Froese got hit in the protective cup with a slapshot with such force that the cup shattered and the goaltender still took the brunt of the impact. Doubled over in horrendous pain, Froese had blood in his urine for several days. As a result, Froese was knocked out of the lineup.
The Flyers had minor league callup Darren Jensen start the game against Edmonton and they had to temporarily purchase the contract of minor leaguer Mike Bloski to have a backup until Froese was able to return to practice and take over the primary starting duties from Jensen.
Once he finally got to play regularly, however, Froese thrived.
Froese played in the 1985-86 NHL All-Star game, replacing Lindbergh, who was posthumously elected as the starter. Froese went on to win the Jennings Trophy and finished as the runner up to the Rangers' John Vanbiesbrouck in the Vezina Trophy race, earning eight first-place votes among the NHL's General Managers.Unfortunately, Froese was outplayed by Vanbiesbrouck in the 1986 playoffs and received much of the blame as the Rangers ousted the heavily favored - but mentally and emotionally drained five months after Lindbergh's death - Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.
The next season, rookie Ron Hextall rapidly unseated Froese as the starter. The veteran appeared in just three games after having been a Vezina finalist the previous year. On December 18, 1986, Froese he was traded to the Rangers in exchange for defenseman Kjell Samuelsson and a 1999 second-round pick (Patrik Juhlin).
For the Flyers portion of his career, Froese appeared in 144 regular season games over portions of the 1982-83 to 1986-87 seasons. He posted a 92-29-12 record, 2.74 goals against average, .899 save percentage and 12 shutouts. In his Vezina runner-up season of 1985-86, Froese went 31-10-3 with a 2.55 GAA, .909 save percentage and five shutouts.
Froese played in 12 playoff games as a Flyer, going 2-6 with a 3.74 GAA and .864 save percentage.
Unfortunately for Froese, going to the Rangers did not better his outlook for increased playing time. It meant that he'd still be a backup goalie; this time to Vanbiesbrouck. Froese remained with the Rangers as the second-string goalie through the 1989-90 season. He later worked as the New York Islanders goaltending coach for one season (1995-96).
While hockey had been a big part of his life, Froese found his true calling in quite a different arena.
A devout Christian, Froese dedicated himself to religious studies after the end of his playing career, becoming an ordained minister and obtaining a Ph.D. D. in Biblical Counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary. Later, Froese became the senior pastor at Faith Fellowship Church in Clarence, New York.