Is Vladislav Tretiak the Greatest Goalie of All Time?

The induction of Vladislav Tretiak into the Hockey Hall of Fame officially made the Hockey Hall of Fame an international hall of fame, not just an NHL-focused North American hockey hall of fame.

So that’s an area of controversy for some, but if the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto wants to be the Hockey Hall of Fame of the World, it’s a step that needed to be taken.

So where does Tretiak rank? How do we compare him to NHL goalies when Soviet League goalie stats are even worse than Soviet League skater stats?

What do we do with the very notable fact that Tretiak’s GAA (not save percentage) increased drastically every time he played against NHL competition in international tournaments?

Listen to us attempt to talk about Vladislav Tretiak’s Hall of Fame case here:

Vladislav Tretiak’s Career:

• Soviet League: 1968-84, 16 seasons, probably all quality
• Totals:
  • 1158 Goals Against in 482 Games
• Per Game:
  • 2.31 GAA

Vladislav Tretiak’s Accomplishments:

• Soviet League:
  • MVP five times (‘74, ‘75, ‘76, ‘81, ‘83) – most ever
  • 1st Team All Star fourteen times
• First non-North American trained Hockey player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (Patient Zero!)

Vladislav Tretiak’s Accomplishments:

• Olympics:
  • Starter on three Champions (‘72, ‘76, ‘84 USSR) and one Runner Up (‘80 USSR)
• Canada (World) Cup:
  • MVP on one Champion (‘81 USSR)
  • Starter on one “Bronze” (‘76 USSR)
• World Championships:
  • “Best Goaltender” tournament award and “Media All Star” on two Champions (‘79, ‘83 USSR)
  • “Best Goaltender” tournament award on one Champion (‘74 USSR)
  • “Media All Star” on one Champion (‘75 USSR)
  • Starter on six Champions (‘70, ‘71, ‘73, ‘78, ‘81, ‘82 USSR), two Runners Up (‘72, ‘76 USSR) and one Bronze (‘77 USSR)
• Summit Series:
  • Starter on one Champion (‘74 USSR) and one Runner Up (‘72 USSR)
• Soviet League:
  • Starter on thirteen Champions (all but one season between 1971 and 1984)
• European Juniors:
  • Starter on two Champions (‘69, ‘70 USSR) and one Runner Up (‘68 USSR)
• Super Series:
  • Starter on 3 participants (at least 2 of the 3 teams had winning records)