Was Jimmy Howard good enough to win a Cup with?

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I guess it's a little surprising to me that fans of a team that won Cups with Osgood and Vernon think they couldn't have won with Howard.

I think Jimmy might be suffering a bit from the "Cleary effect" here where people remember how things ended more than other parts of his career.

Obviously a lot depends on the team in front of him, but when playing well yes Howard was good enough.

 

[SirKillalot]

I guess it's a little surprising to me that fans of a team that won Cups with Osgood and Vernon think they couldn't have won with Howard.

Well Osgood was a much better goalie than the outside world give him credit for. He did well in other teams too. Problem for Ozzie is he didn't get the benefit of stadpadding his stats in Detroit.
Few shots against and often high quality ones, but also a lot of great saves.
Having two cup wins as a starter he should be in the HOF.

 

[Henkka]

Well Osgood was a much better goalie than the outside world give him credit for. He did well in other teams too. Problem for Ozzie is he didn't get the benefit of stadpadding his stats in Detroit.
Few shots against and often high quality ones, but also a lot of great saves.
Having two cup wins as a starter he should be in the HOF.

And 1 win more at 2009 playoffs, and he takes the Conn Smythe.

 

[Retire91]

He was but he played during the streak at all cost years which were meaningless hockey just watching the team wither into dust.

He was the typical wings goalie, not great but good enough to backstop a stacked team. What was missing was the stacked team.

I don't think he weathered injuries well either so in a revision of history I think his window would be pretty small. He had like 3-4 seasons where they could have gone over the top if the plugs and "year before they retire" vets were not so plentiful by that point.

 

[Sentinel]

He was solid. Had a couple of good seasons and good playoffs. But not good enough to backstop a mediocre team on the way to the Cup.

Niemi, Hill, and Kuemper were merely "average" goalies but the HHOF squads in front of them were good enough to win.

 

[Axel Sandy Pelikan]

He was solid. Had a couple of good seasons and good playoffs. But not good enough to backstop a mediocre team on the way to the Cup.

Niemi, Hill, and Kuemper were merely "average" goalies but the HHOF squads in front of them were good enough to win.

Niemi and Howard are damn near the same goalie.

I would put Kuemper above them pretty solidly. He, especially in Arizona on a pretty bad team, was an exceptional goaltender.

Adin Hill was the beneficiary of Vegas doing Vegas things.

But if we're going by "can lead a mediocre team to a Cup"? That's better referred to as a "Who is a Hall of Fame goaltender?" question.

You have Dominik Hasek and potentially Jonathan Quick in the past couple decades as examples that it is possible. Buffalo in '99 had a chance at doing anything because of Hasek. The Kings won as an 8 seed because Quick stood on his head, then on his hip, then on his left arm. J.S. Giguere could also count because his 2003 run was so legendary.

Backstopping a mediocre team to a Cup is HHoF worthy. Howard's not that. Howard could certainly play a Binnington, Hill, Niemi, Crawford, etc. role on a Cup winning team though.

 

[One Horse Town]

I say NO. In 2010-2011 he was .908 and 2.79 while a very good team in front of him with a very good defensive core:

Lidstrom
Kronwall
Rafalski
Stuart
Salei
Ericsson

 

[Henkka]

I say NO. In 2010-2011 he was .908 and 2.79 while a very good team in front of him with a very good defensive core:

Lidstrom

Oh my god. Jimmy Howard had one poor season, between 3 great seasons.

And you came here to tell, he was a bad goaltender because of that one season?

On that 4-year period he had 3rd most NHL wins (130) from goaltenders, only after Fleury (138) and Lundqvist (134).

225 game sample size. 8th best in sv% and 8th best GAA during those years, included that one lesser year.

 

[One Horse Town]

T

Oh my god. Jimmy Howard had one poor season, between 3 great seasons.

And you came here to tell, he was a bad goaltender because of that one season?

On that 4-year period he had 3rd most NHL wins (130) from goaltenders, only after Fleury (138) and Lundqvist (134).

225 game sample size. 8th best in sv% and 8th best GAA during those years, included that one lesser year.

Several posts noted if he had a team in front of him? Modern day Tim Cheveldae.