Before we really get into the list here's a few netminders that came close but just missed out on making the list.
Honorable Mention: Marc-Andre Fleury (Penguins 2005-06-Pres), Olaf Kölzig (Capitals 1995-96-2007-08, Lightning 2008-09), Ron Hextall (Flyers 1986-87-1997-98), Miikka Kiprusoff (Flames, 2003-04-2012-13), Marty Turco (Stars 2000-01, 2012-13), Pekka Rinne (Predators 2007-08-Present), Tim Thomas (Bruins 2002-03-2013-14)
10. Tom Barrasso (Sabres 1982-83-1988-89, Penguins 1988-89-1999-00, Senators 1999-00, Hurricanes 2001-02, Maple Leafs 2001-02, Blues 2002-03: 369 wins 3.24 GAA .892 SV%)
Starting off this list at number ten is one of the best "Money Goalies" of all time and the 2nd most winning American goalie in league history in Tom Barrasso. He started his career off with a bang right out of high school and straight into the NHL winning top rookie Honors with the Buffalo Sabres in 1983. He had solid years will playing for the Sabres, but when people think of Tom Barraso, most think of him with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While in the Steel City, he helped lead the franchise to back to back Stanley Cup Titles in the early 90's, which is where he really established himself as the "Money Goalie."
Ten Times in his career he managed to win twenty or more games in a single season, which a solid number for any goalie, including collecting a personal best 43 wins in 1992-93 while in Pittsburgh. He;s the second winningest netminder ever among Americans, trailing only John Vanbiesbrouck. What made Barrasso so good was that he was a very positionally sound netminder, he always had the right angle against the opposing shooters, and he made life very tough on shooters in the league. Just a very sound goalie and a guy who knew how to win. Great netminder
9. Carey Price (Canadiens 2007-08 to Present: 233 wins 2.43 GAA .920 SV%)
The first goalie that's currently playing to make this list., Carey Price is really establishing himself as one of the very best netminders to play the game right now. He won the Vezna trophy, as top goalie, and Hart trophy as league MVP two seasons ago. He's been able to hit double digits in wins in every single season he has played in the NHL. Injuries took their tole on Price last year, as he only managed to play in 12 games, but he did manage to win ten of them. To show just how much of an impact Price really has on Montreal, look no further then last year, when after Price got hurt, Montreal was on top of the league. Price missed the rest of the season and the Habs totally fell off, missing the playoffs completely.
Price has a style in net similar to that of Patrick Roy, in that he's able to cover a lot of the lower part of the net. He's very quick and can come back and cover the net quickly if he's ever caught out of position. The guy is a leader and keeps his mates in line when he has to. He made this list where he did because of his reflexes and his overall ability and deminor. He has carried the Habs at times and kept them in the race for the playoffs. Look at what he did two seasons ago.
8. Ryan Miller (Sabres 2002-03-2013-14, Blues 2013-14, Canucks 2014-15-present: 340 wins, 2.60 GAA, .915 SV%)
You wanna talk about a guy carrying a team at times, look no further then what Ryan miller did for the Buffalo Sabres during his six and a half seasons in the Blue and Gold. He won at least 30 games in every full season he played in Buffalo. There were times during his tenure in Buffalo, where Miller would steal games for the Sabres, even when Buffalo was the lowest scoring team in all of the NHL. Miller carried them to the playoffs on at least three different occasions. I really wish Miller had gotten a chance to really win the big one in Buffalo, because, much like Dominik Hasek before him, Miller was the heart and soul of the Sabres franchise. He made them better then they really were and he never really got the credit he deserved for what he did on the ice.
Miller is the Sabres all time leader in wins and he still has to carry some of that load now in Vancouver with the Canucks. He's quick for a guy who stands at 6'2 and he takes up a lot of the net. The biggest reason he's on this list where he is is because of what he was able to do for six and a half years in Buffalo. He helped bring the Sabres a little bit of respectability after they had a brief search to fill the skates of Hasek who left town. Miller couldn't get the Sabres a Stanley Cup title but he came close. It would have been nice to see him win the big one in Buffalo, oh if only management had given him a proper supporting cast.
7. Jonathan Quick (Kings 20008-09-Present: 252 wins, 2.27 GAA, .916 SV%)
It took the Kings a little while to find some stability among the goaltenders position during the turn of the century, but they finally found their guy in 2008 when Jonathan Quick became the full time starter in LA. He and the team hasn't really looked back since. I think the fact that the guy has lead the Kings to a pair of Stanley Cup titles. Jonathan Quick has been nothing short of fantastic patrolling the cages for the Kings, having really helped establish them as a possible power in the Western Conference, when he's healthy. look at what he's been able to do during his career. In 2012, he set the team record for shutouts in the regular season with ten. Then to add to that, come playoff time he set another record. Quick set a new Stanley Cup playoff record after winning his 11th consecutive road game dating back to the 2011 post-season.
