The 5 Best NHL Goalies of All-Time Ranked

The best goalies in NHL history backstopped their teams to winning seasons and an array of Stanley Cup victories. Our guide to the top NHL goalies breaks down the best to ever enter the crease, including several players that changed the game forever with their skills, innovation, and lightning-fast reflexes.

1. Dominik Hašek

• Years Played: 1990–2008
• Teams: Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators
• Stanley Cups: 2
• Hart Trophies (MVP): 2
• Vezina Trophies (Best Goalie): 6

Despite being designated as a “flopper” due to his unconventional style that heavily relied on quick footwork and flexibility, Dominik Hašek is the greatest goalie in NHL history. In 1980 “The Dominator” joined the top league in his home Czech Republic, becoming the youngest person in the world to ever play professional hockey. Three years later, he was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 10th round, 199th overall. His low draft-ranking was due to the hesitancy of NHL teams to draft players from behind the “Iron Curtain” during the Cold War.

Hašek made his NHL debut for the Blackhawks seven years later, backing up Ed Belfour. By 1994 he was playing for the Buffalo Sabres, where he set the record for most saves without allowing a goal in NHL history. Hašek made 70 saves in a four-overtime playoff game against a New Jersey Devils team that featured rookie goalie Martin Brodeur.

He won his first Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in the NHL that same year. It was the first of six Vezina Trophies in his career; the most overall under the current voting system. Hašek won consecutive Hart Trophies in 1997 and 1998 too, becoming the first goalie in history to win multiple Harts.

Hašek was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 2001, having set more than 25 franchise records for the Sabres, including most all-time games played, wins, shutouts, and lowest goals against average (GAA). 

In 2002 Hašek became the first European starting goalie to win the Stanley Cup. He set the record for most shutouts in a single playoff that year (6), a record that still stands as second all-time. Hašek won two Lester B. Pearson Trophies for league MVP as voted on by his peers as well, and even Wayne Gretzky once said that Hašek was “the best player in the game.”

Dominik Hašek holds the highest career save percentage (SV%) in NHL history at .922, and has the third-highest single-season SV% at .936. His 81 shutouts ranks sixth all-time, and his six shutouts in a single month is still an NHL record. 

He was the oldest active goalie in the league when he retired at 43 in 2008, and second-oldest player in the NHL after his teammate Chris Chelios; one of the best defensemen in NHL history. Dominik Hašek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014. 

2. Patrick Roy

• Years Played: 1984–2003
• Teams: Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche
• Stanley Cups: 4
• Hart Trophies (MVP): 0
• Vezina Trophies (Best Goalie): 3

Patrick is one of the greatest goalies in NHL history, and one of the league’s fiercest competitors. He widely popularized the butterfly style, which is still the pre-dominate goalie style today. Roy won his first Stanley Cup in 1986 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, and at 20 years old also became the youngest ever player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He won his first Vezina Trophy in 1990. 

During the 1993 playoffs, the head coach of the rival Quebec Nordiques told the media his team had “solved” Roy. This angered Roy, who then won the next 11 consecutive playoff games, including 10 straight overtime victories; the most in NHL history. That same year, the Canadiens defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to win the Stanley Cup. Roy also won his second Conn Smythe for carrying his team to the championship despite the fact that Montreal didn’t have a single top-20 scorer during the regular season.

The next year, Roy was left in net during an 11-1 loss; the worst home loss in Canadiens history. As Roy left the ice, he told the Canadiens president he had played his last game in Montreal. Four days later, Roy was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. 

Roy won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996, and added a fourth Cup in 2000. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2000, becoming not only the first player to win the trophy in three different decades, but the first and only player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe three different times.

Patrick Roy retired in 2003, and both the Colorado Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens retired his #33 as well. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006, and is currently the head coach of the New York Islanders.

3. Jacques Plante

• Years Played: 1952–1973
• Teams: Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers (WHA)
• Stanley Cups: 6
• Hart Trophies (MVP): 1
• Vezina Trophies (Best Goalie): 7

Jacques Plante is arguably the most influential goalie in NHL history. He was the first goalie to regularly play the puck outside the crease, including stopping the puck behind the net and passing it up to his defensemen. Plante was known for communicating with his teammates as well, and was one of the first goalies to raise his arms to let his defensemen know about icing calls. 

Today, Plante is most widely known as the first goalie to wear a face mask on a regular basis. At first, Montreal Canadiens coach Toe Blake banned Plante from wearing a mask since Blake thought it would impair his vision, but allowed him to wear one to recover from a broken nose in 1959. After the nose healed, Plante refused to take the mask off, and the Canadiens went on to an 18 game unbeaten streak. He took it off for one game, which the team lost, and then wore masks for the rest of his career. 

It wasn’t long before goalie masks became mandatory, with the last mask-less goalie playing his final game in 1974.

Plante won six Stanley Cups in his career, including five consecutive Cups from 1956 to 1960. He also won the Vezina Trophy seven times, and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP as well. Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.

4. Martin Brodeur

• Years Played: 1991–2015
• Teams: New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues
• Stanley Cups: 3
• Hart Trophies (MVP): 0
• Vezina Trophies (Best Goalie): 4

Martin Brodeur grew up spending a lot of time with the Montreal Canadiens, since his dad was the team’s official photographer. This included hanging around his hero, Patrick Roy. 

