Long-time NHL goaltender and broadcaster Greg Millen passed away suddenly today at the age of 67, per an announcement from the NHL’s Alumni Association.
Millen was drafted by Pittsburgh in the sixth round of the 1977 draft, going 102nd overall. He spent his major junior career in the OMJHL, spending time with Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie before turning pro with a trio of IHL games late in the 1977-78 season.
Impressively, those were the only minor league games he played until the final season of his career as Millen made the jump to the NHL for the 1978-79 campaign, spending three years with them before signing with Hartford in free agency. After parts of four seasons with them, it was off to St. Louis where he put up his best performances, including a 1988-89 campaign that saw him lead the NHL in shutouts and finish fifth in Vezina Trophy voting. Toward the end of his career, Millen also briefly spent time with Quebec, Chicago, and Detroit.
While he wasn’t the tallest goaltender by any stretch standing just 5’9, he still carved out an impressive 14-year NHL career between the six different organizations, playing in 602 regular season games. In those, Millen had a 215-284-89 record with a 3.88 GAA, a .873 SV%, and 17 shutouts. Those numbers improved in 59 postseason appearances where he put up a 3.43 GAA and a .885 SV%.
After retiring following the 1991-92 season, Millen moved into broadcasting, spending time as the color commentator for Ottawa, Toronto, and most recently, Calgary, while being a long-time fixture on Hockey Night in Canada for the better part of three decades. During that time, he covered three Olympic Games, two World Cups of Hockey, twelve Stanley Cup finals, and twelve NHL All-Star games.
PHR sends our condolences to Millen’s family, friends, colleagues, and former teammates.