Mike Palmateer

Michael Scott Palmateer (born January 13, 1954) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goalie. He played in the NHL from 1976 to 1984 for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals.

Playing career

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Palmateer was drafted 85th overall by the Leafs in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. Palmateer played 356 games in the NHL, posting 149 wins against 138 losses and 52 ties while compiling a 3.53 GAA. Palmateer began his career with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1976-77 season and would serve as the clubs starting goaltender the next three seasons. His fourth season, the '79-'80 campaign, Palmateer was slowed by injuries and made just 38 appearances for the Leafs while sharing the duties with four other net minders. Off ice drama this season would lead to his departure from Toronto. After being sidelined with an ankle injury that kept him out of the crease for six weeks, Palmateer's injury was questioned^[1] by the teams brass who felt he was healthy enough to play. Palmateer, a pending free agent, couldn't get Maple Leafs General Manager Punch Imlach to agree to a multi-year contract^[2] and their impasse ultimately led to the goaltender signing a four-year $800,000^[3] deal with the Washington Capitals. In lieu of working out the compensation required for the signing, the two clubs agreed to a trade that would send Palmateer's rights to Washington while the Maple Leafs acquired defensemen Robert Picard along with forward Tim Coulis.^[4] The clubs also swapped draft picks. Following the trade, Capitals General Manager Max McNab declared "With a player like Palmateer, I feel we are set in goal for the next ten years."^[5]

Things didn't work out that way, however. Palmateer's first year in Washington saw the net minder win 18 games for the lowly Capitals but the following year, he won just two games and spent the bulk of the season sidelined by a knee injury. Palmateer's knee woes, which seriously hampered his mobility, ultimately cost GM McNab and head coach Gary Green their jobs. Capitals owner Abe Pollin, who had committed a large chunk of money towards securing Palmateer's services, was not happy to see the goalie struggling and demanded coach Green continue to use him despite diminishing returns. When Green protested and said that his knees were "gone" and he could no longer play him, Pollin instructed Green to "fix him" so that, at the very least, the Captials could trade him for something in return.^[6] When Palmateer continued to falter, both McNab and Green were fired. During the off-season, David Poile was hired as the new General Manager of the Washington Capitals in just days into the job, on September 9, 1982 made his first trade by sending Palmateer back to the Maple Leafs for cash considerations.

Back in Toronto, Palmateer resumed his job as the club's starting goalie suiting up for 53 games. The next year his knee problems flared up again and the goalie was limited to 34 games and had his 12th knee surgery performed.^[7] With Palmateer sidelined, the bulk of the goaltending duties for the Maple Leafs fell to prospect Allan Bester, who was summoned from the Ontario Hockey League in midseason to take over the starting job.^[8] The following year, with Palmateer ready to return, the Maple Leaf brass opted to go with youth in goal and named 20-year olds Allan Bester and Ken Wregget their tandem. That left Palmateer as the odd man out and he was instructed by Maple Leafs General Manager Gerry McNamara to stay home and collect his salary.^[9] Clearly out of Toronto's plans, Palmateer nearly got a chance to return to the ice in February after an injury to Oilers star goaltender Grant Fuhr. Edmonton Oilers director of player personnel Barry Fraser thought Palmateer could be a veteran option to fill in for Fuhr and contacted the Maple Leafs about a trade but the talks never got off the ground when Fuhr's injury proved to be less serious than first thought.^[10] The season would end with Palmateer never suiting up at all.

Palmateer's final taste of NHL action - albeit just a preseason game - would come with the Edmonton Oilers.^[11] However, with 14 knee operations, a year spent off the ice and the all-star tandem of Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog already in Edmonton, his try out was brief and he officially retired from the National Hockey League. Palmateer would return to the Maple Leafs as a scout in 2001^[12] and worked with the club for the next 14 years. He is now up to twenty knee surgeries and a knee replacement.^[13]

Awards and achievements

• 1980–81 - Set an NHL record for assists by a goaltender in one season (8).

Career statistics

Regular season

Transactions

• Traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 3rd round choice in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft (Torrie Robertson) to the Washington Capitals for Robert Picard, Tim Coulis and a 2nd round choice in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft (Bob McGill), June 11, 1980.
• Sold by the Washington Capitals to the Toronto Maple Leafs, September 9, 1982.

References

External links

• Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
• Mike Palmateer's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Mike Palmateer's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database