Cujo led the overmanned Blues to a sweep against the conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks in 1993, and has knocked off the one-seed four times in his career. Joseph was as big as they got and carried his team on his back to success on multiple occasions early in his career. One of the best signings in team history, Joseph gave the Blues championship-caliber goaltending and confidence in net. Like many goaltenders in the 90s, Joseph was overlooked in the NHL draft and signed with St.
Louis Blues, and won 100 games in his first 209 appearances, becoming the fastest to do so in club history. "Cujo" shot out of the gate to career with the St. What sets him apart: Cam Ward's second calender year in the NHL had him joining hockey's elite, winning the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup in 2006. Inside the Numbers: 1 Stanley Cup, 1 Conn Smythe. Winning 15 playoff games as a rookie, Cam Ward also became the first rookie goaltender to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as a rookie since Ron Hextall in 1987.Īlthough winning the Stanley Cup for the expansion Hurricanes may have been a great beginning for Ward, he's made the playoffs just once since then. Cam Ward carried the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup finals, becoming the first rookie goaltender to do so since Patrick Roy in 1986. Ward was the difference in his second calender year after the Hurricanes were down 2-0 to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.īehind his stellar play, the Hurricanes turned the tables before moving on to face the New Jersey Devils and Martin Brodeur. Inside the Numbers: 1 Hart trophy, 1 Vezina trophy, 1 Roger Crozier trophy, 1 Masterton trophy, 2 All-Star gamesĬam Ward entered the NHL in 2005, and wasted no time making an immediate impact for his Carolina Hurricanes. His career failed to live up to that standard, however, as injuries and inconsistency have plagued his career post-lockout. Winning the Vezina on the strength of first place votes, Theodore joins rare company as a goaltender to have won both the Vezina and Hart trophies in the same year. Patrick's 1.94 goals-against average and nine shutouts in the regular season. Theodore edged Patrick Roy for the Vezina and won the Hart, despite St. His brilliant play late in the season powered a Montreal surge that brought the Canadiens back to the playoffs for the first time since 1998.
931 save percentage in the 2001-2002 season, Theodore backed the Montreal Canadiens to a 36-31-12 record. Oddly enough, this slot was the most difficult to nail down on this list, but Jose Theodore deserves this position. Here then are the Top 50 Greatest Goaltenders in NHL history.ĭuring the writeup of this article, at least 10 different players have occupied the 50th slot at one point or another. Marc-Andre Fleury, Felix Potvin, Dwayne Roloson, Nikolai Khabibulin and even Andy Moog were just a few of the names deserving of mention. Whether you agree or disagree with any of the selections, I hope you enjoy reading as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Of course, it stands to reason that many will disagree with this list, given the difficulty of evaluating the position. In a sport with such a long-and-storied history and many different eras of play, it wasn’t easy. So in ranking these goaltenders, I found that defining greatness in these men was also a very different challenge.Īfter all, what qualified you to be great? Championships? Statistics? Individual accomplishments? It can single-handedly decide the outcome of the game for better or worse, against any foe or strategy. The position in and of itself is also unique in that it’s often the wild card to the equation of competition, especially in the playoffs. It is a miracle that no one has ever lost their life playing this position, especially in an age where goalie equipment had the protective properties of soggy cardboard. After all, the very notion of stopping a vulcanized rubber disc traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph defines the lack of fear. But as eccentric or as quirky as some goalies may be, they all share a common trait of competitive courage. Let’s face it, you’ve got to be different to play the most unique position in all of sports.
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