5 greatest NHL goalies in the history of hockey

1. Martin Brodeur
1992-2015
Devils and Blues

This one will be controversial, as Martin Brodeur's career hasn't aged as well as Hasek or Roy. The young number crunchers don't like what they see. However, it's hard to deny what this was in the moment. Martin Brodeur changed the game. He was as talented as anyone on the ice, with a natural ability to stretch to make saves seemingly impossible for a normal human. His reaction time was beyond comprehension, and his rebound control was among the greatest ever.

Brodeur played for some stacked New Jersey Devils teams in the 90s and 2000s. Of course, everyone knows about the Neutral Zone Trap which helped the Devils win the Stanley Cup in 1995, but in reality, Brodeur only had that to his advantage for a few years. Even the ridiculous defense led by Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer was there for just half of his career. He spent just as much time with Johnny Oduya and Andy Greene. Those players are fine, but they're hardly Hall of Famers.

Despite this, Brodeur was able to excel to the tune of dozens of different NHL records, including every counting stat for goalies ever. Brodeur is even in the Guinness Book of World Records for most 40-win seasons in NHL history. He owns the record for most wins (691), shutouts (124 regular season, 24 playoffs), 40-win seasons (8), consecutive postseason starts (158), and he's the only goalie to ever have a game-winning goal (and he has two others to hold that record as well). What's probably most impressive, outside his insane durability, was the 2003 postseason. He recorded seven shutouts en route to 16 wins. This includes stopping 24 of 24 shots in a Game 7 shutout in the Stanley Cup Final against the Might Ducks of Anaheim.

Brodeur seemed like he was made of steel. He played more than 70 games 12 times in his career. Without lockouts, that's probably 14 or 15 times. Brodeur finished his career with a trophy case full of accomplishments. Four Vezina Trophies, five Williams Jennings Trophies, Calder Trophy, three Stanley Cups, and two Olympic gold medals. His career is second to literally none. Let people talk down on Brodeur. He's still the greatest of all time when considering the entire body of work.