Best Clutch Goalies

[Hockey Outsider]

Who are the greatest clutch goalies in the NHL? Names like Fuhr, Roy and Brodeur immediately come to mind. I wanted to see if their reputations are justified, and I also wanted to come up with a list of the best and worst clutch goalies in history.

In order to see who "money" goalies are, I compared each goalie's regular season save percentage to his playoff save percentage. Clutch goalies should have a higher playoff sv%, meaning that they personally play better when it counts the most. There are potentially other factors to look at, but this is a good place to start. Here's the list:

Goalie, Regular Season Sv%, Playoff Sv%, Difference
Ken Wregget 0.885 0.911 0.026
Olaf Kolzig 0.909 0.927 0.019
Cesare Maniago 0.899 0.916 0.017
John Vanbiesbrouck 0.898 0.915 0.016
Nikolai Khabibulin 0.910 0.926 0.016
Ed Belfour 0.908 0.920 0.012
Grant Fuhr 0.887 0.898 0.011
Tom Barrasso 0.892 0.902 0.010
Bill Ranford 0.888 0.897 0.009
Martin Brodeur 0.912 0.921 0.009
Curtis Joseph 0.908 0.916 0.008
Patrick Roy 0.910 0.918 0.008
Billy Smith 0.897 0.905 0.008
Mike Vernon 0.889 0.896 0.006
Johnny Bower 0.917 0.923 0.006
Bernie Parent 0.911 0.917 0.006
Greg Millen 0.879 0.885 0.006
Mike Richter 0.904 0.909 0.005
Terry Sawchuk 0.910 0.914 0.004
Felix Potvin 0.905 0.909 0.004
Jacques Plante 0.919 0.922 0.004
Rogie Vachon 0.903 0.907 0.003
Chris Osgood 0.907 0.910 0.003
Dominik Hasek 0.924 0.927 0.003
Mike Liut 0.886 0.888 0.002
Ron Hextall 0.894 0.896 0.002
Roger Crozier 0.900 0.902 0.001
Gilles Meloche 0.891 0.891 0.000
Don Beaupre 0.886 0.885 0.000
Gump Worsley 0.912 0.911 -0.001
Kelly Hrudey 0.893 0.891 -0.002
Andy Moog 0.891 0.890 -0.002
Tony Esposito 0.905 0.903 -0.002
Glenn Hall 0.916 0.913 -0.003
Gerry Cheevers 0.905 0.902 -0.004
Edward Giacomin 0.903 0.898 -0.005
Ken Dryden 0.921 0.915 -0.006
Glenn Healy 0.887 0.881 -0.006
Pete Peeters 0.890 0.880 -0.010
Sean Burke 0.902 0.888 -0.014
Daniel Bouchard 0.896 0.880 -0.016
Arturs Irbe 0.899 0.882 -0.017

There are a lot of big names at the top of the list. Turns out that goalies like Fuhr, Smith, Brodeur, Roy and Belfour, who all have reputations of being great clutch goalies, actually DO perform better when it really counts. So their reputations seem to be justified.

There are a few great goalies like Hasek, Dryden and Hall who are average or worse. This doesn't mean they're bad goalies; it means that they don't elevate their play in the playoffs. This makes sense because Hasek, Dryden, etc., were already so good in the regular season it would be almost impossible to improve their play in the postseason.

Last but not least, Joseph comes in 11th place. He's always criticized for "never taking his team to the next level"; but the data here suggests that he's a great clutch goalie on par with Brodeur and Roy for elevating his game when it counts. Is it Joseph's fault that he played on mediocre teams most of his career?

Hopefully this raises some interesting discussions.

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[WVP]

I swear, Frank Pietrangelo gets no credit on these boards.

 

[Lou is God]

Billy Smith was the best I ever saw.

 

[blamebettman*]

Mike Richter

 

[Rather Gingerly 1*]

Mike Palmateer usually overachieved in the playoffs.

 

[Spankatola Jamnuts*]

Giguere: + .031 in the playoffs.

 

[12# Peter Bondra]

Giguere: + .031 in the playoffs.

The thing is, he has been only in 1 playoffs (If Im right). That COULD be considered a fluke. Lets wait and see if he performs the same way in his next playoffs.

 

[NYIsles1*]

Billy Smith was the best I ever saw.

I have seen more consistent goalies over 82 games statistically but to me Billy Smith was the greatest money goalie in NHL history. Four straight cups, five finals in a row and nineteen playoff series wins in a row. Isles ot record during that run was remarkable also.

 

[#66]

I have to agree with Billy Smith. Just a question for you Isles fans, aside from a minor scare from the Pens were the Islanders ever really threatened during their run? I remember them being so dominating that they didn't even let other teams think about a series win.

 

[Trottier]

I have to agree with Billy Smith. Just a question for you Isles fans, aside from a minor scare from the Pens were the Islanders ever really threatened during their run? I remember them being so dominating that they didn't even let other teams think about a series win.

