Net Loss: From Olympic Heroes to NHL Zeroes

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2002

By Lucas Aykroyd

Sean Burke, Tommy Salo and Mike Richter are great examples of goalies that have parlayed an Olympic experience into a successful NHL career. But not all are so fortunate.

Some goalies are better suited for the concentrated brilliance that the Olympics require than for the long grind of the NHL regular season and playoffs.

Some can’t adapt to the more aggressive NHL style and the need to cut down the angle and challenge the shooters.

And as sometimes happens with European players, other goalies fail to acclimatize culturally to North America.

Here is the lamentable list of the most notable goalies that leaped through the Olympic rings but fell on their faces when they sought a Stanley Cup ring.

1: Sergei Mylnikov

When Mylnikov came to North America in 1989 to join the Quebec Nordiques, he appeared to be in the prime of his career at the age of 31. The Traktor Chelyabinsk veteran had led all goalies at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary with seven wins and two shutouts, posting a GAA of 1.62 en route to a gold medal for the Soviet Union. At the 1987 Canada Cup, his only loss came in the final confrontation where Mario Lemieux fired the puck over his glove for a 6-5 Canadian triumph. Quebec general manager Martin Madden speculated that Mylnikov could play at least 40 games a year for the Nordiques. But coach Michel Bergeron never gave Mylnikov an opportunity to play, favoring younger goalies like Ron Tugnutt and Stephane Fiset, and the Russian was demoted to the minors. Mylnikov soured on the NHL and left for Switzerland. His career NHL record was 1-7-2 with a 4.96 GAA.

2: Jack McCartan

McCartan backstopped the USA to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in hockey at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley. The St. Paul native from the University of Minnesota made 39 saves in a 2-1 victory over Canada and came up big in a 3-2 win over the Soviets. Finally, he held his own in the clinching 9-4 victory over Czechoslovakia. Surprisingly, McCartan was not originally slated to be on the team, but proved far superior to the other goalies coach Jack Riley had chosen. On March 2 after the Games, McCartan signed a five-game amateur tryout contract with the New York Rangers. He ended up playing 12 NHL games altogether over the next two seasons (2-7-3) and recorded a GAA of 3.71. McCartan spent the rest of the 1960’s bouncing around West Coast minor league teams and only returned to the bigs with the WHA’s Minnesota Fighting Saints from 1972 to 1975.

3: Jim Craig

Millions of lines have been written about the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” at Lake Placid, where the American Olympic team stunned the seemingly invincible Soviets 4-3 with Jim Craig in goal. Drafted by the Atlanta Flames in 1979 (72nd overall), Craig could not have known that his NHL experience would be far less rewarding than the satisfaction of having defeated Sergei Makarov and Vladislav Tretiak. The shaggy-haired kid’s act plummeted with Atlanta, which gave him just four starts in 1979-80. A 23-game stint with Boston followed the next season, and then it was down to the minors. Craig got a final cup of coffee with the Minnesota North Stars in 1983-84. After his hockey career ended, Craig went into newspaper advertising in his hometown of North Easton, Massachusetts.

4: Jarmo Myllys

You can’t fault Jarmo Myllys in terms of his Olympic record: the Finnish netminder owns a silver medal from 1988 and two bronzes from 1994 and 1998. Nor can you criticize his longevity: the 36-year-old Savonlinna product has been playing elite-level hockey since the 1983-84 season. But when Myllys decided to try his luck in the NHL, fans of the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks found plenty to criticize. Myllys won only one game in 10 outings with Minnesota from 1988-89 to 1990-91, and he was even worse in the Sharks teal uniform, playing 27 times and recording just three victories. His career NHL average sits at 5.23. The feisty, argumentative netminder figured out that he just wasn’t suited for North American hockey. He resumed a successful Scandinavian career in 1992, winning a Swedish title with Lulea in 1996. Today, he continues to perform with Espoo Blues of the Finnish SM-Liiga.

5: Don Head

On balance, Don Head wasn’t an “unfortunate” man. The Canadian goalie from Mount Dennis, Ontario enjoyed an all-star career in the old Western Hockey League with the Portland Buckaroos and Seattle Totems. And he played well enough to earn Canada a silver medal at the 1960 Olympics, posting two shutouts and a 1.87 GAA. But Head’s 1961-62 stint with the Boston Bruins was forgettable, to say the least. He won only nine out of his 38 games and the Bruins finished last in the six-team NHL. On June 10, 1962, Boston returned Head to Portland in exchange for cash.