career. Before the beginning of the 1933–34 season, Gardiner's teammates unanimously elected him captain. During the regular season, Chicago posted a 20–17–11 record. Gardiner had 10 shutouts, and a 1.63 goals against average. He was named for the third time to the First All-Star Team, and won the Vezina Trophy for the second time. On February 14, 1934, he was a participant in the Ace Bailey Benefit Game, playing goaltender for the All-Stars, who played against the Maple Leafs. In the playoffs, Gardiner had a 6–1–1 record, with two shutouts and a 1.33 goals against average, as Chicago won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. During the Stanley Cup parade, Chicago defenseman Roger Jenkins carted Gardiner in a wheelbarrow around Chicago's business district after a pre-playoff bet. Illness and death During the 1932–33 season Gardiner began to develop a tonsil infection that drained his strength. While he initially kept the infection private, Gardiner made his condition public on December 23, 1932. Even though he was ill, Gardiner played the next night in Toronto. Though his fifty-five saves were the deciding factor in the Black Hawks win and his performance was so good that both league President Frank Calder and Maple Leafs star forward Charlie Conacher praised him, he was so sick he would collapse on the dressing room floor in between periods with a fever of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit; after the game Gardiner was rushed to a local hospital. This was the first notable symptom of Gardiner's health issues. In January 1934 the Black Hawks were on a train back to Chicago when Gardiner felt an intense pain in his throat that spread to the rest of his body, notably his kidneys. When questioned by Tommy Gorman about his issue, Gardiner lied to Gorman and insisted it was only a minor headache. However, when Gardiner woke up on the train in the morning, he had trouble seeing, as black spots obscured his vision. This was Gardiner's first uremic convulsion. Gardiner's health continued to be an issue throughout the 1934 NHL playoffs. On March 29, 1934 in a playoff game against the Montreal Maroons Gardiner had a shutout as the Black Hawks won 3–0; though he was named first star as the best player of the game, Gardiner was in extreme pain during the entire game with a fever of 102 Fahrenheit and was attended to