BM67
Registered User
The New Jersey Devils are pleased to select the greatest goaltender of all-time, in "Jake The Snake"
Jacques Plante
He was a 7 time all-star, and won the Hart Trophy in 1962. His 6 Stanley Cup wins, 10 Finals appearances, and 7 Vezina Trophies are all records for goaltenders.
"If Jacques was in the nets today, I'd still be playing. That's how good he was." - Bob Plager
"Jacques Plante is the best goaltender I've ever seen." - Anatoli Tarasov
"He did it his own way, and he was so damn good, he could do it his way." - Red Fisher
Jacques Plante
He was a 7 time all-star, and won the Hart Trophy in 1962. His 6 Stanley Cup wins, 10 Finals appearances, and 7 Vezina Trophies are all records for goaltenders.
- HHoF BioIf not the best goalie of all time, Jacques Plante was certainly the most important - the man who introduced the art of modern goaltending to the NHL and whose influence is seen every night a game is played.
Plante was a pioneer of the style of play for goaltenders as well. While there had been other goalies before him who periodically came out of their crease to play the puck, he was the first to skate in behind the net to stop the puck for his defensemen. He also was the first to raise his arm on an icing call to let his defensemen know what was happening on the ice, and he perfected a stand-up style of goaltending that emphasized positional play, cutting down the angles and staying square to the shooter. His book, The Art of Goaltending, was the first of its kind and solidified his place in the game as not just a great stopper but a man who truly understood hockey and wanted to have an influence on how the game would be played in the future.
- Red Fisher - The man in the maskKnow something? While Blake at times hated Plante, he always insisted he was the best goaltender he'd ever seen.
"Especially those five years we won the Cup, eh?" Blake said. "I played with (Bill) Durnan, and he was the best I'd ever seen up to that time. Plante was better during those five years."
Blake knew it and so did Plante. His teammates knew it, even though he stretched their patience from time to time. It's true he played behind many of hockey's best players, starting with Doug Harvey on defence, Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, Maurice and Henri Richard, Boom Boom Geoffrion and others. The result was that on some nights, Plante's work was minimal because his colleagues controlled the puck most of the game, but he always made the big stops when the Canadiens needed them. No goaltender I have ever known was more confident in his ability to win.
- Ultimate HockeyHe was a reflex goalie with a lightning-quick glove-hand. He was also an exceptional skater - the best on the Canadiens, in fact. Such speed allowed him to roam out of his nets to stop errant passes or to fire the puck up-ice to a forward.
"If Jacques was in the nets today, I'd still be playing. That's how good he was." - Bob Plager
"Jacques Plante is the best goaltender I've ever seen." - Anatoli Tarasov
"He did it his own way, and he was so damn good, he could do it his way." - Red Fisher