Ranking the Greatest Goalies in NHL History After Martin Brodeur's Retirement

Martin Brodeur announced his retirement Thursday, bringing an end to one of the most successful goaltending careers in NHL history.

As Brodeur embarks on the next step in his career as a front office employee of the St. Louis Blues, it's worth taking a look back and seeing how he compares to the best goalies in NHL history. Where does he rank on that list?

Read on for the answer. 

10. Tony Esposito

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Tony Esposito, one of the early pioneers of the butterfly style of goaltending, was a three-time first-team NHL All-Star and was recognized with a second-team nod twice. He led the league in shutouts on three occasions and in the era before save percentage finished first in the NHL in 1971-72 with a 1.77 goals-against average.

The Calder winner in his first season in the league, Esposito played into his 40s and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988. His one and only black mark: He spent his whole career in Chicago and was never able to guide the team to a championship. 

9. Frank Brimsek

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Despite a career which was interrupted by World War II and cut short by a relatively early retirement, Frank Brimsek's exceptional play won him a well-earned place in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Brimsek backstopped the Boston Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships, earning the nickname "Mr. Zero" in the process. He was voted to eight All-Star teams over his NHL career, twice to the first team and six times to the second team.   

The Hall of Fame's official website describes a goaltender, who was an interesting combination of calm and combative: 

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Brimsek was a classic standup goalie whose confidence on the ice threw off many a shooter. On breakaways and penalty shots he would often lean back calmly against his net as the foe approached. But he was not a passive figure while guarding his cage - Brimsek used his custom-made heavy stick to knock the puck off opposition sticks or to take the feet out from under someone who took too many liberties around his goal.

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He won two Vezina trophies (this was in an era when the Vezina was automatically awarded to the team allowing the fewest goals) as well as the NHL's Calder Trophy in 1939.

8. Bill Durnan

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The biggest question with Bill Durnan is whether peak value or longevity matters more. His career wasn't long. He was nearly 30 when he broke into the game, and he retired at the relatively young age of 35, but for a brief span of time he was the best goaltender in hockey.

In Durnan's seven seasons, he was a first-team NHL All-Star six times. He guided a Montreal team that had been in a lengthy championship drought to two Stanley Cups in the 1940s. As impressive as that is, he came extremely close to winning even more awards. He was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy as a rookie and three times finished in the top five of Hart Trophy voting, finishing second to Sid Abel in 1949. 

As InGoal magazine's Greg Balloch relates, the rule that prohibits goalies from being captain originates with Durnan. As Montreal's captain, he left the crease so often to argue calls that teams complained it was like the Canadiens were getting extra timeouts. 

7. Terry Sawchuk

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Terry Sawchuk's 447 career wins made him the NHL's all-time leader in that category for decades before he was finally passed by Patrick Roy. His record of 103 shutouts survived Roy but was eventually surpassed by Martin Brodeur.

At his peak, Sawchuk guided the Detroit Red Wings to three Stanley Cups in four seasons (he'd eventually win a fourth championship as Toronto's starter) and was named to the All-Star team for five consecutive seasons. He also won a Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1951.

Never a favourite of journalists, Sawchuk was known for his dark moods and fierce temper. A brief stint in Boston was particularly bad, as author Randi Druzin related in the book Between the Pipes. At times, Sawchuk threatened to sue newspapers and even to punch reporters. He later died at the age of 40 following a scuffle over expenses with teammate Ron Stewart, a fight which Druzin writes had been preceded by a night of drinking at a pub. 

Incidentally, if you're wondering how the Hall of Fame website characterizes the incident, it says that "all the details will never be known" and that the two teammates "began to horse around" and "some playful wrestling" led to Sawchuk "landing awkwardly on Stewart's knee."

6. Martin Brodeur

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Much like Durnan, the biggest question with Brodeur is basically whether peak value or longevity matters more, but the question is flipped in his case. He simply doesn't have the kind of league-dominating prime as some of his competitors on this list, but he outshines them all in terms of endurance. 

The NHL's all-time wins leader (691), Brodeur played an incredible 1,266 games over a career that started in the 1991-92 season and only came to an end this week. Some of that's a result of era, but being one of only two goalies to play more than 1,000 NHL games counts for a lot, as does being 140 wins ahead of the next-closest contender. 

Brodeur's hardware collection isn't bad, either. A four-time Vezina winner, he has three Cup rings, a Calder Trophy and seven All-Star berths (three first team, four second team) to his credit. 

