So has our starting goaltending job ever been this wide open to claim?
It's a good question. If we look back through best on best history....
2014 - Price has the pedigree and starts really emerging that year. Luongo was a strong backup option but it was clear at the time that Price was Canada's guy. Quality one and two option. Smith was having a good year that year but you might have questioned him as a starter. Not a lot of depth after the top two.
2010 - Brodeur was the incumbent with some gas left in the tank and Luongo was an elite but post-peak goaltender with loads of international experience. Solid but not spectacular top two. Fleury was ok but made sense as a young guy who might become the goaltender of the future. Not great in terms of depth.
2006 - Brodeur and Luongo were two elite goaltenders with good international experience. Turco was a solid third option. Gigeure could have been a decent third option as well, but it's mediocre depth wise after a really strong top two.
2004 - Brodeur and Luongo were both elite and experienced goaltenders who gave Canada a strong top two. A rare tournament where both of Canada's top two played a critical role. Theodore was ok as a third option, Turco also would have been a good third option. Even Belfour arguably could have been a solid third option.
2002 - Canada was loaded in 2002. Roy was the first choice but refused to play. Brodeur was great at the time, Joseph was good even if he shouldn't have been the starter. Belfour was over-qualified to be the third option even having a bit of an off year. Burke had a nice resurgence in 2002 and Theodore won the Hart that year.
1998 - Loaded pool. Roy was a great starter, Joseph and Brodeur were very strong backup options, as was Belfour.
1996 - Roy would have been a great starter but bad blood muddled things. Brodeur was a good backup option and Joseph was as well. Osgood almost won the Vezina a few months earlier but that was a product of Detroit. Belfour was elite. The other options were old guys (for the time) who were inconsistent, like Furh, Hextall, and the guy they ended up taking in Ranford.
1991 - This is around Roy's peak but again he wasn't there again due to bad blood and a poorly timed surgery. Belfour was a great option though they ended up going with Ranford, who was good when he was on (which he was in 1991). There was solid depth at this point with experienced goaltenders like Fuhr, Moog, and Vernon around who weren't consistently elite at the time but wouldn't have been out of place. Burke was an unspectacular but internationally experienced option.
1987 - Fuhr was a good starter and quite experienced by 1987. Hrudey was an uninspiring backup option. Hextall was ok and won the Vezina a few months prior. Liut was good even if people didn't trust him after 1981. Roy would have been a good pick as the hot up and comer. A bit shallow compared to the 90s and early 2002.
1984 - Fuhr was a good starter and fairly experienced by this point. Backups Peeters and Lemelin were ok. I think that Liut could have been a good backup option. Not a whole lot of impressive depth at this point. Smith could have been a decent backup option if he was willing to behave but I believe he let it be known that he did not want to be selected.
1981 - This may seem odd but coming off 1980 and 1981 Liut was a good starting option. It was shallow after that however. Smith was a solid backup option though he got hurt. Edwards was ok, Peeters would have been ok, but overall not an inspiring group. Esposito might have been a good option after a bit of a resurgence but he decided to play for USA.
1976 - Dryden was the obvious starter but he was injured. Parent was the obvious next choice but he was also hurt. Vachon filled in well and I consider him generally underrated. Cheevers and Resch were perfectly fine as backups. Ton Esposito also would have been a good option. Good depth was important here after the two best options were unavailable.
Overall I don't think that Canada's goaltending situation has ever been this poor, at least in the best on best era. The 80s was probably the next weakest period but you'd take Fuhr over the options as they currently stand and the depth options were a bit better.
. Btw I wanted to reintegrate 34 yr old price won’t be winning gold, or 37 yr old fleury for that matter lol
