Steve Shutt

Stephen John Shutt (born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and
NHL Hall of Famer who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 12 seasons
Steve Shutt
for the Montreal Canadiens and 1 season for the Los Angeles Kings. He is in the Hockey Hall of Hockey Hall of Fame, 1993
Fame. While playing for the Canadiens he captured 5 Stanley Cups in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978,
and 1979.

Playing career
As a youth, he played in the 1964 and 1965 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments
with minor ice hockey teams from Toronto.[1]

Partnered with Jacques Lemaire and Guy Lafleur on the Montreal Canadiens, to form the top line
in the NHL, Shutt became the first left-winger in NHL history to score 60 goals in a single
season, with the historic goal being scored on April 3, 1977, against the Washington Capitals.[2]

During his career with Montreal, he was named to the NHL First All-Star team in 1977, and the
NHL Second All-Star team in 1978 and 1980.

Playing style
Despite being of relatively small stature and
"They talk a lot about ‘garbage goals’, possessing average skating ability, Shutt had
but it didn’t come by luck....The timing remarkable spatial awareness and was very
of Steve Shutt was unbelievable. He was positionally sound. He was consistently able to
always at the right place, and that’s not get into dead areas of coverage on the ice, either
luck. You could have ten rebounds and by anticipating where the puck was going to be or Shutt in 2008
not be there, but Steve Shutt was there by arriving late on a play.[4] Born July 1, 1952
ten times. He was always there to put the North York, Ontario, Canada
puck in the net." He was also a masterful goal scorer, possessing a
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
diverse arsenal of shots. His wrist shot was
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
- Serge Savard on Shutt’s positional known for its superior accuracy, and Shutt was
awareness[3] noted for his ability to consistently pick corners Position Left wing
or hit the five-hole.[5] Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Moreover, Shutt was famous for the power and Los Angeles Kings
“Gerry Cheevers was actually in terror unusual level of accuracy found in his slap shot,
of this guy". NHL draft 4th overall, 1972
which he could get off in full stride while coming
Montreal Canadiens
down the wing. Shutt was frequently able to let
- Don Cherry on the accuracy and fly one or two steps inside the offensive zone and Playing career 1972–1985
effectiveness of Shutt’s slapshot[6]
beat goalies clean. New York Islanders goaltender
Billy Smith, who faced the Habs many times in the 70s and 80s, gave credit to the superiority of
Shutt's slapshot:

“He had a great shot. Unbelievable shot. He’d come across the blue line and he could tee it up better than anybody. And he was accurate, which is
scary for someone with a slap shot.[7]”

In addition to having a superb slap shot on the fly, the precision and consistency of Shutt's one timer also earned him a spot as the point man on the
Habs’ power play over many of the defencemen on his team.[8]

However, the most noteworthy part of Shutt's game was his ability to collect rebounds and turn them into so-called “garbage goals”. As Shutt
himself claimed, “I’m the only guy that could score goals and make it boring[9]”. This particular element of Shutt's playing style fit him into a long
line of “garbage collectors” who earned a majority of their goals from around the crease – players like Nels Stewart and Gordie Drillon before him,
his contemporary Phil Esposito and skaters of a later generation such as Corey Perry. He had exceptional hand-eye coordination, and a deft knack
for converting loose pucks into deflections – even batting in pucks which had bounced one or two feet off the ice.[10][11] Noted author and sports
columnist Brian McFarlane claimed that Shutt had the fastest set of hands around the net during his time in the NHL, with an ability to corral the
puck with his skates as well as protect it with his body and stick.[12] Shutt gave a simple explanation for how he developed his excellent reflexes as
a child: “We always had about fifteen kids on the ice, and so there wasn’t a lot of room. And so you had to be really quick with your hands.[13]”

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1968–69 North York Rangers MetJHL 17 10 17 27 — — — — — —
1968–69 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. — — — — — 5 1 3 4 2
1969–70 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 49 11 14 25 93 18 10 9 19 13
1970–71 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 62 70 53 123 85 13 11 11 22 20
1971–72 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 58 63 49 112 60 10 8 6 14 12
1972–73 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 6 4 1 5 2 — — — — —
1972–73 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 8 8 16 24 1 0 0 0 0
1973–74 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 15 20 35 17 6 5 3 8 9
1974–75 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 30 35 65 40 9 1 6 7 4
1975–76 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 45 34 79 47 13 7 8 15 2
1976–77 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 60 45 105 28 14 8 10 18 2
1977–78 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 49 37 86 24 15 9 8 17 20
1978–79 Montreal Canadiens NHL 72 37 40 77 31 11 4 7 11 6
1979–80 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 47 42 89 34 10 6 3 9 6
1980–81 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 35 38 73 51 3 2 1 3 4
1981–82 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 31 24 55 40 — — — — —
1982–83 Montreal Canadiens NHL 78 35 22 57 26 3 1 0 1 0
1983–84 Montreal Canadiens NHL 63 14 23 37 29 11 7 2 9 8
1984–85 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 2 0 2 9 — — — — —
1984–85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 59 16 25 41 10 3 0 0 0 4
NHL totals 930 424 393 817 410 99 50 48 98 65

International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1976 Canada CC 6 1 2 3 8

Post playing career

Following his playing career, Shutt worked as a television hockey commentator. From 1993 to 1997, he worked on the Canadiens coaching staff as
an assistant coach on both the staffs of Jacques Demers and Mario Tremblay.

Following his assistant coaching duties with the Montreal Canadiens, Shutt joined Toromont Industries as Manager of Recreational Facilities and
Services and has been with them for the past 19 years.[14]

On November 22, 2003, Shutt participated with the Canadiens' old-timers against the Edmonton Oilers oldtimers in the Heritage Classic, the first
outdoor game in the history of the NHL played at Commonwealth Stadium, in Edmonton, Alberta. Shutt also tours Canada and the U.S. as a playing
member of the Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge, raising money for charitable causes.

In North York, he was a middle school classmate of rock star and bassist Geddy Lee.[15] The two connected over music, and they both picked up
bass guitars, both being influenced by Denny Gerrard, the bassist of Toronto psychedelic rock band The Paupers. Lee credits Shutt with introducing
him to his future Rush bandmate, guitarist Alex Lifeson.[16]

See also
List of NHL players with 100-point seasons

References
1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" ([Link]
om/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf) (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the
original ([Link] (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
2. [Link]
3. "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends of Hockey (documentary).
2012-06-09. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
 4. McGuire, Pierre (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends
of Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
5. McFarlane, Brian (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends
of Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
6. "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends of Hockey (documentary).
2012-06-09. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
7. Smith, Billy (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends of
Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
8. "Steve Shutt – Biography" ([Link]
io&list=). Hockey Hall of Fame – Legends of Hockey. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
9. Shutt, Steve (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends of
Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
10. Bowman, Scotty (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends
of Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
11. Gainey, Bob (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends of
Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
12. McFarlane, Brian (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends
of Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
13. Shutt, Steve (2012-06-09). "Legends of Hockey – Steve Shutt" ([Link] Legends of
Hockey (documentary). Retrieved 2016-07-26.
14. [Link]
15. "Geddy Lee Book Tour" ([Link]
16. "Live at Massey Hall: Geddy Lee" ([Link] YouTube.

External links
Biographical information and career statistics from [Link] ([Link] or [Link] ([Link]
[Link]/[Link]?player=24031&lang=en), or [Link] ([Link]
s/s/[Link]), or Legends of Hockey ([Link]
or The Internet Hockey Database ([Link]

Retrieved from "[Link]