Jacques Plante - Traded To The Rangers

In 1963, Plante was traded as part of a seven player deal to the New York Rangers, where he spent the next two seasons. Though Plante was still considered a leading goalie, he was traded in part because he of his inflexible attitude. Because the Rangers were a losing team, Plante had a high goals against average and his team never made the playoffs. He retired after the 1964-65 season, during which he was demoted to their minor league team, the Baltimore Clippers.

During his retirement, Plante worked as a salesman for Molson's. He had previously been their goodwill ambassador during his off-seasons. Plante's tenure as a salesman was short-lived. He returned to hockey in 1967, when he was signed by the St. Louis Blues, an expansion team. That year, he and Glenn Hall backstopped the team to the Stanley Cup finals. Together, the pair won the Vezina Trophy in 1969; Plante's goals against average that season was 1.96. His skills and ability to play the angles had not diminished much with age.

In 1970, Plante was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for future considerations. He played for the team through most of the 1972-73 season. Though Plante generally was solid in net, he was accused of only playing the easy games to increase his goals against average to the disfavor of his backup, Bruce Gamble.