An interesting point in the "Greatest Goaltenders Ever" debate

[Garbs]

I was watching analysts on Leafs TV discuss the issue, and someone brought up Bernie Parent, and how he's often overlooked on these lists. He went on to say that Parent probably spent more time short-handed on average than most other notable elite goaltenders, and that should count for a lot. And I agree with him.

So it got me thinking, is there any kind of stats in existence that shows which goaltenders spent more time short-handed on average and throughout their careers? And if not, who do you think would be near the top of the list?

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[Big Phil]

I think too that Parent is underrated at times. His 73-74 and '74-75 seasons are among the best in NHL history. But its hard to say how many times he would play shorthanded. Probably a bit more because of the Flyers though.

I would assume that Gerry Cheevers had to play short handed a time or two tending goal for the Bruins. The Bruins had that stellar power play too but they took their share of penalties too.

 

[BNHL]

The Big Bad Bruins, though hard to believe, had leading PIMs of 100-150.I watched one brawl where every single player was involved and Sanderson was fighting in the runway and the penalty minutes were 35 total!!!!I could not believe it.In today's game it would have been in the thousands!The point being that Parent had players in the 200-300 range. Never thought about this before,seems valid.

 

[MS]

Parent is an interesting case.

He had possibly the two most dominant seasons ever by a goaltender from 73-75. Both years won the Vezina (when it was the equivalent of the Jennings), was a 1st-team All-Star, would've won the Vezina in its current form, and won the Conn Smythe both years as well.

But the rest of his career was actually somewhat spotty. Before 1973, he was never an elite goalie - was inconsistent and kicked around from Philly to Toronto to the WHA. After 1975, he was plagued by back problems and only played 1 more full season before an eye injury ultimately ended his career.

So for me it's kind of hard to rank him - at his peak, he was at the level of the all-time greats, but he wasn't there for long and his career as a whole doesn't really stack up all that well. The definition of a 'short prime' player who made the HHOF.

 

[reckoning]

For the Flyers two Cup years, the teams who had to kill the most penalties:

1974:

1. Philadelphia 422
2. St. Loius 313
3. Vancouver 269
4. Toronto 266
5. NY Islanders 262

1975:

1. Philadelphia 466
2. NY Islanders 340
3. Detroit 339
4. St. Louis 329
5. Buffalo 326

So Parent was definitely forced to play against the oppositions power-play a lot more often than other goalies. The Flyers did have some awesome penalty killers in front of him though like Clarke and Van Impe.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Parent is an interesting case.

He had possibly the two most dominant seasons ever by a goaltender from 73-75. Both years won the Vezina (when it was the equivalent of the Jennings), was a 1st-team All-Star, would've won the Vezina in its current form, and won the Conn Smythe both years as well.

But the rest of his career was actually somewhat spotty. Before 1973, he was never an elite goalie - was inconsistent and kicked around from Philly to Toronto to the WHA. After 1975, he was plagued by back problems and only played 1 more full season before an eye injury ultimately ended his career.

So for me it's kind of hard to rank him - at his peak, he was at the level of the all-time greats, but he wasn't there for long and his career as a whole doesn't really stack up all that well. The definition of a 'short prime' player who made the HHOF.

Absolutely correct.

His peak is as good or better than anyone that's ever played the game. Longevity and career wise he doesn't stack up against the best of the best.