Pete Peeters (born August 17, 1957) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. He was selected by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

in the eighth round (135th overall) of the 1977 NHL amateur draft. and went on to play 13 seasons in the

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) for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. He featured in the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals with the Flyers and won the 1984 Canada Cup with Team Canada.

Early life

Peeters was born in a family of Dutch immigrants in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. At a young age, he valued swimming more than hockey. It was not until he was 18 that Peeters was committed to junior hockey. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, Peeters joined a struggling

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

team. He would stay with the Tigers for two years before being drafted. Peeters was drafted 135th overall by the

in the 1977 NHL amateur draft after showing scouts that he had what it took to play at an NHL level. He played for two years in the AHL winning the

Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award The Hap Holmes Memorial Award is an ice hockey trophy awarded annually to the goaltenders of the American Hockey League (AHL) team with the lowest goals against average, and who have appeared in at least 25 regular season games. Prior to 1972, only ...

for best

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

in the league, won back-to-back Calder Cups, and he was also selected to the first All-Star team.

Playing career

Philadelphia Flyers

Peeters was called up by the Flyers in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

sharing the net with

Phil Myre Philippe Louis Myre (born November 1, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Atlanta Flames, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers, Colora ...

. Peeters started with a 22–0–5 record before losing his first game of the season on February 19. The Flyers went an NHL and professional sports record 35 straight games without a loss that season. Peeters finished the season with a 29–5–5 record with a 2.73 GAA. He led the Flyers all the way to the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

before losing to the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

on an overtime goal by

Bob Nystrom Robert Thore Nystrom (born October 10, 1952) is a Swedish–Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1972 to 1986. He is best remembered as having scored t ...

. For his effort, Peeters was selected to play in the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game () is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many of the League's star players playing against each other. The ga ...

. The following season, expectations were high for Peeters, but he did not meet them. Over the next two years his GAA rose and his playoff success diminished. Following an infamous incident in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

where he molested a reporter in the locker room, he was traded to the

for

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

Brad McCrimmon Byron Brad McCrimmon (March 29, 1959 – September 7, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played over 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, ...

Boston Bruins

Peeters joined the

for the 1982–83 season. Peeters had his best year, playing in 62 games and posting a 40–11–9 record with 8

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

and a decade-best 2.36 GAA. At one point, Peeters went 31 games without a loss. He won the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy ( ) is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two List of NHL general managers, NHL general managers vote to dete ...

for his spectacular play and was selected First All-Star team goalie. He also played in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

in his first season with Boston. Peeters finished 2nd in voting for the

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player to his team in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original tr ...

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

. Next season, expectations were high again for Peeters and, like in Philadelphia, he did not meet them. He played for two more years with the Bruins with his GAA inflating and the losses piling up.

1984 Canada Cup

Peeters was invited to

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

for the 1984 Canada Cup. Despite having a sprained ankle, Peeters was able to play in four tournament games including both best-of-three final games against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and the memorable overtime win against the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

in the semifinal.

Washington Capitals

After the Canada Cup experience, Peeters had trouble readjusting his game to the NHL level. After a slow start in the 1985–86 season, Peeters was traded to the

in exchange for goaltender

Pat Riggin Patrick Michael Riggin (born May 26, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Birmingham Bulls Riggin began his professional career while still a teenager with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Asso ...

. Peeters had much success with the Caps by providing a solid goaltending for the next four seasons and became the team’s starting goalie in the playoffs. However, his team never advanced past the second round.

Return to Philadelphia

Peeters returned to Philadelphia in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

by way of free agency. He remained there for the last two seasons of his career sharing the net with

Ron Hextall Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive. He was most recently the general manager#Sports teams, general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL ...

and

Ken Wregget Kenneth Lee Wregget (born March 25, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. His professional hockey career spans nearly 20 years, playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers ...

. Peeters would hang up the pads in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Coaching

At the end of his playing career, Peeters returned to the family farm in Edmonton. He then got into coaching, serving as a goaltender coach to 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 ...

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

, and the

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

. From July 2009 to June 2013 he was the goaltending coach for the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

, a position which had been left vacant following the departure of François Allaire.

Family

Peeters' son Trevor (born July 2, 1987) played 36 games over four seasons (2003 – 2007) as a goaltender in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

for the Red Deer Rebels, Swift Current Broncos, and Saskatoon Blades.

Awards, records and achievements

* Selected to the AHL second All-Star team in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. *

in 1979 (shared with Robbie Moore). *

Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The tea ...

winner in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. * Bruins Three Stars Awards:

* Seventh Player Award winner in

. * Selected to the

NHL first All-Star team The National Hockey League All-Star teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position. Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the all-st ...

. *

winner in 1983. * Played in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

NHL All-Star Games. *

Canada Cup The Canada Cup () was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that a ...

winner in

. * Only goalie in NHL history to have two (25+) game unbeaten streaks. * Only goalie in NHL history to have two (25+) game unbeaten streaks playing on two different teams. * One of two goalies to have a (30+) game unbeaten streak along with

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael Cheevers (born December 7, 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for his two s ...

. * Named One of the Top 100 Best Bruins Players of all Time.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Pete Peeters biography
a
The Goaltender Home Page
- advanced statistics, pre-1982 save percentages, and game logs

a
Hockey Draft Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peeters, Pete 1957 births Living people Anaheim Ducks coaches Arizona Coyotes coaches Binghamton Whalers players Boston Bruins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Canadian people of Dutch descent Edmonton Oilers coaches Hershey Bears players Maine Mariners (AHL) players Medicine Hat Tigers players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players Minnesota North Stars coaches National Hockey League All-Stars Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Ice hockey people from Edmonton Vezina Trophy winners Washington Capitals players Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996) coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches 20th-century Canadian sportsmen