Cesare Maniago (born January 13, 1939) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender who played 410 of his 568

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) games for the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

, the second most in franchise history.

Playing career

Originally the property of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

, the young goalie played seven games for the Leafs in the 1960–61 season. Picked up by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

in the inter-league draft the following season, Maniago underwent a lengthy apprenticeship in the minor leagues, spending the better part of five years on the farm. The high point of his years with Montreal was a 14-game stint in relief of the ailing

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

during the 1963 season. He had a sparkling season for the

Minneapolis Bruins The Minneapolis Bruins were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Central Professional Hockey League (CPHL) from 1963 to 1965. The Bruins were one of the original five teams to enter the newly formed CPHL. Minneapolis operated as a f ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

in 1965, winning the league's most valuable player award, after which he was dealt to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. Maniago competed against

Ed Giacomin Edward "Ed" Giacomin (born June 6, 1939) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League between 1965 and 1978. Playing career Giacomin began his pr ...

and Don Simmons for the starting goal position in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, playing 28 games for the last-place team. On March 12, in Chicago, he allowed the Black Hawks' star left winger

Bobby Hull Robert Marvin Hull (January 3, 1939 – January 30, 2023) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blond hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot t ...

's 51st goal of the season, the first time in league history that any player had scored more than 50 goals in one year. After the game, he insisted that Chicago's crafty forward

Eric Nesterenko Eric Paul Nesterenko (October 31, 1933 – June 4, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1951 until 1956 and for the Chicago Black Hawks from 1956 until ...

had interfered with him during the play: "Nesterenko lifted the blade of my stick, and the puck went under it." Giacomin firmly won the job the next season as the much-improved Rangers made the playoffs, and Maniago played in just six games as his backup.

Minnesota

With expansion arriving the next season, Maniago had his opportunity. He was the first draft choice of the expansion

, immediately becoming their number one goaltender, a job he kept for the next nine seasons. His play led the North Stars into the playoffs in five of their first six seasons. One of his best years was his first with the team, where he had career highs in wins and shutouts while leading underdog Minnesota into the 1967-68 West Division semi-finals. The North Stars struggled the next season, finishing in last place and missing the playoffs. Unable to find a suitable goalie to help Maniago with the workload (the other goalies the team tried went a combined 11-35-16 in Minnesota's first three seasons) the North Stars obtained

Gump Worsley Lorne John "Gump" Worsley (May 14, 1929 – January 26, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, 'Gump' was given his nickname because friends thought he looked like a comic-strip character An ...

's rights from the Canadiens, talking him out of retirement in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. The late-season addition rejuvenated the struggling team, who finished strongly, ending up in third place. Over the next three seasons, the tandem led the North Stars into the playoffs, including an appearance against Montreal in the 1971 semifinals. In this series, Minnesota was the first expansion team to defeat an

Original Six The Original Six () are the teams that composed the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. ...

team in a playoff game, beating the Canadiens twice. Starting in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, the fortunes of the Minnesota club sagged, as did Maniago's play. Worsley's retirement that season left him as the sole experienced goalie on the struggling team. After the 1976 season, he was traded to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

for his two final seasons.

Legacy

Maniago retired with 190 wins in 568 games, recording 30 shutouts and a career 3.27 goals against average, leading Minnesota goaltenders in every meaningful statistical category. At the time of his retirement, Maniago was in the top 25 in NHL history in shutouts, fifth in all-time losses and twelfth in all-time games played. Afterward, he served several seasons as the Canucks' goaltender coach. Maniago remains second in all-time games played and minutes played in net for the Minnesota/

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

franchise behind

Marty Turco Marty Vincent Turco (born August 13, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played nine seasons with the Dallas Stars and one season each with the Chicago Blackha ...

, and is third in wins and shutouts to

Ed Belfour Edward John Belfour (born April 21, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of North Dakota where he helped the school win the National Collegia ...

and Turco.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maniago, Cesare 1939 births Living people Baltimore Clippers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Ice hockey people from Trail, British Columbia Minnesota North Stars players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Montreal Canadiens players New York Rangers players Quebec Aces (AHL) players Spokane Comets players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto St. Michael's Majors players Vancouver Canucks players