I don't view Sawchuk as the best ever. I think Plante is the best ever. Yet I don't blame those who herald Sawchuk as the best ever, he was the top-rated goalie in the THN top 100 list, although the voting for that list was conducted in 1996. I also don't blame those who hold Roy as the best ever. Hasek and Hall would be my picks for the best regular season goalies ever, and while you can't give them all the blame for their respective teams' playoff failures, both goalies have had playoff issues.
Simply looking at career numbers to evaluate a goalie is a fool's ploy, just like it's a fool's ploy to simply look at career numbers for any other position. You have to dig deeper, look at matters such as longevity, peak value and playoff performance.
I also think it's a fool's ploy to simply judge goaltenders based on technique. Technique is nice, but at the end of the day, one thing matters with goaltending: do you stop the puck, and not how you stop the puck. It's much like a pitcher in baseball: find the style that you're most comfortable with, that will bring you results, and go with it. Dominik Hasek has horrible technique. Yet he's able to make it work for him.
At the end of the day, success in goaltending is probably 75 per cent mental. It's based on things like concentration, focus, work ethic, that uncanny ability to come up with the big saves at the big time, etc. Being able to read your opponents, the gift of anticipation, plus work ethic and attitude - those things you can't teach - are what separates the true all-time greats from the rest. I've seen a lot of goalies with all the physical tools - great size and quickness - flop because their mental abilities couldn't match their physical abilities.