Nicknamed “Mr. Zero,” was the first great American goaltender and the first American NHLer inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He won three awards and made the end-of-season All Star Team in 80% of his (very few) seasons in the NHL.
But he was rarely the best goaltender in a small NHL and a lot of his reputation seems to rest on his rookie season, in which he won the Calder and the Vezina (when it was the Jennings) and led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup.
So, does Frank Brimsek actually belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame for his NHL accomplishments?
Cecil “Babe” Dye quickly became one of the NHL’s early stars and, to this day, if the qualifier is low enough, he remains the all time leader in adjusted GPG.
But he also played relatively few games, his career was basically over by age 29 and he only ever won one Cup.
Listen to us talk about Babe Dye’s Hall of Fame case here:
From 1962 until 2000, nearly 40 years, Terry Sawchuk was the All Time leader in Wins. From 1964 until 2007, Sawchuk was the All Time leader in Shutouts, a record many thought was unbreakable. From 1961 until 2001, a half century, no other goalie had more Point Shares.
These metrics make it seem like Terry Sawchuk was one of the greatest goalies of all time. But the bloom is off the rose and now a lot of people think that’s not true; that, aside from a stretch at the beginning of his career when he was truly great, he was more of a compiler.
Listen to us talk about Sawchuk’s case for goalie GOAT status here:
Cooney Weiland set the single-season points record in 1930, but it was a banner year for the league and multiple other players could have broken the record if he didn’t. He led the playoffs in points twice, too. Seems like maybe a slam dunk.
However, these were the only great years of Weiland’s career and his career was pretty middling otherwise. Does someone like this belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen to us talk about Cooney Weiland’s Hall of Fame case here:
Prior to Bobby Orr‘s arrival, there was a consensus hockey GOAT (Greatest of All Time), Gordie Howe. That was due both to Howe’s dominance but, more importantly, his unprecedented longevity. Howe may have only been the best player in the NHL for six or so seasons, but he was one of the 10 best players in the NHL for over two decades.
Since then, there are a few other contenders for the throne. And the biggest knock against Howe is his Stanley Cups. Gordie Howe made the playoffs in 20 of his 26 NHL seasons. And he made the Stanley Cup Finals a remarkable 11 times. But he only won four Stanley Cups. One can make the LeBron James argument here: If Gordie Howe really is the GOAT, how come his finals record is 4-7?
Listen to us talk about Gordie Howe here:
Hall of Fame Class of 1972 Part 2: Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau
Gordie Howe’s Career:
NHL:
1946-71; 1979-80; 26 seasons, 25 quality
Totals:
801G (3rd All Time – Gretzky, Ovechkin – 1st All Time at his initial retirement by 232; Howe was the career leader in goals from 1963-64 through 1993-94),
1049A (10th All Time – 1st All Time at his initial retirement by 300; Howe was the career leader in assists from 1957-58 through 1987-88) for
1850P (4th – Gretzky, Jagr, Messier – 1st All Time at his initial retirement by nearly 600; Howe was the career leader in points from 1959-60 through 1989-90);
+160* (14th All Time at his initial retirement) in
1767 Games (2nd All Time – Marleau – 1st All Time at his retirement by 300; Howe was the career leader in Games Played from 1961-62 through 2019-20)
217.1 PS (4th All Time – Gretzky, Bourque, Luongo – 1st All Time at his retirement by nearly 69; Howe was the career leader from 1960-61 to 1994-95);
Howe is 2nd All Time in Offensive Point Shares (Gretzky) – he was 1st All Time at his initial retirement by nearly 69 and was the career leader from 1958-59 until 1993-94
Howe is the 15th/13th Forward All Time in Defensive Point Shares – at his initial retirement he was 3rd/1st All Time