Drafted in 1990, Brodeur spent the majority of his career with the New Jersey Devils. He won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year in 1991, and in the lockout-shortened season of 1994–1995 he helped the Devils win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. It was the first of three Cups that he won in his career. In 1997 he finished with the lowest GAA in nearly 30 years. 

Brodeur won the Cup again in 2000, and in 2001 his team lost the Finals in seven games against his childhood hero Patrick Roy. Two years later the Devils won the Cup yet again, and that year Brodeur beat Dominik Hašek’s single-playoff shutout record with seven, including three shutouts in the Finals alone. 

In 2015 he finished his career as the NHL’s all-time leader in regular season wins (691), playoff wins (113), shutouts (125), playoff shutouts (24), and games played by a goalie (1,266). Brodeur also has the single-season record for wins (48), and recorded 30+ wins in 12 consecutive seasons. He’s also the only goalie in NHL history with eight 40-win seasons, and he led the league in wins nine times in his career. 

Not only is Martin Brodeur one of the best goalies ever, he’s scored more goals than any other goalie in history too. He’s only one of two goalies to have ever scored in the playoffs, and is the only goalie to have ever scored a game-winning goal. 

Brodeur’s stickhandling abilities were so elite that other teams complained about how he skated to the corners to trap the puck and pass it to his teammates. Because of these complaints the NHL created what’s commonly known as “The Brodeur Rule” in 2006. A trapezoid was placed behind the net, and if the goalie plays the puck outside of that trapezoid they receive a minor penalty. This was instituted to prevent Brodeur and other goalies from playing the puck too much.

Martin Brodeur was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.

5. Terry Sawchuk

• Years Played: 1949–1970
• Teams: Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers
• Stanley Cups: 4
• Hart Trophies (MVP): 0
• Vezina Trophies (Best Goalie): 4

Terry Sawchuk was first scouted by the Detroit Red Wings at age 15, and the team signed him to a professional contract the following year. In 1950, he filled in for seven games while starter Harry Lumley was injured; and his performance was so good that Detroit traded Lumley away, despite the fact that Lumley had just won the Stanley Cup the previous season.

Sawchuk went on to lead the Red Wings to three Stanley Cups over the next five years. In his first full season, he won the Stanley Cup, the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, and the Vezina Trophy, which was the first of four Vezina Trophies he’d win during his career. 

It’s worth mentioning that the Vezina was awarded to the goaltender on the team that allowed the fewest goals back then, a system that remained in place until 1981. Under those rules, Sawchuk twice missed out on winning two additional Vezina Trophies by a single goal.

During Sawchuk’s era, teams did not carry backup goaltenders, and the workload took an extreme physical toll on his body. Over his career he underwent three elbow surgeries, suffered ruptured discs in his back, severed tendons in his hand, and developed a permanent stoop from years of crouching in the crease, among many other ailments. In 1966 Life Magazine had a makeup artist highlight some of the scars that covered Sawchuk’s face and body. 

Tragically, Sawchuk died shortly after the 1969–1970 season from accidental internal injuries sustained during a fight with his roommate, who was also his teammate. At the time of his death he was the NHL’s all-time leader in wins (447) and shutouts (103). His wins record stood for 30 years, and his shutout record lasted 39 years before being broken by Martin Brodeur.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame one year after his death, and in 2001 a Canadian postage stamp was released to honor him. It has also become tradition that many goalies wear numbers in the 30s as a tribute to the number 30 he wore during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Honorable Mentions

• Ken Dryden: Won six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens, and the Vezina Trophy five times.
• Henrik Lundqvist: Henrik Lundqvist is the only goalie in NHL history to have recorded 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons, and the only goalie to have 11 30-win seasons in his first 12 years in the league.
• Bernie Parent: His two-season run between 1973 and 1975 is considered one of the greatest in history, having won the Vezina Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Stanley Cups in both seasons.
• Tony Esposito: Won the Vezina Trophy three times, including in 1970 when he set the record for most shutouts in a season with 15.
• Ed Belfour: Ranks fifth all-time in career wins, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011; his first year of eligibility.

Ken Dryden started his career with a bang, winning both the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year and the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP during his first year in the league. He is the only goalie in history to have won the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup before losing his first regular season game.

Henrik Lundqvist’s 459 wins are the most by a European goalie in NHL history, and he’s the New York Rangers all-time wins leader as well. He also has the record for most shutouts in Rangers history (64), and was the fastest ever goalie to reach 400 NHL wins. 

Bernie Parent posted 30 combined shutouts between 1973 and 1975 while leading the Philadelphia Flyers to two consecutive Stanley Cups. He finished second in Hart Trophy voting in 1974, and shared the Vezina Trophy that season with Chicago’s Tony Esposito. 

Tony Esposito began his career with the Calder Trophy and a Stanley Cup. Esposito was an early pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, joining his older brother Phil Esposito. 

Ed Belfour led the Chicago Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992, but ultimately fell to Mario Lemieux’s Pittsburgh Penguins. He returned to the Finals in 1999, winning the Cup with the Dallas Stars. Belfour is one of only two players in history to have won the NCAA hockey championship, Stanley Cup, and an Olympic gold medal.

The Best Goalies in NHL History

Dominik Hašek is the best goalie to have ever stood in the crease in the history of the NHL. He’s the only goalie to have won multiple Hart Trophies as league MVP, and has the most Vezinas of the modern era with six. He holds over 25 franchise records for the Buffalo Sabres as well, including most wins, shutouts, and games played by a goalie. 

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