The Cleveland Barons are no longer, of course. They became the Minnesota North Stars, who later became the Dallas Stars after spawning the San Jose Sharks, which is kind of fitting since the Barons were originally known as the California Golden Seals/Oakland Seals.In the 1970s Gilles Meloche was a very good goalie for the Seals, Barons and North Stars, and later in the 1980s with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Unfortunately for Meloche his teams in front of him were usually down right horrible. History has all but dismissed Meloche as a result. Had he played for stronger teams he would likely be remembered as one of the better goalies of that era.
One guy who does remember him is Jeff Barak, which is why I'm bringing this whole story up today. Jeff runs a fairly new blog that I'm really enjoying. As students of hockey history, I think you will too.
Third String Goalie is Jeff's passionate website. He collects hockey sweaters, with over 450 in his collection to date. He is posting photos of a sweater each day, tying it in nicely with current news. He not only talks about the sweaters, but about the players, the teams, and/or about the event. It makes for some very informative and uniquely entertaining reading.
Check out Third String Goalie today.