5. Glenn Hall

Associated Press

Glenn Hall dominated his position so completely that his nickname was "Mr. Goalie," and deservedly so. Not only was he a stellar player, but Hall is the goaltender who abandoned the stand-up style in favour of throwing himself to the ice to take away the bottom of the net. His butterfly style of play was revolutionary and would eventually become ubiquitous in hockey. 

Beyond that, his accomplishments on the ice were extraordinary. He replaced the legendary Sawchuk in Detroit, taking home the Calder as a rookie and being named to the second All-Star team for the first of four times. A year later he'd manage his first of seven first-team wins.

Hall would go on to spend the prime years of his career in Chicago, guiding that team to a Cup win in 1961 and finishing top-six in Hart voting seven times, but he had a fantastic encore in his late 30's. Claimed by St. Louis in the expansion draft shortly before his 36th birthday, he backstopped that team to the Stanley Cup Final and won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. He'd win his last first team All Star berth the following season. 

4. Jacques Plante

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Every goalie owes Jacques Plante a debt of gratitude, because despite the objections of coach Toe Blake, he introduced the goalie mask to NHL hockey. As NHL.com relates, after having his face ripped open by an Andy Bathgate backhand, Plante left the game to be stitched up and refused to return without the mask. In subsequent games, he issued the same ultimatum, and the practice was born. 

That wasn't his only innovation. Via the Hall of Fame website: 

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Plante was a pioneer of the style of play for goaltenders as well. While there had been other goalies before him who periodically came out of their crease to play the puck, he was the first to skate in behind the net to stop the puck for his defensemen. He also was the first to raise his arm on an icing call to let his defensemen know what was happening on the ice, and he perfected a stand-up style of goaltending that emphasized positional play, cutting down the angles and staying square to the shooter. His book, On Goaltending, was the first of its kind.

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But he's remembered mostly for his stellar career. Plante backstopped a great Montreal team to six Stanley Cups (including a run of five in five years), was named to the All-Star team seven times, and he even won the Hart Trophy in 1962. According to Sportsnet's Chris Boyle, "Plante also registered the greatest save percentage in history with a .944 (.041 above league average) in 40 games with the Leafs as a 42-year-old in 1970–71."

3. Patrick Roy

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Patrick Roy's great claim to fame is as a player who performed at his best when it mattered most.

That's not to disparage his long and distinguished regular-season career, a career in which he set records for games played and total wins (later eclipsed by Martin Brodeur), where he was named a four-time first-team NHL All-Star and in which he won three Vezina trophies. It's just that what sets Roy apart from the pack is his spectacular postseason runs.

Roy backstopped four teams to championships, doing so twice with Montreal and twice with Colorado. In three of those four Stanley Cup wins he was named playoff MVP. No player in NHL history—not Wayne Gretzky, not Mario Lemieux, not Bobby Orr—has won the Conn Smythe more frequently than Roy.  

2. Ken Dryden

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In terms of peak value, there's a pretty good case that Ken Dryden is the greatest goalie of all time. That's the case that Sportsnet's Chris Boyle makes, arguing not only that Dryden outperformed his backups by a ridiculous amount but also that his pure ability to stop pucks over his career is pretty much unparalleled: 

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Dryden produced an astronomical save percentage during his career—.024 above league average. To put that into perspective, in 2013–14 numbers, that’s a .938 on average (Rask’s was .930 last season). During the 1975–76 season, Dryden registered a .927 when the league average was .890, the equivalent to .945 last season.

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Dryden's impressive assortment of hardware backs that up nicely. In just eight seasons, he won the Calder Trophy, the Conn Smythe, six Stanley Cups and five first-team NHL All-Star nods. He was the runner-up for the Hart Trophy in 1972 and finished top-four in voting on three occasions. 

Hockey couldn't hold him, though. As the Hall of Fame's website notes, he retired at age 26 to join a law firm. Though he returned to the game after a year off, he left for good at the tender age of 31. 

1. Dominik Hasek

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The list of NHL goaltenders to be named most valuable player in the game isn't long to begin with, and it gets even shorter when it's reduced to players who have done it multiple times.

That list is as follows:

1. Dominik Hasek

Even without getting into his impeccable career statistics, Hasek's hardware collection speaks for itself. Patrick Roy has three Vezina trophies—Hasek's total is double that. He also backstopped two NHL teams to championships.

He's also a six-time first-team NHL All-Star, a total which matches the number of consecutive seasons in which he led the NHL in save percentage.

Statistics and information taken from Hockey-Reference.com, NHL.com and LegendsofHockey.net.