There’s nothing anyone on this year’s panel could have said to shift the order of those goalies. His career started first with the Toronto Maple Leafs, playing just two games in the 1961-62 season. As such, he comes in at number 76 on my list of top 100 goaltenders, but there definitely is room for Backstrom to move upward. Soon after, Brimsek would miss a couple years serving his country in World War II, but came back and returned to his All-Star form. Best season:  1955-56, at the age of 27, Plante went 42-12-10 with a 1.86 goals against average and seven shutouts, picking up his first career Vezina Trophy, and followed it up with an 8-2 record in the playoffs, with a 1.80 GAA and 2 shutouts, as the Canadiens would win the first of five straight Stanley Cup titles. The best stretch of Vanbiesbrouck's career was his five year stretch with the Florida Panthers, when he played at a level as good as anyone in the game, making the All-Star game in three of those seasons. It's hard to gauge Georges Vezina's game against those of other eras, but I place Vezina at number 16 in my top 100. Hebert played the next seven plus seasons for the Ducks, where he always seemed to have a real nice save percentage, a pretty good goals against and would sprinkle in a few shutouts. The Panthers would fail to qualify for the postseason in their first year of existence, but it had nothing to do with Vanbiesbrouck's All-Star performance. Plante wore a goalie mask on the ice in a game for the first time in 1959, and many goalies today are thankful to Plante for it. He is  the NHL's all-time leader in wins, shutouts, games played (for a goalie), saves, minutes played, and shots against. He also had the distinction of playing in the two longest games in league history. Some will answer Jacques Plante, who was not only a goaltending legend but one of the game’s great innovators. Puppa would remain a Panther for one day, before he was taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning in Phase II of the Expansion Draft. In his seven years with the Senators, Benedict led the league in wins six times and goals against average five times. He would get his first taste of the NHL that season, playing in six games for the Dallas Stars, and going 3-1 with a 2.05 GAA and a .930 save percentage. The following season, Richter would share the goaltending duties with John Vanbiesbrouck, a combo that would be one of the best, if not the best tandem in the league for the next four seasons until Vanbiesbrouck was sent to Florida before the 1993-94 season. Hall played in an impressive 13 All-Star games and is 8th on the all-time wins list and 4th on the all-time shutouts list. His puckhandling effectiveness revolutionized the sport, at times giving the Devils the feel of having a third defenseman at times, and even adding goals in both the regular season and playoffs. In the 2001 Waiver Draft, Osgood was left exposed by the Red Wings, after the acquisition of Dominik Hasek and was taken by the New York Islanders, where he would have a solid year-plus before being traded to the St. Louis Blues in March 2003. Switching from one of the better defenses to an expansion team took a little toll on Hodge's stats, but he still put up a solid first year with the Seals. With six years in the fold and still at age 27, I look forward to watching the rest of his career to see how much more he can continue to shine. Add it all up, and it puts Smith at number 78 in my top 100. Vezina also was the first goalie to lead the league in goals against average, posting a 3.93 GAA that first season (NOTE:  Remember, there were many anti-goalie rules in place at the beginning, when goalies were restricted from dropping off their skates which gave the offense a great advantage in the first few years of the league). Canadiens goalie won Stanley Cup six times, Vezina Trophy five times, captured Conn Smythe Trophy year before being named top rookie Bill Durnan Canadiens goalie began career at … He started and ended his career playing with the best, learning under Terry Sawchuk in Detroit and sharing the load with Jacques Plante at the end of his career while in St. Louis. Best season:  Khabibulin posted a 32-23-7 record in 63 games with the Phoenix Coyotes in 1998-99 and posted a 2.13 GAA and .923 save percentage, along with eight shutouts, all career-best numbers. In the postseason, Cheevers played in eight games, going 6-2 with a 2.61 GAA and two shutouts, sharing the load with Eddie Johnston to bring the Bruins their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons. Rogie Vachon came up with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1966-67 season and was set to mostly backup Gump Worsley when needed or called upon. When you put it all together and add it all up, while its interesting to think about what might have been had Worters been on a powerhouse team, you simply can't do that, and since I haven't seen too much footage of his career, I can only go by what I read, and with what I have learned, I place Worters at number 41 in my top 100. Not too bad for a guy who almost quit goaltending at the amateur level because of a lack of interest by colleges, etc. Esposito was first signed by the Montreal Canadiens as a free agent in the fall of 1967 and appeared in 13 games for the Canadiens during the 1968-69 season. Career statistics:  Regular season (NHL): 609 GP, 289-209-96, 2.82 GAA, 54 SO;  Playoffs:  65 GP, 29-35, 2.81 GAA, 1 SP, Vezina Trophy (1970-71), All-Star (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973). What observers thought at the time was crucial and not subject to revision), ultimate team success and a healthy dose of subjectivity. Sauve has become a somewhat prominent player agent after his retirement. Jonas Hiller had taken the number two spot away from Bryzgalov, and he ended up being claimed by the Phoenix Coyotes, where Bryzgalov not only got the chance to be the guy, he seized the moment and has risen to one of the top goaltenders in the league. In 