Gardiner was one of the NHL's top goalies in the late 1920s and early 1930s before he died on June 13, 1934, six months before his 30th birthday. His death came two months after his goaltending helped the Chicago Black Hawks win the Stanley Cup for the first time since entering the NHL in 1926. He's still the only NHL goalie to be captain of a Cup-winning team, and he was a key in putting hockey on the map in Chicago.

Though Gardiner was born on Edinburgh, Scotland, he and his family moved to Winnipeg before his seventh birthday. He played junior and senior hockey in Winnipeg, where he drew the attention of the Black Hawks, who brought him to Chicago for the 1927-28 season, their second in the NHL. Though he finished with a 2.83 goals-against average as a rookie and a 1.85 GAA in 1928-29, Gardiner was 13-61 with 10 ties during those seasons, playing behind one of the weakest offenses in League history.

The Black Hawks' offense improved in 1929-30, and so did Gardiner's won-loss record -- he was 21-18 with five ties and helped Chicago make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the next four seasons, Gardiner was arguably the best goalie in the NHL; he twice won the Vezina Trophy (then awarded to the goalie on the team that allowed the fewest goals during the regular season), was an NHL First-Team All-Star three times and a Second-Team All-Star once.

Gardiner's teammates elected him captain before the start of the 1933-34 season, and he was his usual brilliant self during the regular season, finishing with a 1.63 GAA and an NHL-leading 10 shutouts. But by then, he was battling a tonsil infection that was draining his strength. His health was an issue during the 1934 Stanley Cup Playoffs; he shut out the Montreal Maroons 3-0 in Game 1 of the Semifinals on March 28, 1934, despite playing with a fever and needing medical attention between periods.

The Blackhawks won the Cup by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in double overtime in Game 4 of the best-of-5 Final, capping a series that saw Gardiner allow seven goals. But two months later, the 29-year-old was dead after a brain hemorrhage.

Gardiner was part of the Hockey Hall of Fame's initial class in 1945; his won-loss record of 112-151 with 52 ties belies his career GAA of 2.02 and 42 shutouts in 316 games.

And he hasn't been forgotten: In 2018, a community arena in Winnipeg was renamed in his honor.