Martin Brodeur and the 10 Best Big-Game Goalies in NHL History

The NHL is the most complete team game in sports.

In order for your team to be a winner, you need to have a complete roster from top to bottom.

You have to be able to rely just as much on your third defensive pairing and fourth-line checkers as you do on your superstars.

That being said, with the exception of the quarterback in the NFL, there is no other position in professional sports that has such a large impact on the outcome of games than the goalies in the NHL.

Your team can score five goals, but if your goalie is having an off night, your team could still lose.

Conversely, your team can be totally dominated, but a tuned-in goalie is capable of stopping 50 or more shots and stealing a game.

Then there are those goalie who recognize big games and don't buckle under the pressure. 

Not only do they not buckle under the pressure, they rise to the occasion and thrive in the spotlight.

There are several goalies who have been great in big game situations, and I'm certain that I will not cover them all.

Nonetheless, here is a list of the best big game goalies in NHL history.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

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DALLAS - APRIL 15: Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere #35 of the Anaheim Ducks in goal against the Dallas Stars during game three of the 2008 NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 15, 2008 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo

I'll lead off with Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Who can forget Giguere's amazing playoff performance in the 2003 playoffs, where he put that Ducks team on his back and carried them all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Devils.

Nobody expected much out of the Ducks that year as they were a seventh seed and were playing against the powerful Detroit Red Wings in the first round.

Giguere won huge game after huge game that year before the Ducks finally succumbed to the Devils, but J.S. Giguere won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP in the Duck's losing effort.

The Conn Smythe award has been given ever since the 1964-1965 season, and only five times has a player from the losing team won this award.

Giggy was later instrumental in the Duck's Stanley Cup victory over the Ottawa Senators in 2007.

Giggy really proved himself early on as a big game goalie, and then cemented himself with the Stanley Cup victory.

Georges Vezina

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TORONTO - JANUARY 1: The Vezina Trophy is presented yearly to the Top Goalie in the League by the National Hockey League as pictured on January 01, 2001. (Photo by Silva Pecota /Getty Images/NHLI)

Hard to argue with the guy whose name currently is used for the award given to the NHL's best goaltender in a given season.

Georges Vezina was one of the first of several dominant goalies that played for the Montreal Canadiens.

He led Montreal to five Stanley Cup appearances and two Stanley Cup titles.

Seven times in his career, Vezina led the league in goals-against average and was the first goalie in history to have a season goals-against average beneath 2.00 (1.97 in 1923-1924)

Vezina was also the first ever goaltender to record a shutout.

His career was cut short, however.  He had to retire in 1925, and later died in 1926 from tuberculosis.

He played in a very different era, but he was an amazing big-game goalie.

Mike Vernon

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1994: GOAL KEEPER MIKE VERNON OF THE CALGARY FLAMES REACHES WITH HIS STICK FOR THE LOOSE PUCK DURING THE FLAMES GAME AT THE BUFFALO SABRES DURING THE 1993-94 REGULAR SEASON. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart/ALLSPORT

Vernon won two Stanley Cups in his career, and both times he was absolutely instrumental in the championship team.

Many people forget that he was even on the 1989 Calgary Flames championship team, but Vernon was the backbone of that team, always coming up with big saves when they needed it.

In fact, the 1989 Calgary Flames are the only team to beat the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Flames could not have done that without Vernon.

Vernon won his second Stanley Cup in Detroit and won a Conn Smythe in the process.

That whole season Vernon and the Red Wings were questioned and told that they were a team that just couldn't win the big one, but Mike Vernon was on the top of his game and he and the Red Wings proved otherwise.

Grant Fuhr

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1988-1989: Goaltender Grant Fuhr of the Edmonton Oilers. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell /Allsport

It's very easy to discount the ability of Grant Fuhr considering the players that were on that Oilers dynasty of the 1980s.

Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri...it just keeps going and going.  Not too many people remember how good Fuhr was, and how huge he came up for the Oilers several times.

He was also fantastic in international play.  He was part of the Canadian team that defeated one of the best Soviet hockey teams assembled in 1987 in the Canada Cup.

True, he never won a Conn Smythe, and he has one Vezina to his credit, but Grant Fuhr had to be a strong big-game goalie on a team that ran a run-and-gun style of offense that really didn't pay too much attention to defense.

Because he was such a good big-game goalie, Fuhr has five Stanley Cups to his credit.

Ron Hextall

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13 Apr 1998: Goaltender Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers in action during a game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres won the game, 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Craig Melvin /Allsport

Ron Hextall is the last consistent No. 1 goalie that the Philadelphia Flyers have had.

Hextall is another goalie who won the Conn Smythe as a member of the losing team in the Stanley Cup Finals when the Flyers lost to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

Hextall also won a Vezina Trophy in 1987.

