Though he only won one Stanley Cup, and the Vezinas he won were before it was a “Best Goalie” or “Most Valuable Goalie” award, Glenn Hall was one of the greatest goalies in NHL history. Just look at all the black ink on his Hockey Reference page. There’s one name on more goalie leader-boards than just about any other, and it’s Glenn Hall’s.
So the question isn’t, “Does Glenn Hall belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?” The question is, “where does Glenn Hall rank among the greatest goalies of all time?”
Listen to us talk about Glenn Hall:
Glenn Hall’s Career:
- NHL: 1952-53, 1954-71; 18 seasons, 13 as a starter, 2 as a 1A, 3 as a backup
- Totals:
- 407W (11th All Time, 2nd at his retirement – Sawchuk)
- 326L (11th All Time, 3rd at his retirement – Sawchuk, Lumley)
- 164T (2nd All Time – Sawchuk)
- 84 SO (4th All Time – Brodeur, Sawchuk, Hainsworth – 3rd at his retirement) in
- 53449 Minutes (8th All Time, 2nd at his retirement – Sawchuk)
- 906 Games (2nd All Time at his retirement – Sawchuk);
- 177.6 Point Shares (14th All Time, 6th Goalie, 2nd Goalie at his retirement – Sawchuk);
- 240 Goals Saved Above Average (8th All Time, barely 2nd All Time at his retirement – Plante)
- Average:
- 2.50 GAA (13th All Time at his retirement)
- .918 SV% (14th All Time, t-4th at his retirement – Esposito, Bower, Plante)
- Era: Of the 19 goalies to play in at least 205 Games between 1952 and 1971, Hall is
- 1st in Wins
- 1st (last) in Losses
- 1st in Ties
- Last in Goals Against
- 3rd in Save Percentage
- 3rd in GAA
- 1st in Saves (by 4,855)
- 1st in Shots (by 5,198)
- 2nd (barely) in Goals Saved Above Average
- 1st in Shutouts (by 5)
- 1st in Minutes (by 5,111)
- 1st in Games (by 82)
- Season average: 23-18-9; 5 SO; 9.9 PS; 13.3 GSAA
- 82-game average: 37-30-15; 8 SO; 16.1 PS; 21.7 GSAA
- 3-year peak: 29-26-14; 7 SO; 2.57 GAA; .917 Save %age; 14.1 PS;
- Playoffs:
- Totals:
- 49W (23rd All Time, 4th at his retirement – Plante, Broda, Sawchuk)
- 65L (7th All Time, 1st/last at his retirement, by 18)
- 6 SO (10th All Time at his retirement) in
- 115 Games (14th All Time, 1st All Time at his retirement)
- -3 GSAA
- Averages:
- .911 SV% (6th All Time at his retirement)
- 2.79 GAA (19th All Time at his retirement)
- Era: Of the 13 goalies to play in at least 20 playoff games between 1952 and 1971, Hall is
- 2nd in playoff Wins
- 1st (last) in playoff Losses (by 22)
- Last in playoff Goals Against
- 8th in playoff Save Percentage
- 8th in playoff GAA
- 1st in Saves (by 575)
- 1st in Shots Against (by 675)
- 7th? In playoff GSAA
- 3rd in playoff Shutouts
- 1st in playoff Minutes
- 1st in playoff Games
- Totals:
- Adjustment for Era:
- Totals:
- 250.8 Goals Saved Vs. Average (8th All Time)
- 924.9 Goals Saved Vs. Threshold (6th All Time)
- Averages:
- 2.59 Adjusted GAA (13th All Time)
- .913 SV% (13th All Time)
- Totals:
- Trades:
- Traded at 25 with Ted Lindsay (nearly 32) to the Black Hawks for Ray Preston (18), Hank Bassen (24), Forbes Kennedy (nearly 22) and Johnny Wilson (28)
- Left exposed in an expansion draft
Glenn Hall’s Accomplishments:
- Top 5 in Hart voting five times
- Vezina (‘63, ‘67, ‘69) – tied 9th most ever
- Conn Smythe (‘68)
- Calder (‘56)
- Top Player:
- Best Player (by PS) six times (‘57, ‘60, ‘61, ‘63, ‘64, ‘66) – t-2nd most ever (Gretzky)
- Top 5 ten times – t-2nd most ever (Gretzky)
- Top 10 twelve times – t-2nd most ever (Howe)
- Best Goalie (by GPS) six times – t-most all time (Benedict, Durnan)
- Top 5 fourteen times – most all time
- Top 10 fifteen times – t-3rd most ever (Sawchuk, Plante)
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star seven times (most ever by a goalie)
- 2nd Team All Star four times (most ever by a goalie)
- 13 All Star Game appearances
- Wins:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in Wins four times (t-7th most ever)
- Top 5 twelve times (3rd most ever – Sawchuk, Brodeur)
- Top 10 sixteen times (t-2nd most ever – Sawchuk)
- Single-season totals:
- 35 Wins once (1 of only 8 goalies ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Shutouts:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in Shutouts six times (2nd most ever – Benedict)
