Best goalie in NHL history.

[Rygu]

I'm sure this poll has been done before but after scrolling for 15 pages I didn't see one so no hating please.

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[Tkachuk Norris]

To me it’s Marty. Not only was he a great goalie but he was able to play the puck with so much skill it allowed NJ to create that trap game which won them two cups.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Voted Roy

 

[1TuchAnd1NoTuch]

It’s always Hasek

 

[wintersej]

To me it’s Marty. Not only was he a great goalie but he was able to play the puck with so much skill it allowed NJ to create that trap game which won them two cups.

I think the answer is Hasek, but the fact that they had to change the rules because of what Marty did was remarkable. And its really hard to quantify how many scoring chances Marty kept from happening because his ability to be a 3rd D for puck retrieval was a puck possession god-send. I think that many point to how good the Devils D was and use that to discount what Marty did, but Marty was a huge huge part of how that system functioned.

 

[WillTheThrill]

Brodeur

 

[Leonhard Euler]

It's Hasek. There's zero doubt in my mind about it. Sometimes these kind of question are tricky or difficult to answer for me. But with Hasek and Gretzky it's easy.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Hasek very decisively

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

pretty easily Hasek

he's on another level compared to all other goalies similar to Orr vs all other defensemen

 

[SotasicA]

I'll take Plante, for his significance and accomplishments. 6 Cups, 7 Vezina trophies and a Hart. He was also a pioneer in the game. The best and most important hockey goalie in the history of the game.

If you're talking "best" technically by raw fact of stopping pucks, then it's just a matter of ranking modern guys who stand on the shoulders of others. To me, that's not as sexy. So I went with Plante. But that's just my take on the best goalie in HISTORY, a vague question in itself. I doubt Hasek or Brodeur could outplay Plante with 1950s/60s equipment and training. We also don't know how Plante would do with the modern game, so that's all speculation. It's easier to let the hardware speak for itself.

 

[pheasant]

I'd put Roy over Hasek. But that's just me.

I actually voted for Durnan. 6 Vezina trophies in a 7 year career.

For an added bonus, he played ambidexterous, as I mentioned here.

For a double bonus, he was the last goalie to serve as team Captain, although Luongo did it unofficially for a spell.

 

[Rygu]

For me it's Hasek, then Roy, then Plante.

Hasek's accomplishments on a mediocre team for the majority of his career speak for themselves.

Roy won 4 cups with 2 different teams.

Plante has a winning % that will most likely go unmatched.

 

[NewtJorden]

Terry Sawchuk

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

I'd put Roy over Hasek. But that's just me.

I actually voted for Durnan. 6 Vezina trophies in a 7 year career.

For an added bonus, he played ambidexterous, as I mentioned here.

For a double bonus, he was the last goalie to serve as team Captain, although Luongo did it unofficially for a spell.

big issue with his and Plante's Vezinas...those aren't true Vezina wins.

up until 1981-82 the Vezina was simply the Jennings

 

[pheasant]

big issue with his and Plante's Vezinas...those aren't true Vezina wins.

up until 1981-82 the Vezina was simply the Jennings

Ya, but I can't go back in time and properly define and invent the trophies before Durnan's career so that the comparison to today is easier.

It is what it is. And what it is is proof that he was unbelievable in his time.

 

[The Macho King]

Ya, but I can't go back in time and properly define and invent the trophies before Durnan's career so that the comparison to today is easier.

It is what it is. And what it is is proof that he was unbelievable in his time.

Not to take away from Plante - he's one of the greatest of all time and a true legend, but he was also playing behind one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the sport. He had Doug Harvey, Rocket Richard, Boom Boom Geoffrion, etc. ad nauseum in front of him in a team with six leagues. It's a lot easier to be the best goaltender in the league when there are only five other competitors, and one of them plays for the Rangers.

Roy gets a lot of credit for changing the way the position is played, but I don't think that should factor into the discussion. To me it will always be Hasek.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Lundqvist.
For sake of the poll I’ll say Roy

 

[LongWayDown37]

Hasek and its honestly not close.

 

[StoneHands]

I'll take Plante, for his significance and accomplishments. 6 Cups, 7 Vezina trophies and a Hart. He was also a pioneer in the game. The best and most important hockey goalie in the history of the game.

If you're talking "best" technically by raw fact of stopping pucks, then it's just a matter of ranking modern guys who stand on the shoulders of others. To me, that's not as sexy. So I went with Plante. But that's just my take on the best goalie in HISTORY, a vague question in itself. I doubt Hasek or Brodeur could outplay Plante with 1950s/60s equipment and training. We also don't know how Plante would do with the modern game, so that's all speculation. It's easier to let the hardware speak for itself.

Is having 6 cups (on teams with 9-10 Hall of Famers), 6 vezinas, and 1 Hart in an era with only 6 teams really the most impressive resume though? Back then you needed to win 2 playoff series to take the Cup and only needed to be the best of 6 goalies to win the Vezina. I would argue that 2 Cups, 6 Vezinas and 2 Harts in an era with 26-30 teams is much more impressive.

 

[authentic]

It is so clearly Hasek. Roy is easily number 2 though, and beyond that I would have to go with Brodeur. It just seems a little fishy to me that the 3 best goalies of all time played in the same era, although Hasek could've actually played in the NHL a decade before Brodeur did.

