Giacomin began his professional career in 1959 when he played four games for the Washington Presidents of the Eastern Hockey League.
The Eagles had originally sought his brother Rollie, but work commitments meant he was unable to play, so suggested Eddie instead.
In the Original Six days of the 1960s, with only six starting goaltending jobs in the NHL, positions were hard to obtain, and Giacomin starred for the Reds for five full seasons.
NHL teams, particularly the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers, began to express interest in Giacomin.
The Rangers went on to meet the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals in 1972, losing in a hard-fought six-game series.
The following season, the Rangers got off to their worst start in ten years (they would miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade) and began to get rid of their high-salaried veterans, Giacomin among them.