For a guy his size, at 6'1 and 218 pounds, Quick lives up to his last name. He is able to get across his goal mouth and make saves that any other goalie shouldn't be making at all, yet he manages to find a way to make those saves. His lateral movement is almost unmatched by any goalie in the league right now. There are very few goalies in the league who are able to make the tough saves look easy and he is one of those goalies. He's very intense in the net, which most of his Kings teammates manage to feed off of. Good goalie with a Playoff MVP resume that few can match today.
6. Mike Richter (Rangers 1989-90-2002-03: 301 wins, 2.89 GAA, .904 SV%)
One of the greatest American born goalies to ever step foot on the ice. Richter helped get the New York Rangers back to relevance in the early 90s. Every season in which Richter played in 40 or more games, he win at least twenty of those games every time. He was the steady force in net in 1994 that helped the Rangers snap a 54 year drought and lead them to a championship for the first time since 1940! Most hockey fans still talk about it today the kick save he made on Pavel Bure on the penalty shot Bure had in game four of that finals series. From that point on he was a made man. He was considered, during his prime years, to be one of the worlds top netminders. Its just kind of sad that his career had to be cut short due to concussion issues. He had retired as the winingest goalie in Rangers history and had been the Rangers shutout king as well (both which have been past by Henrik Lundqvist).
Richter will be remembered for his style of play. Richter's style of play was very acrobatic and quick. For a small goalie he made himself look big by using his lightning quick reflexes to make saves. He was rarely out of position and always square to his shooters. He was known for making plenty of desperation and sometimes unbelievable saves using his focus, flexibility, and athleticism. He had a focus and an intensity about him, that few other netminders could match. He was a little guy who played big when it really mattered and he gave the Rangers a new life.
5. Roberto Luongo (Islanders 1999-00, Panthers 2000-01-2005-06, Canucks 2006-07-2013-14, Panthers 2013-14-Present: 436 wins, 2.49 GAA, 919 SV%)
The man they call Bobby Lou is getting his due. He's been a solid goalie. He's won well over 400 games in his career and has been a rock solid goalie for a long time. After having losing seasons in each of his first five years in the league, one with the Islanders and four with the Panthers (his first go around with the team), he's had a winning record in each year since. He didn't get enough time to really develop while playing on Long Island, as the Islanders traded him after 24 starts in New York. He gets traded away to Florida and his career really starts to take off. He finally gets playing time that he needed. Luongo's numbers and career really started to take off after that. From 2002-03 to now, in a year when he's played at least 50 games, he's managed at least twenty wins in every year. The reason he's here on this list is that, at times, he's really been able to carry a franchise. He did it for the Panthers in his first tenure in the sunshine state. He also did the same thing when he signed on with Vancouver. Luongo is a six time all star (2004, 2007, 20080, 2009, 2015, 2016(, and the 2011 winner of the Jennings Trophy, along with Cory Schneider.
An athletic goaltender, Luongo is known for having quick reflexes, particularly with his glove, which he rarely gets beat on that side. Luongo is one of the bigger goalies to step foot between the pipes. Standing at six foot three, he takes up a lot of the net and gives shooters very little to look at. He's a very tough goalie to beat, as he never lets a lot of his soft goals get to him, which Makes him so good. One of the mentally toughest goalies ever.
4. Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers 2005-06-Present: 374 Wins, 2.28 GAA, .921 SV%)
They don't call him King Henrik for nothing. All this guy has done is win at least 30 games in every full season he's played in the National Hockey League. Nobody has been better in a big game, at least not in today's NHL, then Hank. He's been a finalist for the Vezina trophy five times, winning it once in 2012. He's carried the Rangers more then any other player and was one of the biggest reasons that the Rangers made it all the way to the finals in 2014, a five game series loss to the Kings. He has won his career high of 39 games in 2012, and had ten shutouts in a season twice. Hank also has his named stamped in the record book, for both the league and the Rangers.
Only goaltender in NHL history to record 30 wins in each of first seven seasons. Hank is the 1st NHL goalie to start his career with 11 straight, 20-win seasons, and became overall the 15th NHL goalie to have won at least 20 games in a season 11 times. He set the Rangers record for games played in a season in 2009-10, in which he played in 73 games. He holds the Rangers record for most wins (339) and shutouts (55). He's got the most Playoffs wins (43) by a New York Rangers goaltender. Most combined regular season and playoff saves. The guy can do it all and then some. He's an athletic goalies who can make the big saves when its needed. He sometimes gets caught out of position, but has enough athletic ability go get back into position to make the save. He's made numerous highlight reel saves. Hank will end up chasing down the biggest goalie records in the sport by the time all's said and done.