1924, he was sold along with Punch Broadbent to the Montreal Maroons, where he was part of goalie history, becoming the first goalie to wear a facemask, coming after a shot from the legendary Howie Morenz hit Benedict in the cheek and nose. From there, Dryden never looked back, picking up seemingly countless hardware almost every year as I described above. Best season: McNeil had an amazing 1952-53, but despite putting up a 25-23-18 record in 66 games with a 2.12 GAA and a career-best ten shutouts. He started his NHL career with the Boston Bruins before being taken by the Philadelphia Flyers from the Boston Bruins in the 1967 Expansion Draft. I wonder if his roaming had to do with the level of talent around him, as Rayner wasn't always playing for the best teams. • In 2018, we’ve updated the goalie ranking, again to consider stoppers who have been active since 2010. Best season:  Legace's career year was probably the 2003-04 season with the Detroit Red Wings as he shared the load with both Dominik Hasek and Curtis Joseph, but played 41 games in the regular season, going 23-10-5 with an amazing 2.12 GAA and .920 save percentage while adding three shutouts. Lundqvist has had six straight 30-wins to begin his NHL career, with no goals against average higher than 2.43 in a season. Similar to some other goalies, Cheevers was at his best when it counted the most. He comes in at number 23 in my top 100 based on his amazing career. I can't hold the lack of a Stanley Cup against him too much, having played for some awful Rangers teams over the years. Injuries definitely contributed to the downturn, and Khabibulin showed little signs of the goaltender he was in Tampa Bay, until a late resurgence in the spring of 2009, when Khabibulin showed signs of life, and re-established himself as the number one guy for the Blackhawks in their playoff run, helping the Blackhawks reach the Conference Finals before being bounced by Detroit. It hasn't helped that the team he plays for has been far from the greatest. Best season:  Peeters had a few very good seasons, but it was his Vezina Trophy winning season of 1982-83 that stands above the rest, as his 40-11-9 record in 62 games and a league-leading 2.36 GAA and eight shutouts were impressive. After his career, the well-spoken Hrudey has made a nice career working for Hockey Night in Canada as a broadcaster. Looking to show it was no fluke, Belfour came back with a great second year in 1991-92, helping the Blackhawks reach the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not a subscriber? Rinne was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the eighth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. 1 and establishing our top-100 goalie ranking. He would spend the next nine seasons with the New York Americans and despite some incredible numbers, it didn't really translate to much success as Worters only made the postseason twice in the nine years with the Americans, and only once made it out of the first round in any of the four seasons he did make it to the postseason, making it to the semifinals in 1935-36 before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the semifinals. Best season: Bower had an incredible 1963-64 season, posting a 24-16-11 record in 51 games, with a league-best 2.11 GAA and adding five shutouts. Here's a look at Backstrom's top moments in his career. Bouchard played in the postseason the final eleven years of his career but had little success in the post season, which hurts Bouchard's ranking on this list. Lalime had impressive numbers in his tenure as a Sen, but never was able to go over the hump and take the Senators to the Stanley Cup, coming up short in a Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2003, losing to the New Jersey Devils. All in all an impressive run by the man from Windsor, Ontario. However, when the other three players never made it to the NHL, and Ken Dryden became a Hall of Famer, it does deserve some recognition. He would play three-plus seasons with the Flyers before being dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 1971 in a five-player/pick deal. Edwards had two plus really good seasons for the Sabres, but was unable to sustain that level for the remainder of his career. Best season: Villemure's best season statistically was the 1971-72 campaign, where he put up a 24-7-4 record in 37 games, while posting an impressive 2.09 GAA and three shutouts. Unfortunately, the talent around him was certainly not the best, and he never tasted the post-season in a Panthers uniform, only coming within seven points of a playoff spot in his final season in Florida. Career stats:  680 GP, 305-233-105, 3.17 GAA, 22 SO, Playoffs:  132 GP, 88-36, 2.73 SO, 5 SO, Conn Smythe Trophy (1982-83), Vezina Trophy (1981-82), Jennings Trophy (1982-83), All-Star (1978)Billy Smith was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 5th round of the 1970 NHL Draft, but Smith would play just five games as a King, before being selected by the New York Islanders in the 1972 Expansion Draft. Career statistics:  Regular season (NHL): 362 GP, 190-143-28, 2.32 GAA, 57 SO;  Playoffs: 28 GP, 11-17, 1.86 GAA, 9 SO, Stanley Cup (1921, 1923, 1926), Clint Benedict was an original member of the NHL, playing with the original Ottawa Senators franchise in the inaugural 1917-18 season and would be in net for Ottawa for seven seasons total. Career statistics:  Regular season (NHL): 537 GP, 186-239-62, 3.05 GAA, .895 S%, 26 SO;  Playoffs:  25 GP, 9-13, 2.27 GAA, All-Star (1999). Luongo would complete the transition from a very good goalie in Florida to one of the best in the league during his time in Vancouver. His offensive competition may not have been up to par with today's standards, but Tiny Thompson set many trends as a goaltender and won four Vezina Trophies and made the All-Star game four times. Lalime would carry his success into the playoffs, putting up a 11-7 record with a 1.82 GAA and a .924 save percentage, adding one shutout. Turk Broda Night was at Maple