As Martin Brodeur rides off into the sunset, a new devil rises: the debate over where he sits on the list of all-time best goaltenders.
You know the numbers. He has the most wins by any goaltender ever, by 140. He's made the most saves by miles, has far more shutouts than any other goaltender, and has won Vezina Trophies, Stanley Cups, Olympic Gold Medals and more.
Buuuttt you may notice that many of his records are longevity-based stats - a guy has to play in a lot of games for a lot of years (and on pretty good teams) to rack them up.
Dominik Hasek was probably better in his prime; Patrick Roy is generally credited as being the all-time best playoff performer. Can we really call Brodeur the best?
So, let's make the case for each fella, shall we?
(One thing to note: since it's basically impossible to compare goalies across eras, we'll be leaving out names like Johnny Bower, Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante. Apologies to those fine gents.)
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Dominik Hasek is the greatest goaltender who ever lived
I mean, duh. (Do people still say "duh?" Whatever.) Dominik Hasek is the greatest goaltender who ever lived.
Let my boy from Pro Hockey Talk, Mike Halford, sum up Dom's career peak:
From February 1998 to June 1999, Hasek did the following (in chronological order):
- Won Olympic gold with Czech Republic.
- Finished first in the NHL in shots faced, saves, save percentage, minutes played and shutouts.
- Went to Eastern Conference Finals with Buffalo.
- Won the Vezina Trophy.
- Won the Ted Lindsay Award.
- Won the Hart Trophy.
- Was named to NHL First All-Star Team.
- Had a couple months off in the summer, prepped for the upcoming season.
- Finished first in the NHL in save percentage.
- Went to the Stanley Cup Finals with Buffalo.
- Finished first in playoff save percentage.
- Won the Vezina Trophy.
- Was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.
Annnd mic drop for the Dominator.
The guy won six Vezina Trophies, two Hart Trophies (no other goalie has that on their resume) and has the highest save percentage of all time (.922).
Ding ding ding, we have a winner.
Patrick Roy is the greatest goaltender who ever lived
Of course Patrick Roy is the greatest goaltender of all-time.
You don't see 50,000 goalies trying to play like Dominik Hasek or Martin Brodeur these days because everyone coming up has chosen to emulate the best: Saint Patrick. His style was so effective it eventually forced the league to call for equipment changes. How's that for changing the game?
It's a style that allowed him the stability necessary to stay a brick wall when the pressure was highest, which is why he has four Stanley Cup rings, and is precisely why he's the only player who's ever won three - three! - Conn Smythe Trophies.
To catch Roy in playoff wins, Brodeur would have to win 10 more series. Hasek would need to re-play his entire career again, and part of another one.
If the question "Who do you want in the crease for the big game?" is going to end in "Patrick Roy" - as it almost always is - how can anyone say he's not the best goalie ever?
Martin Brodeur is the greatest goaltender who ever lived
Are we seriously even having this debate? Here's where Brodeur sits in career rankings:
- Wins (1st)
- Shutouts (1st)
- Saves (1st)
- Playoff wins (2nd)
- Playoff shutouts (1st)
Best, best, best, second best, best.
And some total for you:
- Consecutive 20-win seasons: 12
- Consecutive 30-win seasons: 12
- Consecutive 40-win seasons: 3
- Led NHL in wins: 9
- All-Star appearances: 10
- Vezinas: 4
- Jennings: 5
- Gold medals: 2
- Stanley Cups: 3
Goalies today don't play like Marty because they can't play like Marty. His unique stand-up/butterfly hybrid allowed him the longevity necessary to put up such gaudy career totals. This is a guy who played in 70-plus games per season in 10 straight seasons.
If you're wondering how influential Brodeur was, his puck-handling abilities forced the league to change the rules to stop guys like him from acting like a third defensemen, which basically made it so dumped pucks rarely resulted in possession for the opposing team.
Simply put: he stopped shots before the opposition had the chance to take them.
The man was so good for so long there are currently 19 goalies in the NHL Hall of Fame who didn't win half as many games as him. Martin Brodeur had two Hall of Fame careers. That's why he's the greatest goaltender who ever lived.
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So, there's your case for each guy. Since there's no easy answer we thought we'd ask you ... who ya got?
