Phil Esposito and Johnny Bucyk. Gerry Cheevers was the number one goalie. Boston also had great depth due to key pieces Ken Hodge, Wayne Cashman, Derek Sanderson, Fred Stanfield, John McKenzie, Mike Walton, Ed Westfall, Dallas Smith, and Carol Vadnais.

During the regular season series, the Rangers lost five of six meetings, getting outscored 25-7. However, the Stanley Cup Final was much closer. Playing without Ratelle for the first four games of the series, the Rangers fell behind three games to one. After coming back to take Game 5 on a pair of Rousseau third period tallies in a 3-2 win, they forced a Game 6 back at MSG.

With Francis riding the hot hand Gillemure in net, the Rangers were unable to beat Cheevers, who finished the game with 33 saves in a 3-0 shutout to give the Bruins the Cup. Orr scored and Cashman added a pair in the third period to break Rangers’ hearts. An ineffective Ratelle wasn’t himself after returning from the serious injury. Had he been healthy, that Rangers team might’ve won the Cup. Diehard fans like my Dad who was in attendance for that fateful Game 6 will never know the answer. That’s as close as that core of Rangers ever came.

Despite another good season in 1972-73, with Giacomin winning 26 games with four shutouts, the Rangers were eliminated in the Semifinals by the Blackhawks. Ironically, they had avenged the 1972 loss by ousting the Bruins in five games. New star Steve Vickers scored five goals in the first round to highlight the Quarterfinal win. But the Blackhawks prevailed in five even without WHA bound Bobby Hull. His brother Dennis torched the Blueshirts for five goals and five assists for 10 points. Esposito outplayed Giacomin by posting a .938 save percentage.

After winning 30 games in 1973-74, Giacomin’s time on Broadway was winding down. Following a tough seven-game Semifinal defeat to the eventual champion Philadelphia Flyers, the Rangers suffered a gut wrenching defeat to the upstart New York Islanders in the Preliminary Round in 1975.

Four games into 1975-76, a 36-year-old Giacomin was placed on waivers. Fittingly, the Red Wings claimed him just in time for them to visit an emotional Garden just two days later. On Nov. 2, 1975, Rangers fans serenaded Giacomin with chants of “Edd-ie, Edd-ie, Edd-ie!” before and during the game. It reduced him to tears. With Giacomin making 42 saves, the Red Wings won the game 6-4. He defeated new Rangers starter John Davidson, who would go on to bigger and better things with the Blueshirts.

The game can be seen in the video I provided below on YouTube. It isn’t the best quality. But you can sure feel the emotion and energy from the crowd who overwhelmingly supported Giacomin and booed the Rangers. That’s how beloved he was. For more insight on Eddie’s return, please refer to the second video below.

For his Rangers career, Giacomin appeared in 539 games winning 267 with 172 losses and 89 ties. His 49 shutouts were a franchise record that held up until Henrik Lundqvist surpassed it with 64. Giacomin’s 267 wins still ranks third on the Rangers’ all-time franchise list, with only Mike Richter (301), and Lundqvist (459) having more.

Following a 13-year career that concluded in 1977-78, the five-time NHL All-Star was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1989, the Rangers retired Giacomin’s number 1 jersey to the rafters. At the time, he joined former teammate Gilbert (7) as the only two Rangers to receive that honor. Since then, former teammates Ratelle, Hadfield and Harry Howell have had their numbers retired – joining Richter, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, Andy Bathgate, and Lundqvist.

In what’s the special Centennial Season with the Rangers announcing on Monday that they’ll hold special events honoring the history of the franchise at select games, they lost one of their best players and people. Eddie will be missed.

RIP EDDIE GIACOMIN (1939 – 2025)