Per Game: At his initial retirement in 1971, Howe was
11th All Time in GPG
t-5th in APG (Mikita, Esposito, Cowley, Beliveau)
5th in PPG (Esposito, Hull, Mikita, Beliveau; Howe was the career leader in PPG from 1953-54 through 1958-59)
Era: Of the 13 skaters to play in at least 1148 games (14 modern seasons) between 1946 and 1971, Howe is
1st in Goals (by 369)
1st in GPG (by 0.17)
1st in Assists (by 300)
1st in APG
1st in Points (669)
1st in PPG (by 0.25)
2nd in Plus/Minus
1st in Offensive Point Shares (by more than double his teammate)
8th (2nd/1st Forward) in Defensive Point Shares
1st in Point Shares (by 68.7)
82-game average: 37G, 48A for 86P, +7*; 8.7 PS
3-year peak (1950-53): 70-game average of 46G, 43A for 89P
Playoffs:
Totals:
68G (20th All Time, 3rd at his first retirement – Richard, Beliveau),
92A (2nd All Time at his first retirement – Beliveau – Howe was the career leader from 1961 through 1970) for
160P (t-22nd All Time, 2nd at his first retirement – Beliveau – Howe was the career leader 1964 through 1970),
+6* in
157 games (3rd All Time at his first retirement – Kelly, Beliveau)
Per Game: At his first retirement, Howe was
T-5th All Time in playoff GPG (Richard, Hull, Drillon, Beliveau)
T-6th All Time in playoff APG
T-4th All Time in playoff PPG (Hull, Beliveau, Blake)
Era: Of the 42 skaters to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1946 and 1971, Howe is
2nd in playoff Goals (behind by 12)
T-4th in playoff GPG
2nd in playoff Assists
4th in playoff APG
2nd in playoff Points (behind by 18)
3rd in playoff PPG
T-18th in playoff Plus/Minus
3rd in playoff Games
Adjustment for Era:
Hockey-Reference:
925G (1st All Time),
1265A (2nd – Gretzky) for
2190P (2nd – Gretzky)
Adjusted 82-game average: 43G, 59A for 102P (+16P per 82 games)
Per Game:
T-23rd All Time in Adjusted GPG
T-15th All Time in Adjusted APG
T-13th All Time in Adjusted PPG
VsX:
1181 Goals (1st All Time by over 300)
1711 Assists (2nd All Time – Gretzky)
2444 Points (1st All Time)
Per Game:
T-19th All Time in VsX GPG
22nd All Time in VsX APG
22nd All Time in VsX PPG
If the qualifier is raised to 820 games played, Howe is
5th All time in VsX GPG (Richard, Hull, Geoffrion, Lemieux)
3rd All Time in VsX APG (Gretzky, Lemieux)
4th All Time in VsX PPG (Gretzky, Lemieux, Richard)
If the qualifier is set to 1230 games, Howe is
1st All Time in VsX GPG
2nd All Time in VsX APG (Gretzky)
2nd All Time in VsX PPG (Gretzky)
Never traded.
WHA: 1973-79; 6 seasons, all quality174G (16th),
Totals:
334A (7th) for
508P (7th),
+136 (7th) in
419 games
Per Game:
6th All Time in APG
8th All Time in PPG
82-game average: 34G, 66A for 99P, +27
3-year peak (1973-76): 78-game average of 34G, 72A for 106P, +30
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?”
Jacques Plante is one of the best regular season goalies in NHL history. However, unlike someone like Tony Esposito, he is also one of the greatest playoff goalies in NHL history.
This is a far rarer combination than we might think.
So, we ask, is Jacques Plante one of the greatest goalies of all time? Is he, perhaps, the GOAT?
There is a never-ending debate among hockey fans as to which player of Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr was the greatest. There are certain areas where each stands supreme.
Our vote is for Orr because we think he played the more difficult and more important position and because he revolutionized the position as well. (Also, the skating.) But at least one of us thinks there’s room for debate.
But in those 8 seasons, he won six Stanley Cups as a starter (playing in nearly every game when they won those cups), five Vezina trophies, the Conn Smythe and the Calder. He was a 1st Team All Star six times and only missed the end-of-season All Star teams his first season, when he played in six games.
To play devil’s advocate, he played for the Greatest Hockey Team of All Time. And he might not have deserved his Conn Smythe.
So, is Ken Dryden the Greatest Goalie of All Time?
