NHL Goaltending Milestones

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 17, 2009

NHL Goaltending Milestones

Martin Brodeur

The New Jersey Devils' netminder is closing in on the career marks for victories (Patrick Roy, 551) and shutouts (Terry Sawchuk, 103). Brodeur already owns the records for at least 40 wins in a season (seven times, plus a record three in a row), consecutive 30-win campaigns (12) and victories in one season (48).

Patrick Roy

The Hall of Fame master of the butterfly style played for 18 years with Montreal and Colorado, setting NHL regular-season career records for games (1,029) and minutes played (60,235), wins (551) and total seasons of 30 or more victories (13).

Terry Sawchuk

The Hall of Famer with one arm two inches shorter than the other (the result of a childhood injury) recorded a career record 103 shutouts for five NHL teams from 1949 to '70.

Glenn Hall

The Hall of Fame iron man played a record 502 consecutive games for the Red Wings and Blackhawks (without a mask!) from 1955 to '62, when his streak was interrupted by a back injury suffered in the first period on Nov. 7.

Grant Fuhr

In 1995-96 workhorse Fuhr played in a record 79 of the St. Louis Blues' 82 games. The 1988 Vezina Tropy-winner also holds the mark for points scored by a goaltender in one season (14), set while backstopping the offensive superpower Edmonton Oilers in 1983-84.

Tony Esposito

Hall of Famer George Hainsworth set the single-season record of 22 shutouts for the Canadiens in 1928-29, but Phil Esposito's younger brother owns the expansion era mark of 15 set in 1969-79 for the Blackhawks.

Brian Boucher

Backstopping the Phoenix Coyotes in 2003-04, Boucher got desert-hot and recorded five consecutive shutouts spanning a modern-record 332 minutes, 1 second. The all-time mark of 461.29 was set by Ottawa's Alec Connell in 1927-28, when forward passing in attacking zones was not allowed.

Tom Barrasso

The most offensive goaltender of all time, Barrasso was credited with 48 points (all assists) during his 19-season career with six NHL teams.

Ron Hextall

The first goalie to score a goal by actually shooting the puck into the net (Dec. 8, 1987, vs. Boston while playing for the Flyers), Hextall is still the only netminder to do it twice. (His second tally came in the 1989 playoffs vs. Washington.) Brodeur also has two, but one was credited to him for being the last Devil to touch the puck before it went in.

Gerry Cheevers

Cheesy was between the pipes for a record 32 consecutive games without a loss for the 1971-72 Stanley Cup champion Bruins. The longest outright winning streak (17 games) is held by another Bruin: Gilles Gilbert, 1975-76.

Jacques Plante & Dominik Hasek

Hall of Famer Plante, who popularized the goalie mask, won a record seven Vezina Trophies between 1956 and '69. Originally awarded to the goaltenders on the team that surrendered the fewest goals, the criteria was changed in 1982 to the best netminder as adjudged by the NHL's general managers. Since then Hasek has won the trophy six times.

Mathieu Garon

During the 2007-08 season, the Oilers' netminder tied the mark of 10 shootout wins, shared by Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. Garon also set a single-season SO save pct. mark of .938 (minimum 20 shots) and holds the career record of .854 (minimum 40 shots).