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Photos: RIP Milt Schmidt, Boston Bruins legend, 1918-2017

Milt Schmidt, a Hockey Hall of Famer who was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins, has passed away at age 98.

Schmidt’s NHL career spanned 1936 to 1955, all with the Bruins, and he scored 229 goals and 575 points in 776 career games, adding 24 goals and 49 points in 86 playoff games. He led Boston to Stanley Cup championships in 1939 and 1941, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1961. Schmidt also won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer in 1940 and the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP in 1951.

A native of Kitchener, Ont., he missed the entire 1942-43, ’43-44 and ’44-45 seasons to serve in the Canadian air force during World War Two.

From the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Although he played 16 years in the NHL, Schmidt missed much time during the height of his career when he left the team to join the air force, a stint that lasted three and a half seasons. He always maintained that the night of January 10, 1942, was his biggest thrill in hockey. “That was the last game Bobby Bauer, Pork Dumart and I played before going into the service,” he explained. “It was against the Canadiens, and we beat them badly. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what happened after the game. The players on both teams lifted the three of us on their shoulders and carried us off the ice and the crowd gave us an ovation. A man couldn’t ever forget a thing like that.”

Here’s a look at Bruins legend Milt Schmidt over the years.