Grant Fuhr

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size=
played_for = Edmonton Oilers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Buffalo Sabres
Los Angeles Kings
St. Louis Blues
Calgary Flames
position = Goaltender
shoots = Right
height_ft = 5
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 184
nationality = CAN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1962|9|28|mf=y
birth_place = Spruce Grove, ALTA, CAN
draft = Rnd 1, 8th overall
draft_year = 1981
draft_team = Edmonton Oilers
career_start = 1981
career_end = 2000
halloffame = 2003

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. Born of biracial parents, Fuhr was adopted as a baby and raised in Spruce Grove, Alberta. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0DC1531F930A1575BC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print Sports of The Times; Hockey's Minority Players Moving Past Trailblazer Stage] , George Vescey, New York Times, August 23, 2001] [ [http://oilerslegends.blogspot.com/2006/05/grant-fuhr.html Grant Fuhr] , Edmonton Oilers Legends Blog]

Career

In 1979, at the age of seventeen, Fuhr joined the Victoria Cougars of the WHL. After two stellar seasons in Victoria, which included the league championship and a trip to the Memorial Cup in 1981, Fuhr was drafted 8th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Oilers for ten seasons, where he teamed up with Andy Moog for several of them to form one of the most formidable goaltending tandems in history, and won five Stanley Cups. He was the team's starting goaltender on the first four teams, but was injured and did not play in the 1990 playoffs, when the Oilers won for the fifth time. Fuhr played in the National Hockey League All-Star Game in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1989. In 1987, he played in goal for the NHL All-Stars in both games of the Rendez-Vous '87 series against the Soviet National Team. In 1987, Fuhr backstopped Canada to a victory at the Canada Cup, playing in all nine games, then played in 75 regular season and 19 playoff games. He won his only Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender that year and finished second in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, behind Mario Lemieux and ahead of teammate Wayne Gretzky. He battled shoulder injuries and substance abuse problems at the tail end of his career with Edmonton, and was suspended by the NHL for the first half of the 1990–91 season. [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep200301.htm One on One with Grant Fuhr] , Legends of Hockey.net] [ [http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1991/february_18_1991_164665.html February 18, 1991 in History] , Brainy History]

In 1991 Fuhr was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-player deal during the Oilers' post-Gretzky fire sale. After a season and a half in Toronto, he was again traded, this time to the Buffalo Sabres, during the 1992-93 season. In Buffalo, he played a role in the Sabres' dramatic first-round playoff victory over the Boston Bruins, helped instill a winning attitude in the organization, and mentored a young goalie named Dominik Hasek. Fuhr then had a successful 1993–94 season with the Sabres, sharing time in goal with Hasek and winning the William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals scored against in the league with him. However, when Fuhr went down with multiple injuries, Hasek stepped into the starting role, and played well enough to hold onto the job.

With Hasek now ensconced in the Sabres' net, Fuhr was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings, playing briefly with Gretzky again for 14 games. Out of shape and possibly past his prime, his career saw a resurgence when he signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues before the 1995–96 campaign. He played 79 games that season, 76 consecutively, both St. Louis franchise records. The 1996 playoff run for Fuhr ended prematurely as Maple Leafs forward Nick Kypreos ran him in the crease in the first round, causing him to tear several knee ligaments. Even though over the next three years he became one of the three winningest goaltenders in Blues history (along with Mike Liut and Curtis Joseph), he never quite recovered from the knee injury fully. After the Blues signed Roman Turek as their new number one goaltender in 1999, Fuhr was traded to the Calgary Flames. He spent one season there being a mentor for Calgary's young goalies, including Fred Brathwaite, and on October 22, 1999 he earned his 400th career win versus the Florida Panthers. Before the 2000–01 season he announced his retirement. [ [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/ind03fuhr.htm Induction Showcase - Grant Fuhr] , Legends of Hockey.net ]

