March Madness bracket: Who’s the greatest NHL goalie of all time?
Dominik Hasek
Goaltender, Sabres/Red Wings/Senators
The job of a goalie is to put his or her team in the best possible position to win. Ask a goalie and they’ll surely answer they’d rather win than do well. But when you look at the individual numbers, no goalie did more for his team than Dominik Hasek. Thank goodness The Dominator joined the Detroit Red Wings. Actually, maybe things would be better if he didn’t. Because it would have caused the death of today’s “rings are all that matter” culture.
No goaltender made more highlight reel saves than Hasek. He made goaltending a popular position. Ask today’s NHL goalies who they loved growing up. Most of them would most likely answer with “Dominik Hasek”. Goaltenders are rarely exciting, but they’ve become exciting because more athletic athletes have been in net. A lot of this is due to Hasek.
Next: 25 Richest NHL Players of All-Time
Patrick Roy is one heck of a goalie and should be honored. Without him, goalies have horrible padding. Goaltenders needed a jerk to stand up for them and Roy was the jerk who did it. At times, it didn’t make him popular. His arrogance makes him public enemy number one in Detroit to this day. But Roy was cocky and arrogant because he had every single reason to be that way. He was the best. Roy KNEW he was the best. But he was slightly mistaken. Hasek was the best. Just don’t tell that to Roy, who has four Stanley Cup rings plugging up his ears.