Chuck Rayner stands out among pre-Plante goaltenders. Killion has a pretty good list of 60s/70s guys. Is there anyone else from before that who warrants mention? Am I misremembering this, or did Paddy Moran make a habit of attempting end to end rushes?
I dont recall reading that Johnny, its entirely possible as Moran by all accounts was quite the piece of work. He was a Stand-Up Goalie. Strong on his skates. Bit of a Roamer. Good with his stick yes, however my understanding is that that term meant someting else entirely when it came to Paddy Hitman Moran..... as in total Lumberjack. Made guys like Smith & Hextall look like Choir Boys, Paddy not only laying on the lumber but so too spitting disgusting big black gobs of chewing tobacco in the faces of his opponents. Nasty piece of work.
He'd also sometimes launch himself airborne at a player coming in on the rush on him... skate out to meet the guy & rather than cutting down the angle?.... Ninja Attack.... smoke the poor unsuspecting Sap with a Leaping Clothesline, Short-arm Lariat... Flying Bionic Elbow.....Ax Handle Smash.... So yes, while Paddy effective, "good with his stick", way ahead of his time with those wrestling moves.... oh, and he was also a "cheater" of sorts, later copied widely by countless others... wearing an oversized jersey... not a pullover jersey but in Paddys day, a cardigan.... buttons down the front left undone... Paddy Moran Puck Snare... later on... Tony Esposito Crotch Catcher... other illegal tricks of the trade that followed, Moran the Godfather of all a that....
Chuck Rayner stands out among pre-Plante goaltenders. Killion has a pretty good list of 60s/70s guys. Is there anyone else from before that who warrants mention? Am I misremembering this, or did Paddy Moran make a habit of attempting end to end rushes?
Gump Worsley had a very active stick, swatting or sweeping rebounds to safety. Also helped establishing a perimeter that forwards would rarely venture inside. A better picture exists but could not find it.View attachment 89081
Outside of Brodeur - Barrasso, Turco, and Hextall are the best I've ever seen. I recall Fuhr being quite good as well. Mike Smith & Ben Bishop might be the best in the game today.
Great point. Completely forgot about Price.I would definitely peg Carey Price ahead of Ben Bishop and on par with Mike Smith.
Anybody remember how awful a puckhandler Hasek was? And also how he would catch the puck, flip it up, and then smack it with his stick almost like a baseball coach hitting infield grounders? And sometimes he'd whiff and chaos ensued
I did misremember it, actually. It was Fred Brophy who attempted the end-to-end rush, scoring a goal against Moran.
Goaltenders' Union, The
The excerpt linked above also notes that Hugh Lehman was known to wander with the puck, although I'm not sure that's enough support to make him a lock for any kind of unified list.
If I had to make such a list, I'd make sure to get Plante and Rayner into the top-5 along with Brodeur and Hextall; Lehman might come under consideration once the modern options started looking questionable (definitely before someone like, say, Patrick Roy).
Hextall and Brodeur.
Gerry Cosby said:When Brimsek was in his prime I think he was the best stand-up goalie I've ever seen - when he was hot, he was hot! Any goaltender who can come up with five shutouts in a row has to be fantastic. The thing that I remember most about Brimsek was how well he could handle the puck with his stick.
First name that comes to mind for me. He was a 3rd dman if the puck was dumped in and he could fire it.
Ron Hextall was similiar. Brodeur was good too.
Rick DiPietro but his career was so short.
I can`t remember now if Mike Palmeteer was good or he just liked to roam outside his crease?
Outside of Brodeur - Barrasso, Turco, and Hextall are the best I've ever seen. I recall Fuhr being quite good as well. Mike Smith & Ben Bishop might be the best in the game today.
Cheevers was best at shooting it or ‘paddling’ it over the glass. He looked like he was serving a tennis ball. Right into the stands.
Wasnt a penalty call back then.