- Top 5 thirteen times (t-most all time)
- Top 10 sixteen times (t-3rd most ever – Sawchuk, Plante)
- Single-season totals:
- 10 Shutouts once (1 of only 19 goalies ever at his retirement)
- 5 Shutouts nine times (1 of only 6 goalies ever, 1 of only 3 at his retirement – Sawchuk, Plante)
- Leader-boards:
- Shots Against:
- Led the league in Shots Against twice (t-4th most ever – Esposito, Worsley, Hellebuyck)
- Top 5 eleven times (2nd most ever – Esposito)
- Top 10 fourteen times (most all time)
- Saves:
- Totals:
- Led the league in Saves twice (tied 5th most all time – Esposito, Worsley, Hellebuyck, Joseph)
- Top 5 eleven times (9 Top 3s) – tied most all time (Esposito)
- Top 10 thirteen times – tied most all time (Esposito)
- Percentage:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in Save Percentage twice – t-6th most ever
- Top 5 twelve times (11 Top 3s) – most all time
- Top 10 fifteen times – tied most all time (Plante)
- Single-season averages:
- .930 or higher once (1 of only 7 goalies ever at his retirement)
- .925 or higher four times (1 of only 6 goalies ever, 3 at his retirement – Bower, Plante)
- .920 or higher seven times (1 of only 5 goalies ever – Lundqvist, Luongo, Hasek, Plante – tied most ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Totals:
- Goals Against:
- GAA:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in GAA once
- Top 5 fourteen times (10 Top 3s) – most all time
- Top 10 fifteen times (t-3rd most ever – Sawchuk, Plante)
- Single-season averages:
- 2.1 once
- Under 2.25 three times (1 of only 16 goalies ever at his retirement)
- Under 2.5 nine times (1 of only 13 goalies ever, 5 at his retirement – Plante, Kerr, Thompson, Hainsworth)
- Leader-boards:
- Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA):
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in GSAA four times (t-3rd most ever – Plante, Hasek)
- Top 5 elevent times (10 Top 3s) – 2nd most ever (Esposito)
- Top 10 thirteen times (t-2nd most ever – Roy)
- Single-season totals:
- +35 once (1 of only 3 goalies ever at his retirement – Plante, Esposito)
- +25 three times (1 of only 17 goalies ever, 1 of only 7 at his retirement)
- +20 seven times (1 of only 6 goalies ever, only goalie ever at his retirement)
- +15 eight times (1 of only 5 goalies ever – Roy, Esposito, Smith, Luongo – only goalie ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- GAA:
- Minutes:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in Minutes seven times (t-most all time – Brodeur)
- Top 5 twelve times (10 Top 3s) – t-most all time (Lumley, Sawchuk)
- Top 10 fifteen times (2nd most ever – Sawchuk)
- Totals:
- +4000 seven times (1 of only 4 goalies ever – Brodeur, Kiprusoff, Sawchuk – 1 of only 2 at his retirement)
- +3500 ten times (1 of only 3 goalies ever – Brodeur, Roy – only goalie ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Adjusted Peak:
- .919 Save Percentage (13th All Time)
- 200.2 Goals Vs. Average (9th All Time)
- 565 Goals Vs. Threshold (4th All Time – Hasek, Esposito, Dryden)
Glenn Hall’s Great Teams:
- Best Player (led playoffs in games, losses, goals against, shots, saves, shutouts and minutes) on one Runner Up (‘68 Blues)
- Best Player? (led playoffs in games, wins, losses, goals against, shots, saves, save percentage, GAA, shutouts and minutes played – played every minute) on one Champion (‘61 Hawks)
- Best Player? (led playoffs in games, wins, losses, goals against, shots, saves and minutes played) on one Runner Up (‘65 Hawks)
- Starter (led playoffs in games, wins, losses, goals against, shots, saves and minutes – played every minute) on one Runner Up (‘62 Hawks)
- Starter (led playoffs in games, losses, goals against, shots, saves and minutes – played every minute) on one Runner Up (‘56 Wings)
- Starter (played every minute) on four Final Fours (‘57 Wings, ‘59, ‘60, ‘63 Hawks)
- Starter on three Final Fours (‘64, ‘66, ‘67 Hawks)
- 1A on on Runner Up (‘70 Blues)
- Backup on one Runner Up (‘69 Blues)