The ice feels colder today, the rink a little quieter. Ken Dryden, the towering goaltender who defined an era for the Montreal Canadiens, has left us at 78. His passing isn’t just the loss of a hockey legend; it’s the closing of a chapter that shaped the soul of the game. For those of us who watched him stand like a sentinel in the crease, or heard tales of his six Stanley Cups, this news cuts deep. The hockey world mourns not just a player, but a giant whose presence still echoes through the sport.

Picture the Montreal Forum in the 1970s, electric with anticipation. Ken Dryden wasn’t just a goaltender; he was a fortress. At 6-foot-4, with those piercing eyes behind the mask, he seemed to see every puck before it left the stick. From 1971 to 1979, he backstopped the Canadiens to six championships, his glove hand snatching victories from the jaws of defeat. His rookie season? A Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP before he’d even won the Calder for best rookie. That’s the kind of magic Ken brought to the ice. He didn’t just play the game; he redefined what a goaltender could be.

But Ken was more than his stats—though those are staggering. A .790 winning percentage, a 2.24 goals-against average, 46 shutouts in 397 games. He won the Vezina Trophy five times, back when it meant you were the best, period. Yet it was his presence that set him apart. Teammates like Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson spoke of his calm, his intellect, how he’d analyze the game like a chess master. Off the ice, he was a thinker, a Cornell graduate with a law degree, a man who wrote The Game, a book that’s less about hockey and more about the human heart behind it.

I can still see him in that iconic stance—legs spread wide, stick resting lightly, ready to steal a shooter’s soul. The 1971 playoffs, when he stonewalled the Boston Bruins as a 23-year-old nobody, still feels like a fairy tale. Or the 1976-79 dynasty, when Montreal won four straight Cups, and Ken was the backbone. He wasn’t flashy; he was relentless, cerebral, unbreakable. Even in 1973, when he sat out a season to finish his law degree, he showed the world that hockey was just one part of who he was. That courage to step away at his peak? That was Ken Dryden.

The news of his passing has left the hockey world hollow. On X, fans share clips of his sprawling saves, his mask a symbol of Montreal’s golden age. Former teammates, from Yvan Cournoyer to Scotty Bowman, call him a brother, a leader. The Canadiens organization, where he later served as president, called him “the gold standard.” Beyond the rink, he was a Member of Parliament, a voice for education, a man who never stopped asking what came next.

As I write this, I think of Montreal’s Bell Centre, where his No. 29 hangs in the rafters. I think of the kids who’ll never see him play but will hear his name whispered in reverence. Ken Dryden didn’t just guard the net; he guarded a legacy. He showed us that greatness isn’t just in winning, but in how you carry yourself, how you think, how you inspire. His era may have ended, but the stories—those saves, those Cups, that quiet strength—will live on in every rink, every fan, every heartbeat of hockey.

Rest in peace, Ken. The crease is yours forever.