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March Madness bracket: Who’s the greatest NHL goalie of all time?

By Dave Stevenson

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 27: NHL Top 100 players Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Brian Leetch, Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Patrik Roy and Chris Chelios pose for a portrait at the Microsoft Theater as part of the 2017 NHL All-Star Weekend on January 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 27: NHL Top 100 players Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Brian Leetch, Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Patrik Roy and Chris Chelios pose for a portrait at the Microsoft Theater as part of the 2017 NHL All-Star Weekend on January 27, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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UNIONDALE, NY – MAY, 1984: Goalie Billy Smith #31 of the New York Islanders makes the save during an NHL game in May, 1984 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NY – MAY, 1984: Goalie Billy Smith #31 of the New York Islanders makes the save during an NHL game in May, 1984 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images) /

Taro Tsujimoto Region

Cam Ward has one good season in the NHL. Granted, it was a darn good one, as he backstopped the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup title. However, Martin Brodeur is the league’s career leader in games played and wins. This one’s not even close. Brodeur wins.

Two of the most influential goalies in the history of the league square off here. Plante’s influence came on the ice, as he was the first goalie to wear a mask. Nabokov’s stretches beyond the ice, providing a bridge for European goalies to play in North America. Plante wins this one, but don’t underestimate the influence of the latter.

This is a pretty intriguing battle. Henrik Lundqvist gets the nod because he has better individual stats than Tim Thomas. But the latter nearly became a folk hero, leading America to a silver medal in the 2010 Olympics. Canada won the gold medal, but it sure wasn’t because of Ryan Miller.

Billy Smith is an underrated part of the 1980’s New York Islanders dynasty. His teammates get all the love, but in an era defined by scoring, he didn’t allow the opposition to score too much. Marc Andre-Fleury is easy to knock, but he has two Stanley Cups. Smith gets the nod here.

Johnny Bower is perhaps the best waiver claim ever, leading the Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups. Meanwhile, Mike Vernon won two Stanley Cups, including one for the Calgary Flames. However, it’s worth noting the 1988-89 team was stacked. Bower easily gets the nod here.

Roy Worters technically didn’t play for an active team, but he deserves some love. He won one Vezina Trophy and one Hart Trophy playing for the New York Americans. Clint Benedict led the league in goals against average six times before the Vezina Trophy was created. The sixth seed wins this one, though Worters puts up a very good fight, winning over some fans in the process.

Bernie Parent leads the Flyers in this old school matchup. Meanwhile, South Africa’s own Olaf Kolzig leads the Capitals. It’s a shame these two never played against each other. Would have been so much fun to watch. Parent gets the nod because he was a huge part of the Broad Street Bullies. However, Kolzig keeps it close because he made some mediocre Capitals teams a lot better.

This heavyweight fight features Corey Crawford and Ron Hextall. They are two very different goalies, so it’s hard to compare them. Crawford is so overrated he has become underrated. His three Stanley Cup wins are hard to argue against. But Hextall was one of the best and most entertaining goalies of all-time. Plus he has a Conn Smythe and a Vezina Trophy on his resume. Hextall wins this heavyweight fight.

André “Red Light” Racicot Region

Terry Sawchuk wins this one in a landslide. The fact that Devan Dubnyk is the best goalie the Minnesota Wild have ever had is a testament to how terrible their goaltenders have been. Nicklas Backstrom was decent, but rarely Vezina Trophy caliber after his first season. Dubnyk can at least say he’s been in the running consistently.

Glenn Hall easily justifies his number two seed by nearly winning a Stanley Cup for the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1968. Tomas Vokoun is very underrated. He is yet another product of goalie guru Mitch Korn. Korn saved his career by helping to use Vokoun’s obsessive personality to his advantage. Hall easily wins this one.

George Hainsworth is the goalie who had to replace Vezina after his sudden retirement. He had some huge shoes to fill, but with three Vezina Trophies, replaced him admirably. Charlie Hodge is one of the two goalies with more than one Vezina who isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hainsworth easily wins this battle of Canadiens goaltenders.

Frank Brimsek had a relatively short career, only playing 10 seasons. However, in eight of those seasons, he got voted onto one of the All-NHL teams. Brimsek won a Calder Trophy, two Vezina Trophies, and two Stanley Cups. He also finished in the top five in Hart Trophy voting three times. Ed Giacomin had a great run in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s with five straight All-NHL appearances from 1966-67 to 1970-71. Brimsek wins this one.

Tiny Thompson won four Vezina Trophies and one Stanley Cup. He was one of the league’s first elite goaltenders, as his dominance lasted three decades (1928 to 1940). Michel Laroque won four Vezina Trophies for a stacked Montreal Canadiens team but isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Got to go with the goalie with the epic nickname “Tiny”.

Two of the most underrated goalies in NHL history are in this matchup. It’s quite understandable why most fans might not know who Alec Connell is. After all, he played primarily in the 1920’s and 1930’s. One of the NHL’s first great goalies, he won a Vezina Trophy and four times led the league in shutouts. Gary Smith won a Vezina as well. Connell gets the win here.

Ken Dryden is one heck of a seventh seed. To be fair, he won a bunch of Stanley Cups with some stacked teams. Also, his career was remarkably short. But when Dryden played, he was dominant. Longevity hurts him, but his dominance is unquestioned. Nikolai Khabibulin ranks 18th in goaltender point shares and led the Tampa Bay Lightning to an improbable Stanley Cup title in 2003-04. Dryden gets the nod.

Much like Dryden, Bill Durnan had a very short NHL career. But when he played, he won Vezina Trophies. In seven seasons, Durnan won six of them and also won two Stanley Cups. Curtis Joseph is the pride and joy of Toronto. His career sums up their history since last winning the Stanley Cup – always coming up short. Joseph is a personal favorite of mine, but Durnan wins this round.

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