Based on my research, he is.
Among other reasons, Hall is the only man to be voted the best goaltender in the NHL 7 times.
Can't you easily look at this a lot of ways, if you wanted? Hasek was voted first all-star 6 times, but had to beat a heck of a lot more goalies than Hall in doing so. Hasek, if memory serves me correctly, is the only goalie to win the Hart twice. He's got 6 Vezinas. And because of communism, Hasek didn't even play in North America till he had already completed 10 seasons in Czech Elite.
Essentially, Hasek garnered one fewer 1st team all star nods, against a lot more competition, playing 5 or 6 fewer seasons than Hall, while winning twice as many Vezinas and being the only goalie in NHL history to win the Hart trophy twice.
Couldn't you as easily argue all those points as you could Hall's 7 first team all stars?
If it is, here is how I see it: Hall was voted the best goalie in the NHL 7 times. The fact that there were only the 6 best goalies in the world playing at the time is no different than the 30 best goalies in the world playing today. #24 - 30 of today would simply not be good enough to play in the NHL in the 60s.
True. On the other hand, the hockey-playing population is far larger today than it was in Hall's time.
roy won with doctored equipment......
look the pics of him in the late 80's and the late 90's...see a difference?
Let's just say we have a list of the top 100 goalies on the planet today. Let's also say we have a list of the top 100 goalies on the planet from 1960. In the 60s, Hall was the best in the world no matter how many goalies were on the list. In the 90s, Hasek was the best in the world no matter how many goalies were on the list.
True but I file that into the same evolutionary argument as better equipment or better training. I don't blame goaltenders like Hall for how many people on the planet didn't play hockey during their era.
Jim Carey, Jose Theodore, Olaf Kolzig, Ron Hextall, John Vanbiesbrouck and Pete Peeters, among numerous other, won the Vezina award as the BEST GOALTENDER in the world. Does that mean they were top-6 goaltenders in the world? At the time they won their award? Yes. Career wise? Not even close. I know this isn't the all-star selection, as I don't have the results of the voting, however, the main point is the same: in a 30 teams league, some goaltenders were able to steal awards from the best one due to an awesome year. Does these guys would of played in the NHL in the 50's and 60's? Not a chance! They wouldn't of been close to be in the NHL. When Hall or any other goaltenders from this era won an award, they had to compete against 5 other goaltenders, not 29. In the 50's and 60's, the 6 best goaltenders YEAR AFTER YEAR AND ON A CONSTANT BASIS was playing in the NHL and not the 6 best goaltenders OF THAT PARTICULAR YEAR. They would of definitely lost a couple of vezinas and all-star selection due of this fact.
So while you are right to say, "I don't blame goaltenders like Hall for how many people on the planet didn't play hockey during their era," you also can't hold it against someone like Hasek who has been the best in the league 6 times against the best goalies in the world, not just Canada. It works both ways IMO.
Jim Carey, Jose Theodore, Olaf Kolzig, Ron Hextall, John Vanbiesbrouck and Pete Peeters, among numerous other, won the Vezina award as the BEST GOALTENDER in the world. Does that mean they were top-6 goaltenders in the world? At the time they won their award? Yes. Career wise? Not even close. I know this isn't the all-star selection, as I don't have the results of the voting, however, the main point is the same: in a 30 teams league, some goaltenders were able to steal awards from the best one due to an awesome year. Does these guys would of played in the NHL in the 50's and 60's? Not a chance! They wouldn't of been close to be in the NHL. When Hall or any other goaltenders from this era won an award, they had to compete against 5 other goaltenders, not 29. In the 50's and 60's, the 6 best goaltenders YEAR AFTER YEAR AND ON A CONSTANT BASIS was playing in the NHL and not the 6 best goaltenders OF THAT PARTICULAR YEAR. They would of definitely lost a couple of vezinas and all-star selection due of this fact.
By the same token, you also don't seem to credit players who are playing in an era where players are drawn from a vastly larger talent pool. When you look at the past, it's essentially entirely Canadian goalies. You look at the 40 goalies who played 30 or more games this past season and 43 percent of them are from Europe: Kiprusoff, Hasek, Lundqvist, Lehtonen, Budaj, Holmqvist, Vokoun, Toskala, Khabibulin, Nabokov, Norrena, Backstrom, Kolzig, Huet, Aebischer, Tellqvist, Niittymaki. Not one of those guys is likely in the NHL back in the day.
So while you are right to say, "I don't blame goaltenders like Hall for how many people on the planet didn't play hockey during their era," you also can't hold it against someone like Hasek who has been the best in the league 6 times against the best goalies in the world, not just Canada. It works both ways IMO.