Contest: The Greatest Goalie of All-Time Is...

[MarmotKing]

I grew up a Habs fan. I don't remember the '86 Cup win. I do remember the '93 Cup win. From that point on, whenever I played goalie in my basement, I was Patrick Roy, the greatest goalie of all time. I was unbeatable in net (or so I thought!). He me not hold all goalie records, but he won 4 championships. And for that reason, He is my choice! It may be a sentimental choice, but I'm sticking with it!

[Spleentastic]

Forget the statistics, the Olympic gold, the Stanley Cups, even the Vezinas.

Dominik Hasek is the best of all time is because of his ability to implode the minds of his opponents.

Everything Hasek did, every movement, was organized around a singular purpose: the save. It was an instinctive reaction from a being who had seemingly evolved solely to stop pucks. Every motion felt like act of apparent desperation, like a mother protecting her cubs. No resource went untapped - legs, arms, skates, sticks, and faces were all willingly employed.

The sheer savageness of Hasek's ability was mind-melting. Opponents often became frustrated, feeling like they had beat him only to be ruthlessly rejected. This was fully evident during the 1998 Winter Olympics versus Canada. You could sense the trepidation among Canadian shooters, culminating in Eric Lindros' shootout attempt. Lindros needed perfection, but he knew that perfection may not be enough. Even at his absolute best, confidence began to erode, and however slight it may have been, it was enough - the matchup had already swung in Hasek's favour.

That was the Dominator's ultimate talent: the ability to weaken the other team's emotional strength. Teams would see him warming up, and at that moment just the tiniest modicum of doubt would manifest itself. As the game progressed, he would feed that doubt, eating away the professional veneer of confidence.

Domink Hasek is the best of all time because he could affect the game like no other goaltender before or since.

[Akkei]

In order to be certain to respect the limitation on words, I will refer to the greatest Goalie Of All Time by its acronym, namely the greatest G.O.A.T.

***

The greatest G.O.A.T. was elected by the arch-devils Bettman and Fehr as the outcast, thrown into the everlasting winter of Nil-Hockey. Throughout the year, the sins of the wealthy owners and players will be transferred to the greatest G.O.A.T. so that, on the Day of Atonement, the greatest G.O.A.T. can be sacrificed on Dobber's altar and both the owners and players can run back into wilderness, all their crimes expiated.

For his aptitude to sustain the burden of the sins of others, the greatest G.O.A.T. is without any doubt the fantasy hockey fan.

[can1jim]

As a former Minnesota North Stars fan whose loyalty followed the team to Dallas, my heart told me to make an argument for Ed Belfour. Knowing I would get vetoed I asked my 4 year old son for his opinion. He responded "Ace" who happens to be a kid on his team who likes to play goalie during timbits scrimmages... Seeing how this probably wouldn't fly either, I asked my wife what she thought, and she replied "What’s a goalie?"

So back to square one, Brodeur? Roy? Hasek? Fuhr? Truth is an argument can be made for a dozen goalies. Would Roy have been an All-Star playing for Toronto in the 90's? What if Chicago traded Belfour and kept Hasek? Would Grant Fuhr have been a household name playing in Hartford?

In a world that is stat driven, Hasek is the most decorated and Roy defined the butterfly style, but my vote goes to Martin Brodeur. Brodeur has played the most games in NHL history and holds the record for the most wins, throw in 3 Stanley cups, and a plethora of NHL and International honors and one can't argue that Brodeur has been money in the bank for the New Jersey Devils. Of all the goalies in consideration, Martin Brodeur, I believe would be the "Best" at his position. Assuming we see an end to the lockout, perhaps Brodeur can add a 4th Stanley cup to his resume.

[Pengwin7]

Martin Brodeur, for me.

The New Jersey Devils may not even be in New Jersey if it wasn't for Brodeur.
All-time wins leader, 3 Stanley Cups, 2.02 GAA in playoffs.
His resume speaks for itself.

While I love Roy, Plante, and Hasek... all up there.
Do those teams win Stanley Cups with a different goalie in net?
I say... maybe.

Do those New Jersey teams win Stanley Cups with a different goalie in net?
I say no.

Brodeur... maybe not the highlight-reel flashiest skill-goalie of the elite, but in my mind... he's the best of all-time, no contest.

(and no, this isn't an entry. I'm not creative enough to beat bowlercoaster or axeman... but Marty needed some rep.)

ps. I once used a long fantasy-hockey name one season when I had Marty: He ain't heavy, he's my Brodeur
pps. you have to know your classic rock music to get that one
ppps. it's funniest if you say it french-like with silent h on the words. E aint evvy, e's my broh-durrr.

[DerekReese]

Two words:

Patrick Roy

[angus]

Great submissions so far, gents!

[arctic_rogue]

The contest didn’t specifically state NHL goalie, so I immediately thought it would be an easy pick – Vladislav Tretiak. Tretiak was an absolute staple of the Soviet Red Army team. Backstopping the Soviet Union to three Olympic gold medals and one Olympic silver medal, his dominance of international play was and still is unprecedented. His final international tornament, the ’84 Sarajevo Olympics resulted in complete domination with a 0.67 GAA. In addition to his Olympic performances, he also led the Soviets to 10 World Championship gold medals.

In Canada, he became very well known for the impact he had during the ’72 Summit Series. He was relatively unknown to the Canadians and gave them serious troubles during series. Without his goaltending, Henderson’s goal may not have been the quintessential Canadian moment it was – the Soviets would have controlled the series.

Tretiak retired in his early 30s in what is now considered the prime years for a goaltender. Later on, he went one to coach another of the best goalies in the history of hockey: Domink Hasek. Who better for Hasek to perfect the craft with? None other than the greatest of all time, Vladislav Tretiak.