3. Curtis Joseph (Blues 1989-90-1994-95, Oilers 1995-96-1997-98, Maple Leafs 1998-99-2001-02, Red Wings 2002-03-2003-04, Coyotes 2005-06-2006-07, Flames 2007-08, Maple Leafs 2008-09: 454 Wins, 2.79 GAA, .906 SV %)
The man they call CuJo, was one of the toughest goalies to beat. He got his name made in goal in St Louis, helping the Blues to a big playoff upset of the hawks in 93. But he really saved his best work for playing with Edmonton a couple years later, when they knocked off the heavily favored Stars. It was on the strength of the outstanding netminding of Joseph. Those two playoff upsets in the early 90's made CuJo one of the best money netminders of ever. Or at least of that period of time. When he took off for Toronto in 1999, he had to try and put the Leafs back on the map once again. Don't believe me? Joseph played a key role in the Leafs' run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999 and 2002. In 2000, during Game One of the series against the New Jersey Devils, he was considered the deciding factor in the 2–1 win where the Leafs were outshot 33-21
Joseph made stuff look somewhat easy. He was a solid, very positionally sound netminder. He could play the position like a man bigger then his size. he could make some saves that he had no business making, case in point stopping Joe Nieuwendyk. He may have never won a Stanley Cup but he still, when you win 434 games, that has to count for a lot.
2. Ed Belfour (Blackhawks 1988-89-1996-97, Sharks 1996-97, Stars 1997-98-2001-02, Maple Leafs 2002-03-2005-06, Panthers 2006-07: 484 wins, 2.50 GAA, .906 SV %)
Eddie the Eagle soared above the rest. His 484 wins sit 3rd most in the history of the game, behind only Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. His career really took off in his first full year in net for Chicago. He started in 74 games, winning 43 of them. It gave him the Calder trophy as top rookie as well as the Vezina for top goalie. He was a made man after that. Spending a number of years in the Windy City allowed Belfour to prove that the first year was no fluke. He finally got his due when he won a Stanley Cup backstopping the Dallas Stars to the title over Buffalo in 1999. While the title in 99 was the icing on the cake for Eddie the Eagle, there was more to him then just the cup and the Calder win.
He won the William Jennings Trophy (best goals-against average) on four occasions: 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1999 (shared with Roman Turek). He also won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best netminder in 1991 and 1993. Belfour was named to the NHL's First All-Star Team in 1991 and 1993, and to the Second Team in 1995. Then when 2011 rolled around, Belfour was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Again he was one of those netminders who played a bigger game then he was. Rarely did he find himself out of position. Even when he was, Belfour still had the quickness to be able to make it back in time to make a save.
1. Dominik Hasek (Blackhawks 1990-91-1991-92, Sabres 1992-93-200-01, Red Wings 2001-02-2003-04, Senators 2005-06, Red Wings 2006-07-2007-08: 389 Wins, 2.20 GAA, .922 SV %)
During stretches during his career, there was nobody that could even touch the Dominator. He was the best player on the planet and could have broken every record in the book for goalies if Buffalo was able to get more talent on the ice in front of Lord Dom. He was never really able to find his footing in Chicago, so the deal was made to send him to Buffalo. After an injury to Grant Fuhr, Hasek's career took off, and he never looked back. He won 30 or more games five times while playing in Buffalo, and hit the forty win mark with 41 wins his first year in Detroit, where he finally got his cups. The numbers for Dom really are staggering when you sit back and look at them.
Hasek recorded 389 wins, which put him at 11th place all-time. His 81 shutouts placed him 6th all-time. Hasek was a six-time NHL All-Star (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001), By the time all was said and done for Hasek, he had a pretty impressive trophy case. Two time Hart Trophy winner (1997, 1998), two time winner of the Lester B. Pears award (1997, 1998), a six time winner of the Vezina Trophy (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001), three Jennings Trophies (1994, 2001, 2008) and Stanley Cup championships in 2002 and 2008.
His international play was equally impressive. He led the Czech Republic to a gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games and was awarded Best Goaltender, settling for bronze in 2006. Hasek was the Czech netminder for a silver medal at the World Championships in 1983 and bronze in 1987, 1989 and 1990, winning best goaltender award in 1987, 1989 and 1990. He was named Czech Hockey Player of the 20th Century in 1998, Czech Sportsperson of the Year in 1994, 1998 and 2001 and was awarded the Golden Hockey Stick in 1987, 1989, 1990, 1997 and 1998.
What made Dominik so unreal in net was his playing ability. There was no set style with Hasek, he just threw his body in front of waiting pucks and got as many of them as he could. Because of his flexibility, Hašek could make difficult saves that other goalies could not. It drew fans to the game of hockey like so few could. He really was a treasure to watch on the ice. I had just really wished he had gotten another crack at winning a cup in Buffalo, for all he did for that team and city, he deserved a better fate then what he got in Buffalo. Also felt he should have broken the 400 win mark, that would have been nice as well, but again that's what happens when you get stuck on teams that didn't really score a whole lot in Buffalo. Still there was no better goalie during this time period then Hasek, he was the king of the cages!
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