Well, the Pens' scare (spring '82) was far from "minor", the Isles were minutes away from elimination! Otherwise, you had the Finals against the Flyers in '80. The sixth game of that series was no doubt controversial, but ultimately, in hindsight, especially in light of the three championships that immediately followed, the Isles were clearly the better team and deserving of the Cup.

Every spring from 1981-85 ('85 being the year the Isles surrendered the Cup in the Finals to the Oilers), the Isles matched up against NYR. Each were GREAT, ultra-intense series. NYI was clearly the best team in each series (and won each one) but they were the East Coast equivalent of the Flames-Oilers playoff series later in the decade, if lacking only in the number of fisticuffs.

In actuality, as is the mark of any great championship team in any sport, the later the Isles got into the playoffs each spring, the more dominating they became. As evidence, its fair to say that the team essentially walked through their Finals opponent in 1981-83.

Kind of frightening for this fan to consider that all of that took place a quarter of a century ago. Time flies.

PS - When it comes to clutch goalies, it's Billy Smith and Patrick Roy in that order. And, at least for this poster, the conversation ends there.

 

[NeoCanuck]

Hello! Why isn't Dan Cloutier on that list?

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Hello! Why isn't Dan Cloutier on that list?

I only included the goalies that played the most games, and a few more that I found interesting.

Anyway, Cloutier's regular season save percentage is a medicore 90.3%. His playoff save percentage is 87.2%. So his save percentage drops 3.1% during the playoffs! According to this data, Cloutier is by far the worst "money" goalie in the history of the NHL (that we have data for). I don't think this statement is too controversial.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Well, the Pens' scare (spring '82) was far from "minor", the Isles were minutes away from elimination! Otherwise, you had the Finals against the Flyers in '80. The sixth game of that series was no doubt controversial, but ultimately, in hindsight, especially in light of the three championships that immediately followed, the Isles were clearly the better team and deserving of the Cup.

The Isles weren't clearly the better team that season. The next three years absolutely.

 

[#66]

Well, the Pens' scare (spring '82) was far from "minor", the Isles were minutes away from elimination! Otherwise, you had the Finals against the Flyers in '80. The sixth game of that series was no doubt controversial, but ultimately, in hindsight, especially in light of the three championships that immediately followed, the Isles were clearly the better team and deserving of the Cup.

Every spring from 1981-85 ('85 being the year the Isles surrendered the Cup in the Finals to the Oilers), the Isles matched up against NYR. Each were GREAT, ultra-intense series. NYI was clearly the best team in each series (and won each one) but they were the East Coast equivalent of the Flames-Oilers playoff series later in the decade, if lacking only in the number of fisticuffs.

In actuality, as is the mark of any great championship team in any sport, the later the Isles got into the playoffs each spring, the more dominating they became. As evidence, its fair to say that the team essentially walked through their Finals opponent, in '81-'83.

Kind of frightening for this fan to consider that all of that took place a quarter of a century ago. Time flies.

PS - When it comes to clutch goalies, it's Billy Smith and Patrick Roy in that order. And, at least for this poster, the conversation ends there.

Thanks for the memories. I remember not even being that mad about the Isles win over the Pens. Being a Pens fan in NJ, I wasn't able to see the Pens alot in those days. So I would watch alot of Islander games and had a great respect for that team.

P.S. With all the great Isles moments during that time, the Billy Smith Conn Smyth acceptance speech in 83 was my favorite.

 

[monkey_00*]

...................Alan Bester

 

[Steelhead16]

Billy Smith was the best I ever saw.

I've been a Flyers fan for their entire existance and as much as all this Billy Smith talk brings back painful memories, I have to agree. But I still hate Bob Nystrom!!

 

[wedge]

PAtrick Roy was always amazing in the playoffs when he was with the habs. I've never liked him, but I have to admit he always gave us the chance to upset the other team in the playoffs

 

[acr*]

With the exception of the first two ames this year, Jose Theodore seems to turn it up about 3 notches and become damn impossible to score on in the playoffs.

 

[KOVALEV10*]

Who are the greatest clutch goalies in the NHL? Names like Fuhr, Roy and Brodeur immediately come to mind. I wanted to see if their reputations are justified, and I also wanted to come up with a list of the best and worst clutch goalies in history.

In order to see who "money" goalies are, I compared each goalie's regular season save percentage to his playoff save percentage. Clutch goalies should have a higher playoff sv%, meaning that they personally play better when it counts the most. There are potentially other factors to look at, but this is a good place to start. Here's the list:

Goalie, Regular Season Sv%, Playoff Sv%, Difference
Ken Wregget 0.885 0.911 0.026
Olaf Kolzig 0.909 0.927 0.019
Cesare Maniago 0.899 0.916 0.017
John Vanbiesbrouck 0.898 0.915 0.016
Nikolai Khabibulin 0.910 0.926 0.016
Ed Belfour 0.908 0.920 0.012
Grant Fuhr 0.887 0.898 0.011
Tom Barrasso 0.892 0.902 0.010
Bill Ranford 0.888 0.897 0.009
Martin Brodeur 0.912 0.921 0.009
Curtis Joseph 0.908 0.916 0.008
Patrick Roy 0.910 0.918 0.008
Billy Smith 0.897 0.905 0.008
Mike Vernon 0.889 0.896 0.006
Johnny Bower 0.917 0.923 0.006
Bernie Parent 0.911 0.917 0.006
Greg Millen 0.879 0.885 0.006
Mike Richter 0.904 0.909 0.005
Terry Sawchuk 0.910 0.914 0.004
Felix Potvin 0.905 0.909 0.004
Jacques Plante 0.919 0.922 0.004
Rogie Vachon 0.903 0.907 0.003
Chris Osgood 0.907 0.910 0.003
Dominik Hasek 0.924 0.927 0.003
Mike Liut 0.886 0.888 0.002
Ron Hextall 0.894 0.896 0.002
Roger Crozier 0.900 0.902 0.001
Gilles Meloche 0.891 0.891 0.000
Don Beaupre 0.886 0.885 0.000
Gump Worsley 0.912 0.911 -0.001
Kelly Hrudey 0.893 0.891 -0.002
Andy Moog 0.891 0.890 -0.002
Tony Esposito 0.905 0.903 -0.002
Glenn Hall 0.916 0.913 -0.003
Gerry Cheevers 0.905 0.902 -0.004
Edward Giacomin 0.903 0.898 -0.005
Ken Dryden 0.921 0.915 -0.006
Glenn Healy 0.887 0.881 -0.006
Pete Peeters 0.890 0.880 -0.010
Sean Burke 0.902 0.888 -0.014
Daniel Bouchard 0.896 0.880 -0.016
Arturs Irbe 0.899 0.882 -0.017

There are a lot of big names at the top of the list. Turns out that goalies like Fuhr, Smith, Brodeur, Roy and Belfour, who all have reputations of being great clutch goalies, actually DO perform better when it really counts. So their reputations seem to be justified.

There are a few great goalies like Hasek, Dryden and Hall who are average or worse. This doesn't mean they're bad goalies; it means that they don't elevate their play in the playoffs. This makes sense because Hasek, Dryden, etc., were already so good in the regular season it would be almost impossible to improve their play in the postseason.

Last but not least, Joseph comes in 11th place. He's always criticized for "never taking his team to the next level"; but the data here suggests that he's a great clutch goalie on par with Brodeur and Roy for elevating his game when it counts. Is it Joseph's fault that he played on mediocre teams most of his career?

Hopefully this raises some interesting discussions.

Nice list but one thing I dont get is that you're saying Hasek didnt elevate his play in the playoffs when he has the highest save percentage on your list of goalies. IMO you need to leave the regular season stats out and look at the stats of the playoffs alone to see who performed well. And if you do that Hasek is the man.

Roy was a great clutch goalie too as well as Billy Smith and Grant Fuhr. So yeah those 4 guys were the best I ever saw.

 

[wedge]

With the exception of the first two ames this year, Jose Theodore seems to turn it up about 3 notches and become damn impossible to score on in the playoffs.

He was good in the final two games vs the Bruins, and was the principal reason for the three losses. And vs Tampa, the Canadiens could have won two games if not for Theodore's so-so play. He never over-played Khabibulin. And he over-played Raycroft only once.

And three years ago, he was GREAT and SPECTACULAR in the regular season. and same thing in the playoffs. He struggled early vs the Bruins and was so-so vs Carolina.

I'm not impressed by Theodore's playoffs so far

 

[Poochie_D]

Theodore hasn't been SOOO bad in the playoffs... obivously just like u i feel he could do better but two second round exits isn't the worst we've seen.

 

[Habsfan 32]

I'd take Roy before any other goalie except maybe Plante.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Nice list but one thing I dont get is that you're saying Hasek didnt elevate his play in the playoffs when he has the highest save percentage on your list of goalies. IMO you need to leave the regular season stats out and look at the stats of the playoffs alone to see who performed well. And if you do that Hasek is the man.

Good point, and I agree. But there's a difference between 1) being the best playoff goalie and 2) being a goalie who raises their level of play the most. Hasek is probably the best at #1, but not necessarily the best at 2.

While I agree that Hasek looked superb in the playoffs we can't just compare save percentage because they've changed so much over the past 2 decades. I would really like to see a list of adjusted for era playoff sv%, but I don't have data for that.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

One Bernard Marcel Parent, and his back-to-back Conn Smythe's certainly deserves a mention.

 

[acr*]

The idea of being good-clutch doesn't make sense to me, because if you're playing at a much higher level, you had to have been dragging yourself and playing under your potential in the regular season. Now bad-clutch, or choking, makes perfect sense, because the pressure does get to some guys and does make them make mistakes. I don't believe in a force that makes people better come playoff time.

Now hockey is a strange case, because it does seem like everyone turns it up a notch or two in the playoffs, but that should say more about their effort in the season than their clutch ability. For the last few years it has looked like the NHL players were dragging it in the final weeks of the season, unless they were crawling and scratching for home-ice or the final seed