Leaf Gardens on December 22, 1951, where Broda was recognized for his spectacular career by the team and fans. He would be dealt in the spring of 1985 to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he played his final season. A short history/profile of Hebert and his career can be found here. These are obviously just two examples, I also think it's inevitable there could be a bias to players I have watched and seen live as opposed to players from the distant past that I have only read about and watched clips. It just is another reminder how hard it is to scout 18-year old hockey players, it definitely is an inexact science. Jim Carey is a goalie who certainly fits more into the "one year wonder" category than he does for a full body of work on this list. Best season:  Chico's best year statistically was in 1975-76, when he posted a 23-11-8 record in 44 games, with a 2.07 GAA and 7 shutouts. Brodeur has shown to be the consummate professional, looking out for the best interests of his team, and taking pride in the only organization he has called home in his NHL career. The next stop for Burke was with the Florida Panthers where he signed as a free agent. That is, if you track his playoff victories, because it improved to 10-20 over his five seasons with the Nordiques. For his play, I've ranked Potvin at number 52 on my list. His lack of true skating ability as a kid is what led to Broda being a goalie. He would share time in the AHL and NHL and shared time with Ilya Bryzgalov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Best season: Thompson came in and had an amazing first year in the NHL, posting a record of 26-13-5 in 44 games, with a staggering 1.15 GAA, while adding 12 shutouts. Rollins would play all 70 games the following season before being dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks in a four-for-one trade, which gave him the opportunity to play full time. The Stanley Cup Finals quest would fall one game short as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Senators 2-1 in a Game Seven remembered by Jeff Friesen's late goal for the Devils. The games played, wins and shutouts would all be a league-best, as was Fuhr's 2,066 saves that year, all earning him the Vezina Trophy and first team All-Star recognition. Hall went 5-5 in the postseason as the Wings fell in the finals to the Montreal Canadiens in five games. He would play 73 games the following season but would struggle to get the Blues very deep in the playoffs as he struggled with opponents and injuries in the final years of his career. Although he did not appear in a playoff game, the team did go on to win the Stanley Cup that season. In 2009-10, Niemi slowly took the job away from Cristobal Huet and had the number one job heading into the post-season, which is where Niemi really took off and became a borderline star. His second year was even better than his first in the regular season, but once again, a first round loss awaited him and the Flyers in the playoffs that year. Career statistics:  Regular season (NHL): 1132 GP, 625-350-137, 2.22 GAA, .913 S%, 116 SO;  Playoffs:  181 GP, 99-82, 2.01 GAA, .919 S%, 23 SO, Calder Trophy (1993-94), Jennings Trophy (1996-97, 1997-98, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2009-10), Vezina Trophy (2002-03, 2003-04, 2006-07, 2007-08), All-Star (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007), Where do you start with the career of Martin Brodeur? How do I distinguish between these? Best season:  2000-01 was the best year in Joseph's career as he put up a 33-27-8 record in 68 games with a 2.39 GAA and .915 save percentage and adding six shutouts. He followed it up with a 5-0 record in the postseason, yielding just three goals (with three shutouts) as the Bruins went on to take the Stanley Cup Championship. Brodeur has rarely shown emotion (with one obvious exception) on the ice and is unflappable regardless of what is taking place around him. Despite posting a losing record of 21-25-11, Hackett had a 2.20 GAA in 58 GP, with a .917 S % and 8 shutouts. Giacomin would be an All-Star for the fourth straight (of five) season and took home his only Vezina Trophy. He was our project consultant on last year’s special magazine, The Top 50 Players of All-Time by Franchise. His on-ice play, especially in pressure situations, puts him at number 91 on my list. Darren Puppa was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres as a fourth round draft pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Jean-Sebastien "Jiggy" Giguere was somewhat of a late bloomer, originally a first round pick of the Hartford Whalers, but not growing into his stardom until he was part of his third franchise. He was one of the stars of the league who helped draw attention to the sport, especially on the West Coast, as he drew fans to the game in California long before Wayne Gretzky arrived and took things to the next level and beyond. So much of your answer depends upon your perspective. Career statistics:  Regular season (NHL): 430 GP, 141-205-83, 2.78 GAA, 28 SO;  Playoffs:  13 GP, 6-7, 2.38 GAA, Hart Trophy (1953-54), Vezina Trophy (1950-51), All-Star (1954). Bernie Parent was a goaltender who had a late start to his stardom, but then also had it taken away quickly because of a freak injury. Unfortunately, the regular season success did not carry over to the postseason, where the Flames bowed out to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in seven games in round one, despite Kiprusoff's 2.24 GAA and .921 save percentage. Connell would retire in 1933, but would end up returning with the Montreal Maroons, where he would play two seasons and help the Maroons win a Stanley Cup in 1934-35. His second season with Barrasso (1984-85) saw Sauve share earn a part of the Jennings Trophy, for fewest goals allowed. Ed "Eddie" Giacomin came up with the New York Rangers after being acquired from Providence of the American Hockey League on May 18, 1965. 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