TheDevilMadeMe
Registered User
It's not as different as you make it out to be, but yes, I am aware of the difference here. Belfour was definitely the better regular season goalie, though they are not nearly as far apart in that aspect as their draft positions would indicate, and Barrasso has easily the better postseason credentials. Belfour was a good playoff player, himself, but was never a realistic Conn Smythe candidate, which Barrasso was twice. The Eagle was probably no better than the 4th best performer on that Dallas Cup winner after Modano (who should have won the Conn Smythe), Nieuwendyk and Hatcher.
Taken on the whole, they are really quite close.
Heh, I think Belfour was quite clearly the better overall postseason performer. Not that you are overrating Barrasso, just underrating Belfour I think.
Belfour had a couple of relatively poor efforts earlier in his career, but after that was consistently strong in the postseason. Barrasso was incredibly up and down in the playoffs after his two Cups. Belfour never had lows that low.
And I think you are really underrating Belfour's performances in Dallas. He "outdueled" an excellent Patrick Roy twice in the playoffs in the late 90s. Many people also thought he would win the Smythe if Dallas won in 2000.
To me, their playoffs are similar to their regular seasons - similar highs, but Barrasso had more frequent and lower lows.
And I know you aren't a fan of goalie stats at all (even less than me), but Belfour has one of the best "playoff peaks" of all time in the late 90s, determined by GVT. I bring it up as relevant, because it confirms how I viewed him - as unbeatable as anybody once the postseason started.
(A good pick now obviously, but no Belfour).
As a Devils fan, this sounds weird I guess, but I think the gap between Belfour and Barrasso is bigger than the gap between Brodeur and Belfour.