[1] From 1962 to 1980, he played nine seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks, Buffalo Sabres, and Edmonton Oilers, and in the World Hockey Association between 1974 and 1979 with the Chicago Cougars and Edmonton Oilers, as well as for other smaller teams in other minor leagues.

[3][4] His father, Murray, worked as a brick salesman and became a philanthropist; his mother, Margaret (Campbell), was a kindergarten teacher.

Dryden began his junior career with the Aurora Bears in 1958,[6] before playing two seasons for the St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA).

He made his NHL debut on February 3, 1962, with the Rangers, serving as an emergency backup for Gump Worsley.

[4][14] Dryden died on October 4, 2022, at the age of 81, from complications following surgery for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.