Herb Gardiner

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Herbert Martin Gardiner (May 8, 1891 – January 11, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Calgary Tigers in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and for the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks in the NHL. He later coached in Philadelphia and stayed there after retirement. Gardiner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

Early life and pre-professional years
Gardiner was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He played senior hockey in Winnipeg starting in 1908 and also worked as a banker, winning the Winnipeg Bank League hockey title. He left hockey for four years to work as a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1915, he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force, serving with the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles. He faced illness and was wounded in combat (shot in the nose in 1916) and rose to the rank of lieutenant before being discharged in 1918. After the war, he settled in Calgary, Alberta, and returned to hockey.

WCHL career and rise to the NHL
Gardiner joined the Calgary Wanderers in 1919 and then the Calgary Tigers, turning professional in 1921–22 as the Tigers joined the new Western Canada Hockey League. He quickly established himself as a top defenceman and helped the Tigers win the WCHL championship in 1924. The Tigers then lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Montreal Canadiens, which impressed the Canadiens enough to buy his rights when the WCHL collapsed in 1926.

NHL career and Hart Trophy
Gardiner made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens in 1926 at age 35. He earned the nickname “the ironman of hockey” for playing every minute of every game for the Canadiens that season. He won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 1927 after again playing every minute of every Canadiens game. He was one of the oldest players to win the award and, in his first NHL season, one of only two players to be named MVP in their rookie year. He played all 44 games in 1927–28 but was loaned to the Chicago Black Hawks for the start of the 1928–29 season, serving as player-coach. Montreal recalled him in February 1929, and he finished his NHL career with the Canadiens. His rights were later sold to the Boston Bruins.

Later playing and coaching career
Gardiner then moved to the minor leagues, becoming head coach of the Philadelphia Arrows (later the Philadelphia Ramblers) in the CAHL, which became an AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. He coached the Ramblers to Calder Cup finals in 1937 and 1939 and continued coaching until 1946. In 1947, efforts to relocate the suspended Montreal Maroons to Philadelphia named Gardiner as general manager of a proposed Philadelphia Maroons, but the team never launched. He remained in Philadelphia until his death in 1972.

Honors
Gardiner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958 and is also honored by the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.