10. Bernie Parent 1965 - 1979 (Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto)
Number ten on my list was a member of the great 'Broadstreet Bullies' in the '70's. Bernie Parent was taken from Boston by Philadelphia in the expansion draft and would go on to lead the Flyers to 2 Stanley Cups, claiming the Conn Smythe in both of them. During those two Cup runs Parent also locked up the Vezina Trophy in both seasons. He became a cult hero in Philly along with most of the team as their hard nosed and physical style mesmerized fans. Parent's 54 shutouts rank him 19th all time and he ended his career with a solid 2.55 GAA.
9. Bill Durnan 1943 - 1950 (Montreal)
The ninth goalie to make the list is one of several Montreal Canadien greats. Bill Durnan's career may not have been lengthy, but he made the years he played count. In just seven seasons with the Habs Durnan racked up 6 Vezina trophy's, 6 first team all star nominations and won 2 Stanley Cups. His 2.36 GAA rank him 16th all time and he held the record for longest shutout streak at 309 min and 21 sec until Brian Boucher broke the record in 2004. Durnan isn't a household name for many hockey fans because of his short career, but the numbers don't lie, he was one of the best to ever guard the twine.
8. Glenn Hall 1952 - 1971 (Detroit, Chicago, St Louis)
Glenn Hall, affectionately referred to as 'Mr Goalie', is one of the great iron man tenders on the list. Hall holds the record for the most consecutive completed games by a goaltender at 502. He was best known for inventing the butterfly style of goaltending which has become the dominant style at the position today. Hall's 84 shutouts rank him 4th all time and 407 wins put him in 8th, while he also has 2 Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe. He is the first person on the list to win the Calder Trophy in his rookie season and brought home 3 Vezina's and a whopping 7 first team all star nominations. Glenn Hall paved the way for today's goaltender and is truly one of the greats at this position.
7. George Hainsworth 1926 - 1937 (Montreal, Toronto)
We are reaching way back into our bag of tricks for the 7th man on our list today as George Hainsworth is officially the oldest tender on the list. Hainsworth made his mark with the Habs in the early '30's winning 2 Stanley Cups and 3 Vezina Trophy's. He ranks third all time in shutouts with 94 and holds the record for the most shutouts in a single season with 22. Moreover, the most impressive stat for Hainsworth is his career 1.93 GAA. He is one of only two goalies to have a career goals against average under 2.00 and even posted a 0.93 GAA in 44 games played in the '28 - '29 season. Hainsworth played in a much different era than many of the people on the list, but stopping pucks at this rate makes him a deserving member of the 10 greatest of all time.
6. Jacques Plante 1953 - 1973 (Montreal, New York Rangers, St. Louis, Toronto, Boston)
Number six on the list is truly one of the great names in hockey history. Jacques Plante will best be remembered as the man who first wore a mask while playing net. His 6 Stanley Cups have him tied for the most all time by a goalie and the 7 Vezina's he owns is the record for most by any tender. Plante ranks 5th all time with 82 shutouts, 6th all time with 437 wins and is one of only 6 goalies to ever win the Hart Trophy. The Hart is a particularly special accomplishment as only seven times in history has a goalie won this award. Every true hockey household knows the name Jacques Plante and most have the famous picture of his busted up face and that tiny mask he first started wearing. Plante is truly a special person in hockey history and mush deserving of being on this list.
5. Ken Dryden 1970 - 1979 (Montreal)
Breaking into our top five goalies of all time we see one of the best, and biggest, goalies to ever play. Measuring in at around 6'4, Dryden was a daunting figure in the Canadiens net for almost a decade. Despite his short playing career, Dryden is tied with the aforementioned Plante for the most Cup wins by a goalie all time with 6. He claimed 5 Vezina's, 5 first team all star nominations, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Calder Trophy as well. Dryden's 2.24 GAA rank him 9th all time and his 46 shutouts have him in at 26th. It's a shame he wasn't able to have a longer career because Habs fans will always remember Dryden as one of the best to ever lace em up.
