Andy Moog was born in Penticton, British Columbia on February 18, 1960,
and almost from the first day, he was destined to carry on a family
tradition and make a name for himself in the hockey world.
The son of Shirley and Don Moog, Andy came by his hockey heritage
honestly. His father was a goaltender for the Penticton Vees when they
won the World Hockey Championship in 1955.
Andy soon established himself as a rock-solid netminder himself. After
playing minor hockey in Penticton, Andy advanced to the junior ranks,
first in the B.C. Junior Hockey League, and then on to the Billings
Bighorns of the Western Hockey League, where he was named a W.H.L. all
star in 1979/80.
Andy's talents caught the eye of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers, who made
Andy their sixth pick - 132nd overall - in the 1980 NHL entry draft.
He made his debut with the Oilers the following season, appearing in
just seven regular season games. He also suited up for nine playoff
games for the Oilers that season.
Andy also split the following season between the Oilers and their
Central Hockey League farm team, the Wichita Wind, but he had given
Oilers fans a taste of great things to come.
Andy joined the Oilers for good in the 1982/83 season, and was
instrumental in the upstart Oilers' charge to the Stanley Cup finals
against the powerhouse New York Islanders.
The following season marked the first of three straight Stanley Cup
championships for Andy and the Oilers, and the dynasty was born.
Andy remained with the Oilers until the end of the 1986/87 campaign. He
left the team and spent much of the next season with the Canadian
National Team and the Canadian Olympic Team, appearing in the 1988
Calgary Olympic Games.
Andy resurfaced in the NHL at the end of the 1987/88 season, when he
started a five-year stint with the Boston Bruins.
From Boston Andy was traded to the Dallas Stars. After four years in the
Lone Star State, Andy signed a free agent contract with the Montreal
Canadiens in of July 1997.
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Andy played one season for the Canadiens before announcing his
retirement from professional hockey on June 22, 1998. But even though
his playing days were over, he certainly had no thoughts of slowing
down, or leaving the NHL behind him.
Before the year was over, Andy was back on an NHL payroll, this time as
a goaltending consultant for the Atlanta Thrashers, were scheduled to
join the NHL the following season.
The plan was for Andy to help the team prepare for its first season in
the league by evaluating the goaltenders throughout the league, as well
as taking a look at young up-and-coming netminders, who might be
available to the Thrashers the following summer.
"Goaltending is the position we are going to build this franchise around
(and) Andy brings a wealth of netminding experience and - more
importantly - a feel for what it takes to win in the NHL," said
Thrashers' general manager Don Waddell at the time.
Andy left the Thrashers organization and took a job closer to his
hometown when he joined the Vancouver Canucks in August of 1999, again
as a goaltending consultant.
In addition to evaluating their available netminding talent, Andy was
also responsible for working one-on-one with the netminders on the
Canucks and in the team's farm system.
In addition to his duties with the Thrashers and the Canucks, Andy was
also keeping himself busy with hockey at another level, as the managing
general partner and president of the Western Professional Hockey
League's Fort Worth Brahmas.
Throughout his playing career Andy Moog truly put some Hall of Fame
numbers on the board. During his 18 years in the league he became only
the 10th netminder ever to win 300 games. He reached that milestone on
March 18, 1994. He went on to post a career record of 372 wins, only 209
losses and 88 ties. His career winning percentage of .622 is one of the
highest ever.
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