Crosby2010
Registered User
- Mar 4, 2023
- 1,351
- 1,238
Just a disclaimer, I already know there are a couple of guys on here who actually did win the Cup. But they either did it as rookies down the depth chart and not "their" team or as goalies who were back ups and not the starter. So without further ado.................
John Vanbiesbrouck - Might be the best example of a guy that is in the HHOF if he has a Cup. 1996 is his best shot, and taking down, Lindros, Lemieux/Jagr and then Sakic/Forsberg/Roy would probably be too much to pass up on. Basically Beezer is Bobrovsky without his Cup. Pretty much everyone and their mother agrees Bob is on his way to the HHOF, but he fell into that category a couple of years ago as a guy who didn't have a great playoff resume. There is a soft case for Beezer as it is, since he has all of the Vezina votes you would need, including a Vezina. But that Cup, man, that seals it.
Andy Moog - Yeah I know, he won three Cups. And yes he was even in net for an injured Fuhr in 1984 when the Oilers won. I get it. He was 4-0 in 1984, 1-0 in 1985 and 2-0 in 1987. He did play in the playoffs, just not much over Fuhr. 1983 was the year it was all him and he took the Oilers to the final. 1990 was probably his best shot at the Cup with the Bruins. To me, even with a weaker Vezina voting record, that probably puts him over the top.
Rick Middleton - Nifty Middleton still has a good case, but if he is raising that Cup in Boston he's in. It is between him or Ratelle for the Smythe in 1979 if the Bruins get past the Habs and beat the Rangers. Middleton actually made a crafty move on Serge Savard just before the Lambert overtime goal to eliminate them. Savard took the puck away from him and the play went the other way and it was game over. But if he scores there, and the Bruins win in the final which I think they would, he's in.
Mike Liut - Won more games in the 1980s than any other goalie. Won the Pearson, finished in top 6 hart voting 3 times. Had his great years spread apart a bit, but I am thinking if he even wins the 1981 Canada Cup things look different for him. But it is the playoff resume that really needed sharpening up. Only once went to Round 3 and even then it was a tandem with Don Beaupre. A Cup spices up things.
Curtis Joseph - Maybe the best case of a guy who needed a Cup. Legendary playoff goalie in the 1st round. Lots of great moments. None after that though. The 1996 World Cup loss and the 2002 Olympics benching don't help either, and I honestly think a win in either one of those and we are singing a different tune (I know he still won as a back up in 2002). But he has everything else he needs. He didn't win a Vezina but he had many elite years. Just never got it done in the postseason. He is in the HHOF if he wins, but as it stands I am not sure there is a goalie in the HHOF who never went to the final, and he didn't.
Theoren Fleury - Again, like Moog he did win a Cup. But he was a rookie. The 1989 Flames were loaded and Fleury was a good addition getting 34 points in 36 games and then 11 points in the playoffs. He had loaded 1st rounds after that, and it was never his fault the Flames lost with those great teams. But they did lose, and he never got a Cup where he was the central guy and not a 3rd/4th liner. He needed that. And even in his case winning at the top level for Canada still didn't help him. A Stanley Cup would have.
Bonus: While he isn't eligible yet, I think a Stanley Cup as a starter for Tuukka Rask changes things for him and makes people forget 2010. Discuss.
John Vanbiesbrouck - Might be the best example of a guy that is in the HHOF if he has a Cup. 1996 is his best shot, and taking down, Lindros, Lemieux/Jagr and then Sakic/Forsberg/Roy would probably be too much to pass up on. Basically Beezer is Bobrovsky without his Cup. Pretty much everyone and their mother agrees Bob is on his way to the HHOF, but he fell into that category a couple of years ago as a guy who didn't have a great playoff resume. There is a soft case for Beezer as it is, since he has all of the Vezina votes you would need, including a Vezina. But that Cup, man, that seals it.
Andy Moog - Yeah I know, he won three Cups. And yes he was even in net for an injured Fuhr in 1984 when the Oilers won. I get it. He was 4-0 in 1984, 1-0 in 1985 and 2-0 in 1987. He did play in the playoffs, just not much over Fuhr. 1983 was the year it was all him and he took the Oilers to the final. 1990 was probably his best shot at the Cup with the Bruins. To me, even with a weaker Vezina voting record, that probably puts him over the top.
Rick Middleton - Nifty Middleton still has a good case, but if he is raising that Cup in Boston he's in. It is between him or Ratelle for the Smythe in 1979 if the Bruins get past the Habs and beat the Rangers. Middleton actually made a crafty move on Serge Savard just before the Lambert overtime goal to eliminate them. Savard took the puck away from him and the play went the other way and it was game over. But if he scores there, and the Bruins win in the final which I think they would, he's in.
Mike Liut - Won more games in the 1980s than any other goalie. Won the Pearson, finished in top 6 hart voting 3 times. Had his great years spread apart a bit, but I am thinking if he even wins the 1981 Canada Cup things look different for him. But it is the playoff resume that really needed sharpening up. Only once went to Round 3 and even then it was a tandem with Don Beaupre. A Cup spices up things.
Curtis Joseph - Maybe the best case of a guy who needed a Cup. Legendary playoff goalie in the 1st round. Lots of great moments. None after that though. The 1996 World Cup loss and the 2002 Olympics benching don't help either, and I honestly think a win in either one of those and we are singing a different tune (I know he still won as a back up in 2002). But he has everything else he needs. He didn't win a Vezina but he had many elite years. Just never got it done in the postseason. He is in the HHOF if he wins, but as it stands I am not sure there is a goalie in the HHOF who never went to the final, and he didn't.
Theoren Fleury - Again, like Moog he did win a Cup. But he was a rookie. The 1989 Flames were loaded and Fleury was a good addition getting 34 points in 36 games and then 11 points in the playoffs. He had loaded 1st rounds after that, and it was never his fault the Flames lost with those great teams. But they did lose, and he never got a Cup where he was the central guy and not a 3rd/4th liner. He needed that. And even in his case winning at the top level for Canada still didn't help him. A Stanley Cup would have.
Bonus: While he isn't eligible yet, I think a Stanley Cup as a starter for Tuukka Rask changes things for him and makes people forget 2010. Discuss.
