Who is the greatest goaltender EVER !!!?

Answer 1

Terry Sawchuk

He set the bar for todays goalies in terms of wins and won a few Stanley Cups as well, all without a mask!

Not to discount todays goalies but he did it during the original 6 era which is no small feat considering every single player was very talented (not so in the 30 team league today).

We have had the good fortune of watching great goalers like Roy and Brodeur among many others and they all deserve the accolades they get. But my answer has to be Sawchuk!

Answer 2

The people who said today's greatest goalies aren't looking very deeply. The goalies in the past had far far far tougher times due to the league size (greater concentration of great players on teams). The rules in the 90s favored heavily to the defensive side of the puck allowing for greater stats for goaltending. There aren't many the know there were rules before that didn't allow the goalie to go down on his knees or cover the puck- imagine those rules today.

So with that said, Terry Sawchuck had a great career, winning some Stanley Cups and amounting a lot of shut outs back in a day that featured face-maskless goalies. True guts and glory.

Patrick Roy, he was not so much as a flashy goaltender because he was fundamentally sound in technique. He could rile the other fans up and was able to keep the puck out of the net, the only sore point I have with him, is his childish behavior (9-0 game against the Red Wings when he was on the Canadiens).

Grant Fuhr won four cups, and was a breaking through athlete for any minority in the NHL.

If you want a great book, Without Fear- Hockey's 50 Greatest Goaltenders---

I would go for Sawchuck as the greatest of all time- but that's one guy's opinion. Roy and Brodeur are great goalies, but I'm a guy that likes the old school due to the mystique effect, in later years we might be able to test Roy and Brodeur against those greats back in the day.

Answer 3

GEORGE HAINSWORTH
how could no one know who he is?
George Hainsworth (June 26, 1895 in Toronto, Ontario - October 9, 1950) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Hainsworth played for the WCHL's Saskatoon Crescents and Saskatoon Sheiks before arriving in Montreal. He had the unenviable task of replacing Georges Vezina, the beloved Canadiens goaltender who had died of tuberculosis, and who had played every game in team history from 1909 until the opening game of the 1925-26 NHL season, when the illness proved too much for him, inspiring the team to donate the Vezina Trophy for most valuable goaltender.

Hainsworth proved up to the challenge by winning the Trophy for the 1926-27 NHL season, 1927-28 NHL season and 1928-29 NHL seasons. In 1928-29, he set an all-time record with 22 shutouts and a 0.98 goals against average. In 1930 he set an NHL record that still stands, going 270 minutes and 8 seconds without allowing a goal during the playoffs for the Canadiens. He backstopped the Canadiens to back to back Stanley Cups in 1929-30 and 1930-31. He was traded to Toronto in 1933 and helped the Maple Leafs reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1935.

He is the all-time leader in professional shutouts with 104. His 94 shutouts are second on the NHL's all-time list behind Terry Sawchuk's 103.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. In 1998, he was ranked number 46 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

After his career, he was a regular on hockey's "Hot Stove League."

Hainsworth was killed in an auto accident on October 9, 1950.

OWNED!

Answer 4

Roy is completely over-rated.

Brodeur will smash every record owned by Roy and then some, even though he missed an entire season do to the 2004 lockout. Brodeur is rediculously consistent, pulling 70+ games, 40+ wins every season. Roy was a loser for several seasons through his career and didn't become huge again untill he was traded to Colorado. Brodeur already has 3 cups, a few Venizas, and is the best clutch goalie ever. I'm sure if Brodeur got to play in front of a squad of superstars like Roy did in Montreal/Colorodo, he probably would have broken all of Roy's records already as well as added a few more cups to his resume. The Devils were bottom-feeders until Brodeur came along, the Canadiens have a long history of being winners before Roy, and Roy only added 2 cups to their list of acomplishments. Brodeur never had the superstar caliber of player in front of him like Roy. Just imagine if the Devils did have a Forsberg or a Sakic how Brodeur's stats would have severely jumped in the stratosphere.

Brodeur:
* already has 446 wins in career, probably has a good 8-10 years left in career
* lowest modern GPA at 2.21
* 10 consecutive 30+ win seasons [NHL record]
* five 40+ win seasons [NHL record]
* 3 Stanley Cups (out of 4 trips to finals, the loss was game 7)
* 1 Olympic Gold Medal (2002)
* Record 7 playoff Shut-outs [NHL record]
* Has scored 2 NHL goals (1 in playoffs, a game-winner) [NHL record]
* Backstopped 2004 Team Canada to win World Cup of Hockey
* 2 Vezina Trophies
* Won Calder Trophy for best rookie
* Member of NHL All-Star Team 9 years in a row
* Won Jennings Trophy 3 times
* Is on pace to shatter all Roy's records as well as Sawchuk's shutout record

Bottom line, Roy had the benefit of playing with superstar caliber teams, while Brodeur has been a consistent workhorse who turned his team in a perrenial contender.

Brodeur reigns supreme, Roy is over-rated.

Answer 5

Patrick Roy was the best goalie ever, any team would want Roy over any goalie when it came down to the finals he just had something that no other goalie ever had he was simply magic.

Roy became, at only 20, the youngest player in the NHL's history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy given to the playoffs most valuable player. He also was named to the 1986 NHL All-Rookie Team. Roy set a record during the 1993 postseason with 10 straight overtime wins and won the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Roy played for Colorado until his retirement in 2003, adding to his resumé two more Stanley Cups to add to the two he had won in Montreal (1986, 1993), and capturing another Conn Smythe Trophy in 2001.

In 1989, 1990, 1992 Roy won the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender). He won the Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) in 1987, 1988, 1989 (all shared with Brian Hayward), 1992, and 2002. He led the league in shutouts and goals against average twice, was named a First Team All-Star four times, a Second Team All-Star twice, and played in eleven All-Star games.

Among the many goaltending NHL records Roy holds are career wins (551), career games played (1029), career playoff wins (151), and career playoff games played (247).

LE ROY DE HOCKEY!!!!!

GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 6

Patrick Roy. The only goalie to appear in more than 1,000 games and the only one to win more than 200 games for two different franchises. He has 551 career wins to top that category and surpassed the 30-win plateau on 13 different occasions during a 19-year career with Montreal and Colorado.

Roy won three Vezina Trophies as the League's best goalie and was named to the NHL's First All-Star Team four times. He was selected to 11 NHL All-Star Games. Most importantly, he won four Stanley Cups, being named playoff MVP three times.

Answer 7

Jacques Plant

Answer 8

I agree with the argument for Patrick Roy. However people always forget about Terry Sawchuk's 103 shutouts... without a mask!!! 4 Stanley Cups for Sawchuk as well. Less wins, a slightly better GAA (by 0.02)... BUT NO MASK!!!
It's close in my opinion.

Answer 9

Arguably one of the best goaltenders of all time is Ken Dryden...accomplished one feat that will be hard pressed by anyone to repeat: Winning the Conn Smythe trophy as the MVP of the playoffs then winning the Calder Trophy for Rookie of The Year the following year.

Answer 10

Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens!!