image via Edmonton Journal

THE CHAMP IS HERE. So far in the Great Goalie Debate of 2017, as I’ve dubbed this series of arguments, we’ve seen great cases made by Christian LaFontaine for Patrick Roy and by Kyle Vandenberg for Martin Brodeur. However, your boy TJ is here to eviscerate the cases made for all other than the one true great, Dominik Hasek.

Awards

I open my argument with a simple, but strong point. Six, count ’em, SIX Vezina trophies. Only one goaltender in NHL history has won the award more often than Hasek (Jacques Plante,) and while we recognize the impact Plante had on hockey history, we can’t really include him in a “best goalie of all-time” debate because of the difference in skill level in the game between then and now. Hasek is one of only three goalies to receive the Pearson Award, as the NHL’s best player as voted on by the NHLPA. The other two are Carey Price and Mike Liut. Liut isn’t anywhere near this debate and Price might be someday but, for now, is not. Hasek has also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player twice, no goalie has won the award more often. Icing on the cake, he’s a six-time all star and a hall-of-famer. Hasek is the most decorated netminder to ever play in the NHL.

Numbers

Accolades can be deceiving, but numbers never lie. Martin Brodeur may hold the record for most wins, but I have two objections to that as admissible evidence in this case. 1) Wins are a team statistic, I cannot stand that the NHL tracks this as a goaltender stat. 2) Brodeur also holds the record for most losses. Here’s a number that matters- save percentage. Hasek takes the cake here with an astonishing .922 career save percentage, good enough for fourth all time. Who are the three players ahead of him? Brodeur, Osgood and Roy? Actually they are Tuukka Rask, Cory Schneider and Braden Holtby, each of whom have logged less than half as many career minutes as Hasek. Brodeur’s .912, Roy’s .910 and Osgood’s .905 can’t touch Hasek’s legendary number. Hasek’s 2.20 goals allowed average is the least of the players in this debate, and his 81 shutouts are second only to Brodeur, who played 531 more games.

Attitude

This isn’t something you can quantify, and I’ll concede this is where Hasek falls short to Roy, but just barely. We love watching sports because, at the root of it all, it entertains us. If you wanna talk about hockey players who brought the entertainment factor, look no further than Roy and of course, Hasek. Brodeur was always a class act (AKA boring) and the one time Osgood tried to add a little flare, Roy knocked his teeth in. The difference between Roy’s passion and Hasek’s is that Hasek brought his attitude back to the crease. I can not emphasize this enough, Dominik Hasek was NEVER out of any play. The flailing, the acrobatic saves, the pure “there’s no way in hell you’re putting the puck across that line” attitude Hasek carried is something that never has and never will be matched. But my words can’t do him justice, see for yourself.

All due respect to Osgood, Roy, and Brodeur, they’re historic goalies and some of the best to ever lace up skates. But how many times during that video did you murmur to yourself “how the fuck did he stop that shot?” or “this dude was out of his mind.” Accolades, stats, entertainment value. Dominik Hasek had it all, and is the greatest netminder ever to grace the ice of the NHL.

Stats and info via hockey-reference.com and quanthockey.com