 

[SotasicA]

Is having 6 cups (on teams with 9-10 Hall of Famers), 6 vezinas, and 1 Hart in an era with only 6 teams really the most impressive resume though? Back then you needed to win 2 playoff series to take the Cup and only needed to be the best of 6 goalies to win the Vezina. I would argue that 2 Cups, 6 Vezinas and 2 Harts in an era with 26-30 teams is much more impressive.

And that would be a good argument.

I think it also comes down to separation from your peers. There's a little more debate about whether Hasek was even the best of his era.

But with a 100 years of history, this is a question that should come with some debate. And it will become even harder in the future. I guess in another 100 years, to some, the recency bias will overshadow any goalie we have witnessed in our time, and it's only goalies from 2090-2120 getting recognition.

 

[Trap Jesus]

I think it's impossible to compare goalies across eras, more so than any other position. Hasek is one of the only ones that you actually can though. Not that hockey in the mid 90s was a different sport than what it is today, but there's no question that goaltending and defensive structure has come a long way since then. How many times in the last 5-10 years have you heard a stat like "Goalie x now has the best career save %"? It's no coincidence that goalies that are still playing or have only very recently retired jam-pack the career save % leaders. But who is currently sitting at the top? Yep, Hasek. Goalies inevitably pass him, but always end up dipping back under his mark on the downside of their careers. And honestly, it doesn't even matter if someone ends ups staying above him, because comparing a stat like save % today to save % back when Hasek was playing is basically like comparing apples to oranges.

That 6 year period he had is right there with Gretzky and Orr in terms of level of dominance over their peers. .929 save % when the next closest was Roy at .915 and Brodeur at .914. The average (not the official average but if you add up each year's save % and divide by 6) was .902. That's essentially the equivalent of lapping the field, when the field includes 2 other goalies that people consider to be the best of all time. And then he still closed out his career among the elite as well.

 

[The Macho King]

And that would be a good argument.

I think it also comes down to separation from your peers. There's a little more debate about whether Hasek was even the best of his era.

But with a 100 years of history, this is a question that should come with some debate. And it will become even harder in the future. I guess in another 100 years, to some, the recency bias will overshadow any goalie we have witnessed in our time, and it's only goalies from 2090-2120 getting recognition.

Fine, but you have to give some credit to the guy when one of his peers was also a top 3-5 goalie of all time (and Hasek's numbers still blew him out of the water).

I'll agree with @Trap Jesus - Hasek's six year peak is up there with Gretzky and Orr, and defined the position.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

I think it's impossible to compare goalies across eras, more so than any other position. Hasek is one of the only ones that you actually can though. Not that hockey in the mid 90s was a different sport than what it is today, but there's no question that goaltending and defensive structure has come a long way since then. How many times in the last 5-10 years have you heard a stat like "Goalie x now has the best career save %"? It's no coincidence that goalies that are still playing or have only very recently retired jam-pack the career save % leaders. But who is currently sitting at the top? Yep, Hasek. Goalies inevitably pass him, but always end up dipping back under his mark on the downside of their careers. And honestly, it doesn't even matter if someone ends ups staying above him, because comparing a stat like save % today to save % back when Hasek was playing is basically like comparing apples to oranges.

That 6 year period he had is right there with Gretzky and Orr in terms of level of dominance over their peers. .929 save % when the next closest was Roy at .915 and Brodeur at .914. The average (not the official average but if you add up each year's save % and divide by 6) was .902. That's essentially the equivalent of lapping the field, when the field includes 2 other goalies that people consider to be the best of all time. And then he still closed out his career among the elite as well.

that's just it, I dont see a run by any other goalie that can match that 6 year run by Hasek, and thats not even looking at actual stats.

6 year span from 93-94 to 98-99:

5x Vezina
2x Hart
2x Pearson
5x AS-1
6x led the league in sv%
2x led the league in GAA
3x led the league in SO

that's dominating your contemporaries and is even more impressive since he did it against Roy and Brodeur.

 

[StoneHands]

And that would be a good argument.

I think it also comes down to separation from your peers. There's a little more debate about whether Hasek was even the best of his era.

But with a 100 years of history, this is a question that should come with some debate. And it will become even harder in the future. I guess in another 100 years, to some, the recency bias will overshadow any goalie we have witnessed in our time, and it's only goalies from 2090-2120 getting recognition.

I don't think there's any question who the best goalie in the NHL was During Hasek's time as a starter from '93-'02. Hasek won 6 Vezinas in 8 seasons and an argument can be made that he should have won a 7th in 2000 when he has a better SV% and GAA than Kolzig who won it. Roy's era of dominance ended literally the first year Hasek became a starter and at just 27 years old Roy never won another Vezina mainly because of Hasek and the emergence of Brodeur. Brodeur was a Vezina finalist 3 times in his 20's (losing all 3 to Hasek) but never actually won a Vezina until he was 30 which is when Hasek was 38 and no longer a pure #1. Hasek literally went head to head with both Roy and Brodeur's primes and never let either of them win a Vezina. That's separating yourself from your peers.

Plante separated himself from 5 other goalies. Impressive but really not close to Hasek IMO.