Regarding the value of goaltenders in early hockey, why not look at the salary information we can find? Yes, salary is not a direct measure of value, and it may depend on the bargaining power of each individual player. But it can maybe give us an indication of whether the best goaltenders were considered valuable enough to receive top salaries.
Georges Vezina
- Received a $6000 salary for his final NHL season of 1925-26 (
wikipedia). Top salaries for that season included Lionel Conacher at $7500 and Dunc Munro at $7500.
- Toward the end of his career, Vezina was the wealthiest player in hockey, with a net worth estimated at $200,000.00. Vezina held a lot of real estate in his hometown of Chicoutim and also owned a tannery outside of playing hockey (
source). In any case, he probably had a good head for business and was able to negotiate a good salary.
- Vezina was at 80% of the top player salaries at the end of his career.
Clint Benedict
- Per the 1924 lawsuit about Benedict's drinking, his salary for the 1923-24 season was $2300.
- Newsy Lalonde and Babe Dye were reported to be the top earners for the 1923-24 season, with salaries of $4000. The average Ottawa player made $2500 in salary for the 1923-24 season, as well as $1000 in playoff bonuses. And most held government jobs salaried around $2000 that allowed them to use their holidays for road trips. Benedict himself was not a civil servant, he held a high position in a printing company. And he owned an apartment house in Ottawa that brought him a handsome income (
source).
- Benedict's highest salary earned was $5000 at the end of his career (
source). That wasn't particularly high in the years immediately before the Depression. Eddie Shore was asking for $17,500 a season (
source). Frank Getty wrote in 1929 that up until recently, $20,000 was the top hockey salary and that was paid to only one star (
source).
- It sounds like Benedict's 1923-24 salary was slightly below average on his team, and was 57.5% of the top player salary for that season. His top salary with the Maroons was not particularly high for the era.
Charlie Gardiner
- Gardiner was the highest paid puckstopper in the sport when he passed away. Lorne Chabot asked for the same salary and was turned down (
source). Chabot stated he only wanted the same salary he had received with Canadiens, suggesting his salary was equal with Gardiner's if accurate.
- Chicago asked Gardiner to take a paycut from $6000 to $4500 after the 31-32 season (
source). Later articles are split on whether his pay was actually cut or if it was unchanged.
- After the 1931-32 season, the NHL instituted a maximum individual salary of $7500 and team salary of $70,000. After 1932-33 the salary cap was reduced to $65,000.
- Eddie Shore was generally believed to have been paid $10,000 for 1932-33, and a maximum of $16,000 some years earlier (
source).
- Unfortunately I don't have Gardiner's salary for his final season, just that it was tops among goalies. But if it's anything like his earlier $6000 or $4500 numbers, he was some distance short of the max salary of $7500, not sure by how much.
Bill Durnan
- Made $10,500 salary in his final season. Maurice Richard made $12,000, and the average NHL player made $8000.
- Durnan made 88% of Richard's salary.
Ed Belfour
- Signed for 2.75 million/year in 95-96, just inside the top 25 but less than half of the salaries of Gretzky, Tkachuk, and Messier (
source).
- Signed for 5.5 million/year in 00-01, 55% of what Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg were making (
source)
- Signed for 6.5 million/year in 02-03, less than 60% of Jagr and Tkachuk's salaries.
Henrik Lundqvist
- Signed a 7 year extension worth 8.5 million/year which started in 2014-15. or 89% of what Alex Ovechkin was making per season (
source)
Andrei Vasilevsky
- Signed a 7 year extension worth 9.5 million/year starting in 2020-21, or 76% of Connor McDavid's yearly salary.
Toronto was pretty tightlipped about salaries so I haven't included Bower or Broda. I don't know what Bernie Parent signed for upon returning to the NHL, except that it was said to be a lifetime contract with the Flyers, like that of Bobby Clarke.
I conclude that Georges Vezina was paid near the top of the salary table, similar to later goalies Durnan, Lundqvist, and Vasilevskiy. Benedict was likely not paid too well relative to the stars or even to the average player.
Lundqvist may have been the highest paid goalie of this group relative to his peers.
Belfour never got a really top contract, although he had bad timing when it came to performance in his contract year of 2002.
Was there ever a time when the top goalies made as much as the top skaters? Yes, I believe Glenn Hall's contract of $47,500 with the St Louis Blues in 67-68 put him right there with Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe. And Terry Sawchuk's $40,000 with LA was close behind. But for most of hockey history, the top goalies have been paid less than the top skaters.