Hextall holds a couple of NHL records.  He holds the record for most career goals by a goalie, with two goals, and has the most penalty minutes by a goalie in a single season, with 113.

Hextall was a huge big-game goalie for the Flyers, and they have struggled to find anybody consistent since.

Dominik Hasek

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BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 2: Goaltender Dominik Hasek #39 of the Detroit Red Wings defends his net against the Buffalo Sabres during their NHL game on March 2, 2008 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. The Red Wings defeated the Sabres 4-2. (Photo by Rick Stewa

I'm going to be honest, I really almost considered leaving Hasek off of this list because of his lack of Stanley Cup titles.

He won two cups, though only one as a starter.

The thing that convinced me to go otherwise was the fact that this guy was the first goalie since Jacques Plante to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, which goes to the league's most valuable player every year.

He didn't do this just once, he did it in back-to-back years.

To put this in perspective, the Hart Trophy has been awarded 86 times.  Of those 86 times, the Hart Trophy has gone to a goalie only six times, with it going to Hasek twice.

While he was with the Buffalo Sabres, Hasek was that team.  He built them up to relevance, and carried them into the Stanley Cup Finals which they eventually lost to the Dallas Stars on a very controversial overtime goal.

I am not personally a fan of Hasek's, but the guy came up big in big games and needed to have a more consistent team in front of him in order to win the cup.

Jacques Plante

Jacques Plante was possibly the most dominant goalie of his time period.

In addition to the five Stanley Cups that he was a part of, Plante holds several other awards that only big-game goalies really get their hands on.

Plante has the record for the most Vezina Trophy awards with seven.

Plante also won a Hart Trophy in 1962 for the league MVP.

He revolutionized the position by becoming the first goalie to regularly leave the crease to play the puck.

Pretty much every single goalie leaves their net to play the puck in today's NHL.

Big-time goalie from the beginning of his career all the way through.

Terry Sawchuck

Sawchuck was the long-time owner of the NHL record for most career wins by a goalie.

That record was broken by Patrick Roy and then again by Martin Brodeur.

Sawchuck won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings and also won four Vezina Trophies.

Fun fact, during Sawchuck's career, the criteria for the Vezina Trophy had been changed from most valuable goalie to the goalie for the team that gave up the fewest goals.

Nonetheless, it cannot be argued that Sawchuck is among the best to ever play the game.

In an era that was not famous for defense, Sawchuck had a career 2.52 goals-against average, which is stunningly good for that era.

His career playoff goals against average was 2.54, and he also logged 12 playoff shutouts.  Great numbers, especially in that era.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971 and is clearly one of the best big game goalies ever to strap on the pads.

Martin Brodeur

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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 09: Martin Brodeur #30 of the New Jersey Devils stretches prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 9, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Jonathan Klein/Getty Images)

Yes, he's on the front cover of the article, but is NOT at No. 1.

You would be very hard pressed to find a goalie who is better in big games.

Brodeur has won pretty much every single major hockey award that can be won.

He's been part of three Stanley Cup teams in New Jersey, has won the Vezina Trophy four times and the Jennings trophy fives times (tied for most all time with Patrick Roy).

He also has two Olympic Gold Medals (Salt Lake and Vancouver games), though he was not in net for the Vancouver gold medal.

He also owns several NHL records including wins (625), shutouts (116) and overtime wins (45).  Only somebody who knows how to win all types of games puts up numbers like this.

The thing that keeps him out of the No. 1 slot is really the Conn Smythe topic.  Yes, he's won cups and was a big part of those cups, but he was never the reason for those cups. 

Now people could definitely debate that all they wanted, but the voters for the Conn Smythe award usually get things right.

Only one person has ever had the kind of career that could top Marty Brodeur, and we all know who that is.

Patrick Roy

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9 Jun 2001: Goalie Patrick Roy #33 of the Colorado Avalanche is presented the Conn Smythe Trophy by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after defeating the New Jersey Devils during the Stanley Cup finals at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche de

Patrick Roy may no longer hold the record for most career wins, but there is still very little debate about whether or not he is the best goalie that ever played the game.

Patrick Roy proved time and time again that when the pressure was at its highest, he was at his absolute best.

He is only player, not goalie, player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP three separate times.

Here's a few other stats to just sink in:

• Four Stanley Cup Titles.
• Five Jennings Trophies (goaltender for the team who gave up the fewest goals in the regular season).
• Three Vezina Trophies (best goaltender in the regular season)
• 11 All-Star appearance (four first-team appearances)
• Was a member of the 1986 All-Rookie team.

There is nothing that this guy hasn't done, and hasn't won. 

His playoff prowess is the thing that sets him apart from all other goalies.

In the end, if you can have any goalie at their prime in goal for you in a game to decide the fate of the world, Patrick Roy is the only choice.