Drug controversy

In 1990 Fuhr came forward about his drug use after spending two weeks in a counseling center in Florida. He admitted that he used "a substance" – he did not say cocaine – for some seven years, or most of the period that the Oilers rested at the top of the NHL. Details of Fuhr's drug use were supplied by the player's ex-wife, Corrine, who told the press in Edmonton that she often found cocaine hidden in his clothing and that she fielded numerous threatening telephone calls from drug dealers who had not been paid. These embarrassing details no doubt contributed to the one-year suspension handed down in September 1990 by NHL president John Ziegler, who called Fuhr's conduct "dishonorable and against the welfare of the league." Once Fuhr was re-instated, fans of opposing teams taunted him at games with bags of sugar. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5DB1E38F932A3575AC0A966958260 HOCKEY; Fuhr Used Cocaine, Paper Says - New York Times ] ]

Racial controversy

In May 1993, while still a member of the Buffalo Sabres, Fuhr was denied membership in the neighbouring Transit Valley Country Club. At the time, rumours floated that the denial was based on race, as several of Fuhr's white teammates had been granted membership.Kelley, Jim. [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=kelley_jim&id=1653375 "First black inductee pleased to be role model"] , "ESPN.com", 2003–11–03. Retrieved on 2008–03–16] Club officials denied they rejected Fuhr based on his race; rather, his application contained “incorrect and incomplete” information. Various acts of vandalism at the club occurred after news of Fuhr's rejection surfaced, including an incident where vandals burned a swastika onto one of the greens. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DB133FF937A35755C0A965958260 Club Is Vandalized In Fuhr Incident - New York Times ] ] In light of the negative publicity, the club reversed its position and offered Fuhr not only a membership, but an apology as well. Grant rejected the membership & joined nearby Lancaster Country Club. The club also temporarily suspended its membership committee and had an anti-bias policy written into its by-laws.

Goaltender coach

Fuhr was hired to be the Phoenix Coyotes goaltending coach on July 22, 2004. Fuhr maintains this position at present. He held a similar post with the Calgary Flames in the 2000–2001 and 2001–2002 seasons. [ [http://biography.jrank.org/pages/2455/Fuhr-Grant.html Grant Fuhr Biography] , African American Biographies Vol 3 ]

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 black person inducted into the hall. Fuhr himself found the insistence on his race surprising for two reasons. Firstly, Fuhr never experienced any racism during his formative years in Spruce Grove, Alberta or within the NHL. Secondly, 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. This is mentioned in an interview with Wayne Gretzky conducted by John Davidson as part of the 2003 DVD "Ultimate Gretzky". [ [http://www.celebritygolf.com/celebrity-news-detail.asp?ID=115 Celebrity Participants Announced for 2007 Celebrity/Amateur Desert Golf & Poker Challenge] , Celebrity Golf.com ]

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 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. [http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/fuhr.html Grant Fuhr Bio] , Hockey Goalies.org ] He also played for Canada at the 1989 IIHF World Championships.

Awards

*Named to NHL Second All-Star Team in 1982
*Named to NHL First All-Star Team in 1988
*Won Vezina Trophy in 1988
*Won William M. Jennings Trophy in 1994 (shared with Dominik Hašek)
*Participated in NHL All-Star Game in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 (MVP), 1988, 1989
*In 1997, he was ranked number 70 on "The Hockey News"' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Transactions

*Traded to Toronto by Edmonton with Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube for Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Scott Thornton and Luke Richardson, September 19, 1991.
*Traded to Buffalo by Toronto with Toronto's 5th round choice (Kevin Popp) in 1995 Entry Draft for Dave Andreychuk, Daren Puppa and Buffalo's 1st round choice (Kenny Jonsson) in 1993 Entry Draft, February 2, 1993.
*Traded to Los Angeles by Buffalo with Philippe Boucher and Denis Tsygurov for Alexei Zhitnik, Robb Stauber, Charlie Huddy and Los Angeles' 5th round choice (Marian Menhart) in 1995 Entry Draft, February 14, 1995.
*Signed as a free agent by St. Louis, July 14, 1995.
*Traded to Calgary by St. Louis for Calgary's 3rd round choice (Justin Papineau) in 2000 Entry Draft, September 4, 1999.
*Officially announced retirement, September 6, 2000.

ee also

*List of black NHL players
*List of retired NHL players

References

External links

*hockeydb|1794
*Legendsmember|Player|P200301
* [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep200301.htm One on One at Legends of Hockey.com]
* [http://www.thecommentary.ca/ontheline/20080523b.html Audio interview re: NutriSystem May 2008]