15 Best NHL Goalies of All Time

Introduction

The NHL goaltender is the most unique position player on the ice. Their primary responsibility is to keep the puck out of the net; to do this, they wear some of the most extensive personal protection in all sports. You would, too, if you had a bunch of well-trained athletes launching hard rubber projectiles at you at high velocity. The goalie’s task is to stand on their heads if they have to to keep pucks from getting through the pipes. We want to salute these folks in the crease by remembering the best goalies in NHL history.

We will choose different metrics that measure a goaltender’s effectiveness to do this. Then, we will use the Stathead and Hockey-Reference database to give us the top tenders from the past 100-plus years in each statistical category.

Quality Starts

This metric measures the effectiveness of a starting goaltender formulating their saves with their winning percentage. In a nutshell, it helps identify the performance of starting tenders over the long haul.

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“The Flower” has been dynamic for decades, winning three Stanley Cup Titles during his career while mending the crease. This legend has been on the ice for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Minnesota Wild and is in the top five goaltenders in as far as victories. He was honored as the League’s best goaltender by taking hone the 2020-21 Vezina Award and the Jennings Trophy that same season for allowing the fewest goals scored. This legend has registered 458 Quality Starts at the time of this writing and is still going!

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Henrik Lundqvist spent all 16 years of his NHL career with the New York Rangers. Henrik was a two-time All-Star and the 2011-12 winner of the Vezina Award. Lundqvist was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023 for his brilliance between the pipes. Henrik posted 447 Quality Starts during his career in the NHL. Henrik is one of the winningest goaltenders in NHL history.

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Goals Saved Above Average Career Leaders

Some goalies in NHL history have shown over the long haul, they are the man. This category looks at the goals prevented by the player, given his save percentage and shots against him compared to the league average.

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In a 20-year career in the NHL that bounced between the franchises of Florida and Vancouver, Roberto proved he could fend off shots no matter what climate he lived in. Luongo posted a 270 score for his goals saved above average. He is also in the top five for wins at goalie.

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You knew this guy would be on the list of top NHL goalies! Hašek won the Vezina honors six times to go along with multiple Jennings, Pearson, and Hart Trophies during his brilliant 16-year career in the League. Dominik minded the nets for the Black Hawks, Sabres, Red Wings, and the Senators and hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup three times. By the way, Hašek had a goal saved above the average of the League; that was over 412!

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Wins

We have already had a few names near the top of the NHL record books for winning games. Here are a couple more that did it more times than most.

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Brodeur laced up his skates for the New Jersey Devils and the St. Louis Blues during his outstanding 22-year NHL career and tallied 691 victories in games he started. Martin helped his teams get a Stanley Cup added to the trophy case as a winner of the Vezina, Jennings, and Calder awards. There weren’t too many opposing skaters excited when this guy was in the net, as he leads all goaltenders in the average goals scored against them (200 start minimum).

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Another in the top five of NHL goalie rankings for wins is Curtis Joseph. This stalwart of the big stick helped his teams notch over 450 “W’s.” He was awarded the King Clancy Memorial for his great leadership while blocking pucks.

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Tops in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage

Another key metric is to look at how many average goals were scored against the best NHL goalies, who started at least 200 games. As we stated moments ago, Brodeur leads in this category, but here are some goalies near the top in this career stat.

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Bishop made the most of his stay in the League by only allowing 2.32 goals per game on average. He played in the crease for St. Louis, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, LA, and Dallas. He played in two All-Star games during his NHL career and is in the top five of NHL career goalies with 200 starters for save percentage.

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This Boston Bruins long-tenured netminder is right behind the leader in this category, as Tuuka averaged about 2.28 goals against him between the pipes in his fifteen seasons. He was a two-time All-Star and won a Vezina and a Jennings Award. Rask has the highest Save percentage for any goalie in the NHL who started over 200 games.

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More of the Best NHL Goalies Ever

This next group may not be at the top of any stat category, but as you will see in their career data, all they did was win and block shots. Here are some top selections for the list of greats.

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Roy took the ice for the Montreal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche during his 18-year career, winning four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP, and three Vezina Trophies as the league’s best goaltender.

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You know he is good when you learn that he is only one of ten former skaters who had the Hockey Hall of Fame waiting period waived; he went in one year after retiring. He drank four times from Lord Stanley’s Cup, taking home hardware in multiple Vezinas and a Calder. When he retired, he was the top career goaltender in shutouts (103) and victories (447).

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This legend of the crease won six Vezina Trophies in his career for being the least-scored-upon goalie in the League. Durnan was named First All-Star team as best goaltender six times and was a big factor in Montreal winning two Stanley Cup titles.

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When someone has been the starting goalie on six Stanley Cup Champions teams, they are a shoo-in for a top tender’s list. Let’s also add seven All-Star games and seven Vezina titles to confirm his greatness.

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This Montreal goalie won six championships with the Habs and was also awarded six Vezina Trophies. Dryden added a Smythe, a Calder, and six All-Star games to his resume before he was finished.

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In 18 National Hockey League seasons, Hall was an eleven-time All-Star, collected three Vezina Trophies, and even Hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup. He played on the Red Wings, Black Hawks, and Blues.

The Best Goalie in the NHL Right Now?

We will give you the chalk answer on this one.

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The 2022-23 Vezina winner has to be in the conversation as the best tender entering the 2023-24 season going into the NHL. With season numbers such as a 1.89 GAA along with a .938 Save percentage.

Conclusion

Some outstanding athletes have played this position in the NHL and accomplished remarkable stats and feats at doing their jobs. It takes a special person to be a goaltender in the NHL; these players above are the profession’s top players.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 30th, 2023 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Top NHL Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.