4. Terry Sawchuk 1949 - 1970 (Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York Rangers)
The Detroit Red Wing great Terry Sawchuk comes in on the list at number four being best known for his shutout record. Sawchuk racked up 103 shutouts over the course of his 21 seasons and that record stood tall until Martin Brodeur just recently surpassed it. Sawchuk brought home 4 Cups and 4 Vezina's over the span of his illustrious career as well as winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season. His 447 wins put him 5th all time and he had 3 first team all star nominations to his credit. Sawchuk is arguably the greatest goalie in Red Wings franchise history and deserves to be considered as one of the greatest at the position in general all time.
3. Dominik Hasek 1990 - 2008 (Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa)
Coming into the top three on our list of greatest goaltenders of all time is one of the most awkward looking yet affective goalies ever. Hasek, nicknamed 'The Dominator', was one of the best players in the NHL period during his career. Even though Hasek is the only man on the list without multiple Cups, he only won 1, his 6 Vezina's and 6 first team all star nominations speak for themselves. The Dominator ranks 7th all time with a 2.20 career GAA, is tied for 6th with 81 shutouts and is 11th with 389 career wins. He also bested Patrick Roy and team Canada in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano and claimed the Gold Medal against the Russians that same year. However, maybe his greatest accomplishment is the back-to-back Hart Trophy's that Hasek won in the '96 - '97 season and '97 - '98 season. He is the only goalie to ever win multiple Hart Trophy's as it has only happened 7 times in history that a tender has won the award. The Dominator was truly just that for almost two decades and his individual accomplishments speak much louder than his lack of Stanley Cups.
2. Patrick Roy 1985 - 2003 (Montreal, Colorado)
Possibly a bit of a surprise at number 2 as most analysts and fans alike have Roy as the greatest of all time, but as we see the numbers feelings may begin to change. However, giving Patrick Roy his due he was arguably the greatest goaltender of all time. The Canadien legend won 2 of his 4 Stanley Cups in a Habs uniform before departing for Colorado after a tiff with management. His 551 wins rank him second all time to go along with his 3 Vezina Trophy's and 3 Conn Smythe's. Roy is tied with Martin Brodeur for the most consecutive 30 plus win seasons at 13 and the most playoff shutouts at 23. He owns the record for the most playoff victories with 151 yet also has the dubious distinction of having the most playoff losses all time. There is no doubt that Roy needs to be in the conversation for greatest goaltender of all time and is probably interchangeable at the top of this list with the number 1, however, when looking at the facts I think you will find the decision to put the great Patrick Roy at 2 was the right one.
1. Martin Brodeur 1993 - Present (New Jersey)
The greatest goaltender all time in this guy's opinion has to be, hands down, Martin Brodeur. If you don't believe me just take a look at what comes next:
- 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist (1 as a starter)
- 8th all time with a 2.21 GAA
- 1st all time with 116 shutouts
- 1st all time with 625 wins
- 3 Stanley Cups
- 4 first team all star nominations
- Calder Trophy
- 4 Vezina Trophy's
- Most wins in a single season (48)
- Most minutes and games played in a career
- Most consecutive 30 plus win seasons (12)
- Most consecutive 35 plus win seasons (11)
- Most 40 plus win seasons (8)
- Most consecutive 40 plus win seasons (3) tied with Evgeni Nabokov
- Most playoff shutouts (23) tied with Roy
- Youngest Goalie too 300, 400, 500 & 600 wins
- Most shutouts in 1 playoff run (7)
That concludes the list of the top 10 greatest goalies of all time. I want too reiterate that this list is opinion and not fact and there are several choices that were omitted but could have been there just as easily. Three honourable mentions I'd like to put in are Blackhawks great Tony Esposito, Leafs legend Johnny Bower and Eddie 'the Eagle' Belfour. These three could most definitely have made the list if we just had some more space. Leave a comment let me know what you agree or disagree with!
Sad to see Mr. Belfour on the list. At least he got the honorable mention.
ReplyDeleteFavorite line in the works;
"...saddled with the dubious distinction..."
Good job buddy.