Georges Vézina

Georges Vézina was the foundation upon which the Montreal Canadiens dynasty was built. Recruited from the northern mill town of Chicoutimi in 1910, Vézina played every single game for the Canadiens for sixteen consecutive seasons, never missing a match through 328 consecutive regular season and 39 playoff games.

Nicknamed "The Chicoutimi Cucumber" for his unflappable calm under barrages of pucks, he backstopped Montreal to its first two Stanley Cup championships in 1916 and 1924. Collapsing on the ice with a high fever in November 1925, he succumbed to tuberculosis four months later; the NHL created the Vézina Trophy in his eternal memory.