Baz Bastien
Encyclopedia
Aldege "Baz" Bastien was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender
, head coach and general manager. He played five games for the Toronto Maple Leafs
in 1945, but received most of his playing accolades while with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League
. He later became the Hornets' head coach and general manager and served in several front office positions with National Hockey League
clubs until he was named the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins
in 1976. He served in that capacity until his death in a car crash in 1983.
. He was sponsored by the Maple Leafs and in 1940 began playing for their team in the Senior A League: the Toronto Marlboros
. The then-21 year-old goaltender led the Marlboros to the league championship in his first season with the club. He spent another year with the Marlboros before joining the Cornwall Flyers of the Quebec Senior Hockey League
.
His playing career was temporarily interrupted by a two year stint of military service with the Canadian Army. He returned to North America and playing hockey in 1945, beginning the season with the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately for him he was unable to secure a permanent spot on the Leafs' roster after Turk Broda
returned from his own military service.
Bastien was sent by the Maple Leafs to the Pittsburgh Hornets, their top professional affiliate. He spent the majority of four seasons with the Hornets. He was named to the league's First All-Star team in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and also won the Hap Holmes Memorial Award for fewest goals against in 1948 and 1949.
Personal tragedy befell Bastien on September 30, 1949, at Maple Leafs training camp in Welland, Ontario
. On the third or fourth shot he faced that day the puck struck his right eye. The damage to his eye was severe to the extent that it needed to be removed. Bastien's playing career was over, and he would wear a glass eye for the rest of his life.
and construction of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Bastien returned with them, again as head coach. He moved to the general manager's position again in 1962, and remained in that capacity until the Hornets folded in 1967. He returned behind the bench in 1966, coaching them to a Calder Cup win, their third, in their final season.
He joined the Detroit Red Wings
as assistant general manager to former Hornet Sid Abel
, and followed Abel to Kansas City
in the same capacity in 1974.
Bastien returned to Pittsburgh in 1976, replacing Wren Blair
as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins
.
was named his replacement on May 27, 1983.
Two awards were created the following season to honor Bastien. The American Hockey League
began awarding the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award annually to the best goaltender in the league, and the Pittsburgh chapter of the PHWA awarded the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award to the Penguin judged to be most cooperative with the media.
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
, head coach and general manager. He played five games for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
in 1945, but received most of his playing accolades while with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
. He later became the Hornets' head coach and general manager and served in several front office positions with National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
clubs until he was named the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
in 1976. He served in that capacity until his death in a car crash in 1983.
Playing career
Bastien began his playing career in 1939, playing for the Port Colborne Sailors of the Ontario Hockey Association Senior A LeagueOHA Senior A League (1929–1979)
The Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1890 until 1979. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and its clubs competed for the Allan Cup.-History:The league was...
. He was sponsored by the Maple Leafs and in 1940 began playing for their team in the Senior A League: the Toronto Marlboros
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...
. The then-21 year-old goaltender led the Marlboros to the league championship in his first season with the club. He spent another year with the Marlboros before joining the Cornwall Flyers of the Quebec Senior Hockey League
Quebec Senior Hockey League
The Quebec Senior Hockey League was an ice hockey league that operated between 1941 and 1959 in Québec, Canada. From 1941, it operated on an amateur basis, before becoming the semi-professional Quebec Hockey League in 1953...
.
His playing career was temporarily interrupted by a two year stint of military service with the Canadian Army. He returned to North America and playing hockey in 1945, beginning the season with the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately for him he was unable to secure a permanent spot on the Leafs' roster after Turk Broda
Turk Broda
Walter "Turk" Broda was an ice hockey goaltender, playing his entire career for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League . Broda was born in Brandon, Manitoba to a Ukrainian family; joining the Maple Leafs in 1936.-Personal:...
returned from his own military service.
Bastien was sent by the Maple Leafs to the Pittsburgh Hornets, their top professional affiliate. He spent the majority of four seasons with the Hornets. He was named to the league's First All-Star team in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and also won the Hap Holmes Memorial Award for fewest goals against in 1948 and 1949.
Personal tragedy befell Bastien on September 30, 1949, at Maple Leafs training camp in Welland, Ontario
Welland, Ontario
Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada.The city has been traditionally known as the place where rails and water meet, referring to the railways from Buffalo to Toronto and Southwestern Ontario, and the waterways of Welland Canal and Welland River,...
. On the third or fourth shot he faced that day the puck struck his right eye. The damage to his eye was severe to the extent that it needed to be removed. Bastien's playing career was over, and he would wear a glass eye for the rest of his life.
Front office
"Baz" remained with the Hornets in an administrative capacity and was named their new head coach during the 1949-50 season. The following season he was named general manager, lasting one season before being replaced. He returned to the Hornets as head coach in 1953, again for a single season. When the Hornets returned to Pittsburgh after a five season absence due to the destruction of Duquesne GardensDuquesne Gardens
Duquesne Gardens was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA during the first half of the 20th century. It opened 3 years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. The arena was the first hockey rink to use glass above the dasher...
and construction of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Mellon Arena
Civic Arena is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is currently undergoing demolition. It was the first retractable roof major sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 sq. feet and constructed with just shy of 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel...
