Who's The Greatest NHL Goalie of All-Time?

With all of the hype surrounding Martin Brodeur, I got to thinking about who the greatest goalie of all time is. If you could pick any goalie, who would it be? Would it be Brodeur with a record up and coming, or would you choose Hasek, who is widely known for being the best goalie in the world?

Or would you choose a legend, like Terry Sawchuck? Or, would you choose an international sensation like Vladislav Tretiak? It could also be a modern star like Ryan Miller or Miikka Kiprusoff.

Basically, what I’m asking is who do you think is the best goalie of all time?

Here are my thoughts.

To me, the best goalie of all time is Dominik Hasek. I’m one of those Hasek loyalists ever since he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings.

I can see a lot of people giving it to Brodeur or Tretiak. However, there are a lot of things that I like about Hasek. He became the youngest goalie in professional hockey when he played for a Czech hockey league at the age of 15, and was drafted by the Blackhawks three years later.

After playing only a few games with the Hawks, he was traded to Buffalo for a couple of players that most people have never heard of. Another goalie in Stephen Beauregard and another player that was to be named later. I don’t know who that ended up being (guess who got the better end of this deal).

Although Hasek’s team would only miss the playoffs in 1996, he would never win the Stanley Cup with the Sabres. He didn’t win the Stanley Cup until he played on the 2002 “Dream Team” in Detroit.

The biggest reason that I like Hasek is he had the highest career save percentage with .922.  He is also the best European born goalie of all time, without a doubt.

That’s the area that he accomplished the most, the international circuit. He led Team Czech Republic to its first gold medal in 1998, and has become a national hero since then.

Anyway, those are my thoughts, and I’m anxious to hear yours.

See more of my opinions at my blog, TipsForHockey.com