NHL Goalie: Mike Vernon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alberta

Mike Vernon was born in the city of Calgary, which is in Alberta. Interestingly, he played for the Calgary Flames for 11 years before moving on to other teams. His last two years of hockey eventually took him back to Calgary, where he played his 12th and 13th seasons with them. In total, Mike Vernon played in 19 NHL seasons.

Answer: No

Like most of the NHLs great goaltenders, Mike Vernon's rookie year was brutal, and his lone appearance in his sophomore season didn't inspire either. In his first three games, he recorded three losses and a miserable 0.712% save average. Needless to say, he turned that horrific start around by his third season.

Answer: Dallas Stars

Mike Vernon played 19 total seasons in the NHL. He played 13 seasons with the Calgary Flames from 1982-1994, and then 2000-2002. Vernon played three seasons in Detroit from 1994-1997. Vernon then played 2-1/2 seasons for San Jose from 1997-2000, before splitting the remainder of the 1999-2000 season with the Florida Panthers.

Answer: Minnesota Wild

In the 1999-00 offseason, several of the new teams had their expansion drafts. The Wild selected Mike Vernon. The same day they selected Mike Vernon, they traded him back to the Calgary Flames for an 8th round pick and Dan Cavanaugh.

Answer: Yes

In his 741-game career, Mike Vernon finished with only 27 shutouts. He did achieve consecutive shutouts once in his career. On December 14 and December 15, 1992, Vernon recorded dual 3-0 victories against the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.

Answer: William M. Jennings and Conn Smythe

Mike Vernon won two trophies and was eligible for eight in his career. Vernon won the William M. Jennings trophy in 1995-96 for fewest goals against. In 1996-97, Vernon won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs. Vernon was also eligible for the Vezina Trophy six times in his career. The lowest he placed in the Vezina voting was 11th, and the highest was 2nd.

Answer: 2

Mike Vernon made it to the Stanley Cup final in 1985-86 with the Calgary Flames. He defeated Winnipeg, Edmonton, and St. Louis before meeting the Canadiens in the finals. Under rookie goaltender Patrick Roy, the Canadiens walloped the Flames in five games.

The next time Vernon got to the furthest round of the playoffs was in the 1988-89 season. He defeated Vancouver, Los Angeles and Chicago to get to the final against Montreal, again. That time, however, Vernon and the Flames were prepared. After trailing two games to one in the series, the Flames eventually won the series and the Stanley Cup in six games.

The third time he reached the Cup final was in 1994-95. In his first season with the Red Wings, Vernon defeated Dallas, San Jose, and Chicago to reach the final against New Jersey. New Jersey swept Detroit in four games.

The final time Vernon led a team to the Stanley Cup final was in 1996-97. He defeated St. Louis, Anaheim and Colorado before facing the Flyers in the final. Under Ron Hextall, the Flyers were swept in four games. Vernon won two Stanley Cups in his career.

The 1995-96 Stanley Cup playoffs weren't detailed because Mike Vernon played merely a back-up role to starter Chris Osgood.

Answer: Columbus Blue Jackets

Vernon compiled only 27 career shutouts, but he somehow managed to shut down half of the league's teams. The teams he shutdown in his career were Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago, Detroit, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, San Jose, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Colorado, Toronto, Edmonton, Carolina, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Minnesota, and Nashville.

The rest of his shutouts were focused on those same teams. Interestingly, his shutout-focus seemed to be placed on fellow goalie Arturs Irbe. Of his 27 career shutouts, a whole ninth of them were focused on Irbe's teams, the Sharks, the Canucks, and the Hurricanes.

Answer: True

Mike Vernon finished his NHL career with a grand total of 39 points. He had career highs in assists with seven in the 1987-88 and 1991-92 seasons. Wayne Gretzky's weaker brother Brent, only recorded four points. Fedor Fedorov recorded only two points, Alexander Suglobov only had one career point, and Jamie Allison finished with 30. Those four players combined for 37 points, whereas Vernon recorded 39.

Answer: Lanny McDonald

In February of 2007, Vernon became only the second player since Lanny McDonald to have his number retired by the Flames. Lanny McDonald's number 9 was retired several years earlier. In McDonald's career from 1973-1989, he amassed a grand total of 1006 points, and won the Stanley Cup with Calgary in 1989.