Top Hockey Goaltenders of All Time Hockey Players
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Top Hockey Goaltenders of All Time

Angie Marie Angie Marie Ranker
Staff 24,820 views 10 items
Former Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kirk McLean once said, "It's pretty tough for a goalie when you look at it. You're always the last line of defense. If you let a goal in, you can't go to the bench and hide between the guys or anything." While goaltending alone does not win games or championships, but it can be the difference between a win and an embarrassing loss. Certainly there has been some stellar goaltenders in the history of the NHL, but a select few stand above and beyond the rest.
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    Jacques Plante

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    Playing for six NHL teams between 1952 and 1973, Jacques Plante earned a record six Vezina Trophies, numerous NHL All-Star Game selections and even the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1962 as the best player in the league. His six Stanley Cup, five of which were consecutive with the Montreal Canadiens, are impressive, but his impact on the game itself is what stands out. Plante changed how goaltenders played the game, being the first to leave the net to control the puck, the first to raise a hand on an icing call and the first to wear a mask in net. Long story short, Plante is and always will be the best goaltender to ever appear between the pipes.
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  1. Thaddeus Mechanic
    Top Hockey Goaltenders of All Time at 12/09/2012 7:30 PM
    NHL Goalies. Finally?...
  2. KirkSawyers
    Top Hockey Goaltenders of All Time at 3/15/2012 11:34 AM
    Odd inclusion of Tretiak. He got hot during the '72 Summit Series against Canada and again on the right stage in some high profile tournaments involving NHL players and he even landed in the HHOF but the reality is that while he was a very good goalie, he wasn't even the best European goalie of his era. Czechoslovakian Jiri Holecek was better, often much better.

    Style, size and skill-set he was essentially a Tom Barrasso clone. Barrasso actually took the bottom of the net away better by going to his knees when the puck was in a crowd near the net.

    Bernie Parent should be in your top 5 and Mike Richter and Grant Fuhr were electric. Throw the stats out on Fuhr. He played in the red light run and gun 80s and on an all offense team. He won games and made ridiculous saves few ever could make.
  3. Andrew
    Top Hockey Goaltenders of All Time at 1/14/2012 2:42 AM
    Patrick Roy at 4! do u know what he is. He's the king of goaltending

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