Bastien returned with them, again as head coach. He moved to the general manager's position again in 1962, and remained in that capacity until the Hornets folded in 1967. He returned behind the bench in 1966, coaching them to a Calder Cup win, their third, in their final season.
He joined the Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
as assistant general manager to former Hornet Sid Abel
Sid Abel
Sidney Gerald Abel was a Canadian professional hockey player and later coach in the National Hockey League...
, and followed Abel to Kansas City
Kansas City Scouts
The Kansas City Scouts was a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League from 1974–76. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, Colorado and became the Colorado Rockies...
in the same capacity in 1974.
Bastien returned to Pittsburgh in 1976, replacing Wren Blair
Wren Blair
Wren Blair is a former Canadian ice hockey coach. He was head coach of the Minnesota North Stars from 1967 to 1970. He was also the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins from July 1975 to December 1976...
as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
.
Death
Bastien attended a dinner by the Professional Hockey Writer's Association (PHWA) on March 15, 1983. That night while driving home, he collided with a motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the hospital due to having fractured his skull in the collision and having had a heart attack afterward. He was 63. Penguins coach Eddie JohnstonEddie Johnston
Edward Joseph Johnston is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender and former coach and general manager in the National Hockey League...
was named his replacement on May 27, 1983.
Two awards were created the following season to honor Bastien. The American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
began awarding the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award annually to the best goaltender in the league, and the Pittsburgh chapter of the PHWA awarded the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Good Guy Award to the Penguin judged to be most cooperative with the media.
Regular season
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
SO Shutout In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.... |
GAA Goals against average Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender.... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939–40 | Port Colborne Sailors | OHA Sr. A OHA Senior A League (1929–1979) The Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1890 until 1979. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and its clubs competed for the Allan Cup.-History:The league was... |
17 | 1020 | 47 | 2 | 2.76 | |||
| 1939–40 | Atlantic City Seagulls Atlantic City Seagulls Atlantic City Seagulls may refer to:* Atlantic City Seagulls , a member of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League between 1933 and 1953* Atlantic City Seagulls, a member of the United States Basketball League... |
EHL Eastern Hockey League -Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972... |
2 | 90 | 4 | 0 | 2.67 | |||
| 1940–41 | Toronto Marlboros Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989... |
OHA Sr. A | 15 | 880 | 35 | 1 | 2.39 | |||
| 1941–42 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA Sr. A | 30 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 1800 | 75 | 1 | 2.50 |
| 1942–43 | Cornwall Flyers | QSHL Quebec Senior Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League was an ice hockey league that operated between 1941 and 1959 in Québec, Canada. From 1941, it operated on an amateur basis, before becoming the semi-professional Quebec Hockey League in 1953... |
30 | 1760 | 97 | 4 | 3.31 | |||
| 1943–44 | Did not play (military service) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1944–45 | Did not play (military service) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1945–46 | Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 300 | 20 | 0 | 4.00 |
| 1945–46 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 2280 | 144 | 1 | 3.79 |
| 1946–47 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 40 | 23 | 22 | 5 | 2400 | 104 | 7 | 2.60 |
| 1946–47 | Hollywood Wolves | PCHL Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952.-PCHL 1928-1931:... |
22 | 1320 | 33 | 5 | 1.50 | |||
| 1947–48 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 68 | 38 | 18 | 12 | 4080 | 170 | 5 | 2.50 |
| 1948–49 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 68 | 39 | 19 | 10 | 4080 | 175 | 6 | 2.57 |
| NHL Totals | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 300 | 20 | 0 | 4.00 | ||
Playoffs
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
SO Shutout In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.... |
GAA Goals against average Goals Against Average is a statistic used in ice hockey, water polo, lacrosse, and soccer that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender.... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939–40 | Port Colborne Sailors | OHA Sr. A OHA Senior A League (1929–1979) The Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1890 until 1979. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and its clubs competed for the Allan Cup.-History:The league was... |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 240 | 23 | 0 | 5.75 |
| 1939–40 | Atlantic City Seagulls Atlantic City Seagulls Atlantic City Seagulls may refer to:* Atlantic City Seagulls , a member of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League between 1933 and 1953* Atlantic City Seagulls, a member of the United States Basketball League... |
EHL Eastern Hockey League -Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972... |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 120 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 |
| 1940–41 | Toronto Marlboros Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989... |
OHA Sr. A | 16 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1090 | 36 | 2 | 1.98 |
| 1941–42 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA Sr. A | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 360 | 18 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 1942–43 | Cornwall Flyers | QSHL Quebec Senior Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League was an ice hockey league that operated between 1941 and 1959 in Québec, Canada. From 1941, it operated on an amateur basis, before becoming the semi-professional Quebec Hockey League in 1953... |
6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 360 | 22 | 0 | 3.61 |
| 1943–44 | Did not play (military service) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1944–45 | Did not play (military service) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1945–46 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 385 | 20 | 0 | 3.12 |
| 1946–47 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 720 | 29 | 1 | 2.42 |
| 1947–48 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 130 | 6 | 0 | 2.77 |
| NHL Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||