NHL Rankings: Hextall, Emery, Roy and the 10 Most Flamboyant Goalies in Hockey

Some goaltenders are known for their ability to stop the puck. Some are known a nifty design on their mask.

However, the following 10 netminders are best remembered for having some of the game’s biggest personalities, bloodiest fights or earning memorable nicknames.

While they may have created a wall in front of the net, these men made a name for themselves away from the twine.

The following are the 10 most flamboyant NHL goaltenders of all time.

10. Carey Price

It is well documented that Price and the Montreal Canadiens love to party.

Price has been criticized at times for lack of consistency and inability to handle the pressure of being a franchise goaltender for the historically significant and well-supported Canadiens.

The release of these pictures infuriated a few fans in Montreal and gave Price a reputation as a party boy.

9. Rick DiPietro

Like his hockey career, DiPietro’s development as one of hockey’s most bodacious goaltenders may have been stunted by injury.

Early in his career, DiPietro was known for playing the puck aggressively, he often wanders out from his net and prefers to pass the puck into the neutral zone rather than let his defensemen play it.

Last year, the embattled goalie displayed some of his flare by fighting Pittsburgh’s Brent Johnson…and then was knocked out by the first punch he received.

8. Johnny Bower

Retired at the age of 45, Bower is the second-oldest goalie to play in the Stanley Cup Finals.

A scrappy goaltender who practically invented (and mastered) the modern-day poke-check, he was not afraid to venture out from the crease to disrupt a player in scoring position.

At the time, Bower, and many other netminders, played without a helmet while leading to the Toronto Maple Leafs—yes, the Maple Leafs—to three consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1962-64 and won the Cup again with the team in 1967.

It was certainly a different era.

7. Gerry "Cheesey" Cheevers

A Hall of Fame goaltender that played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, as well as the WHA’s Cleveland Crusaders, Cheevers was known for his stitch-pattern goaltending mask.

The mask has a legend of its own.

After a puck hit him in the face during practice, Cheevers feigned injury and entered the dressing room to enjoy a cigarette and beer.

Bruins head coach Harry Sinden told him to get back on the ice.

As a joke, the team trainer painted a stitch mark on his mask.

Following the incident, every time a puck hit his mask he would have a new stitch mark painted on.

6. Gary "Cobra" Simmons

Although he played only parts of four seasons in the NHL and was never, by any accounts, spectacular, Simmons’ snake mask became an immortal fixture in hockey history.

He was given the nickname “Snake,” a response to his style of play, as a member of the Phoenix Roadrunners during his stint with the team in the 1970s.

After a stint with Phoenix and the San Diego Gulls, Simmons played with the California Golden Seals and the Los Angeles Kings before ending his career in 1978.

5. Felix "The Cat" Potvin

An enigmatic goaltender best known for his time with the Maple Leafs and Kings, Potvin was solid in net, but is best recognized for his antics outside of the crease.

“The Cat” had no reservations when it came to the physical dimension of hockey, and had many pugnacious adventures in the open ice.

4. Gump Worsley

Born Lorne John Worsley, the Montreal native was given his nickname by friends after Andy Gump from Sidney Smith’s comic strip, The Gumps.

The Minnesota North Stars lured the late Worsley out of retirement in 1969 after an outstanding tenure with the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens.

He played on many poor Rangers teams early in his career and, when asked which team gives him the most trouble as a goaltender, the wry Worsley responded, “The New York Rangers.”

When accused of having a beer belly by Blueshirt coach Phil Watson, Worsley replied, “Just goes to show what ne knows. I only drink Johnnie Walker Red.”

He was the second-to-last player to wear a mask. When asked why he eschewed the equipment he replied, “My face is my mask.”

3. Patrick Roy

Loved in Colorado and despised in Detroit, Roy, one of the game’s greatest goaltenders of all time, was not afraid to mix it up now and then.

During the heat of the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry, Roy faced off against three Motown netminders—Mike Vernon, Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood.

Above is a video of his fight with Vernon.

2. Ray Emery

Currently under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, Emery has a reputation as one of hockey’s biggest personalities.

Nicknamed Razor and Sugar Ray, Emery is willing to shed his equipment and fight opposing goaltenders and…yes, even defensemen.

In the video above, Emery, then of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators, fights Josh Gratton of the Philadelphia Phantoms.

1. Ron Hextall

Currently the Vice President and Assistant General of the Los Angeles Kings, Hextall is most remembered as a temperamental goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers.

The first goaltender to score a goal in the NHL, Hextall was not afraid to leave the net to control a puck…or fight another player.

Legendary defenseman Chris Chelios learned this the hard way during his time with the Montreal Canadiens.

Tom Schreier covers hockey and baseball for Bleacher Report. Follow him @tschreier3.