MONTREAL -- Friends, teammates, opponents and a legendary coach were all as stunned as the hockey world as a whole on Saturday, trying to process the death of Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden .

The 78-year-old Montreal Canadiens legend died on Friday morning, his only NHL team announcing his passing just after midnight early Saturday.

Like the passing of his 1972 Summit Series goaltending stablemate Tony Esposito on August 10, 2021, Dryden’s death to cancer was virtually invisible beyond his family, not even his closest hockey friends having any inkling that he had been battling the disease.

“A friend sent me a note this (Saturday) morning, expressing his sympathies that Ken had died. I didn’t believe it, and then I saw it all over TV,” Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson said.

See Full Page