The 5 Greatest Goaltenders in NHL History – Hockey Writers – NHL Goaltending

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The 5 Greatest Goaltenders in NHL History – Hockey Writers – NHL Goaltending

Ranking goals throughout NHL history is a difficult task. Many factors must be considered: dominance alone, longevity, impact on sports, etc. For some, raw wins and ring totals are more important than how those numbers are achieved. With all of these factors in mind, let’s examine the five best goaltenders in NHL history:

5. Jacques Plante

Nov. 1, 1959: perhaps the worst night in goaltending history. Most hockey fans know this story, but it bears repeating: after being slapped in the face by Andy Bathgate, Jacques Plante told Canadiens coach Toe Blake that he refused to return to the ice without his fiberglass mask on. Blake agreed, as there was no backup goalkeeper on hand, and the rest is history.

Goaltenders at every level, be it the beer league or the National Hockey League, should immediately say “thank you” to Plante every time they get the puck to the head, as he was the first to push for the mask to be worn. common practice.

Jacques Plante Terry Sawchuk Martin Brodeur (Hockey Writers)

Plante was an innovator in other ways though, as he was one of the first goaltenders to come out to support his defenders by playing the puck. A student of the game, he also made notes of the opponents he faced and barked orders to his players during games. He was more than just inventive though. He held the Vezina Trophy in the 1950s, winning five in a row and two more later. With five straight Stanley Cups in that same decade, he was at the heart of one of the greatest teams in NHL history.

4. Terry Sawchuk

Ben Bishop was held up in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final by playing with a torn groin. As painful as that sounds, the list of injuries Terry Sawchuk has suffered and at times played through during his career is staggering: a permanently damaged elbow that left his left arm shorter than his right, cuts and bruises that led to 400 stitches on his face. , a collapsed lung, a broken leg, and severed hand muscles. The aging of his back left him with a condition known as lordosis, which prevented him from sleeping for more than two hours at a time.

Sawchuk led a troubled life, suffering from physical illness and untreated alcoholism and depression. Despite the formidable odds, Sawchuk emerged as one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game, amassing four Vezina trophies, four Stanley Cups, and a career shutout record of 103 that spanned nearly four decades.

Related: How the Maple Leafs Got Terry Sawchuk

Although his life was full of hardships and ultimately ended tragically, his hockey career was legendary, he is considered one of the best hockey players to ever play the game.

3. Martin Brodeur

Let’s start with the hardware: the Calder Trophy, four Vezinas, two Olympic gold medals, and three Stanley Cups. Now let’s get to the numbers: 691 career wins, 125 career shutouts, 24 playoff shutouts, 28 saves, 508 strikeouts, and three career shutouts. Guess what? Those are all NHL records, and a smart gambler would say that at least a few of those will stand for a long, long time.

Martin Brodeur was a member of one of the toughest teams in NHL history, as the New Jersey Devils suffocated opponents in the 1990s and early 2000s with a neutral zone trap that would change the way the game was played. Brodeur was the right man for the job in a system that featured elite defenders like Scott Niedermayer and a brilliant team builder like Lou Lamoriello.

With a cool and calm demeanor, Brodeur can stay focused even when he usually only faces 15 to 20 shots a game. He often prevented teams from getting into any kind of rhythm due to his puck-handing, which was so good that the NHL actually had to make rules to limit his performance. Brodeur is one of the most successful athletes of all time, and his records will stand for decades to come.

2. Dominik Hasek

At a young age, doctors noticed that Dominik Hasek had above-average flexibility, a trait that would go on to define much of his career. Although he is known for his incredible ability to save his body in unimaginable ways, what made Hasek great was his uncanny grasp of the fundamentals of the position, his razor-sharp focus, and his refusal to give up on any game.

Fun fact: Hasek is the only pitcher to ever face more shots in sixty minutes while leading the league in save percentage. If that wasn’t good enough already, he did it twice. And then there were the medals: six Vezina trophies, two Hart Cups in a row, two Stanley Cups, and an unlikely gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. The Sabers teams Hasek played on in the 1990s were not defensive juggernauts, yet he came very close to carrying them to the promised land. To begin with, Hasek helped pave the way for other European forwards, forcing NHL teams to make more of an effort to find talent in Europe.

1. Patrick Roy

Brodeur won. Hasek was strong. Patrick Roy was both of those, winning and dominating in every way when the lights were on the brightest. Michael Jordan is worshiped for his determination to win at all costs, yet Roy was his equal in that regard. As a fierce competitor, he carried two tough-challenged Montreal Canadiens teams to two Stanley Cups. In the 1993 playoffs, Roy helped the Canadiens to a record 10-game sudden-death streak. If there’s any indication of how clutch Roy can be, this should be it.

Roy’s trophy case is filled with four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe Cups, and three Vezina Cups. That makes him the only goaltender on this list with Conn Smythe trophies (awarded to MVP of the playoffs), let alone three. In fact, he is the one who created the modern way of scoring goals by being the first goalkeeper to expand the butterfly style until he changed the very equipment worn by goals because of his close relationship with coach Francois Allaire and the Lefebvre brothers.

Related: Remembering the Late Great Pelle Lindbergh

Roy’s style of scoring, combined with new equipment, led to a huge influx of goals from the province of Quebec. Athletes from this province who once worshiped greats like Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur now want to become goalkeepers which was unknown at that time. Goal scoring has improved across the league, which has played a major role in the continued decline in goals scored. No goalkeeper has the combination of absolute dominance, team success, and impact on the game that Roy has, making him the greatest striker of all time.