Oh and after watching the 1984 Final on NHL Network the other night, I see the point on goalkeeping.
They just seemed ridiculously upright and awkward to me.
I think that its equipment based though. In that era of hockey, if you'd probably get killed if you weren't upright.
Then again, how many more goals would have been scored with composite sticks?
The biggest change in goalie equipment are their pads. Through the '80s they were still using leather pads, which has two major effects on style of play:
1) They slide over the ice. Modern pads have friction against the ice, allowing butterfly goaltenders to get back to their feet quickly. Leather pads just slid. Once you went down with leather pads, you accepting your fate that you were not getting back up until play left the danger zone.
2) The leather pads soaked up water. I can't remember the exact numbers old-school goalies have quoted, but the number twenty pounds sticks out to me. That was how much more the pads weighed by the end of the game than at the start.
Then there is the fact there used to be two ways guys ended up as goalies:
1) You were a little bit off and volunteered at a young age----
or
2) You were one of the worst skaters on the team at a young age, so you got stuck in net because it didn't matter so much.
These changed alot after Patrick Roy. Lots of French-Canadian kids who were some of the more skilled guys on their teams started choosing to be goaltenders, leading to a huge flood of butterfly goalies out of Quebec. That, changes in equipment and the shift to a more defensive game made the goaltender arguably the single most important player on his team, and more kids started choosing to be goalies.
The position has changed a lot since the early 1980s, just like it had changed alot from the 1950s to the 1980s. Goalies are very hard to compare from era to era, you have to compare them against their peers.
That being said, I'd argue Fuhr was better than Smith. The stats are comparable, but as everyone likes to point out, the Isles defence and system protected Smith more. Fuhr played for a team that---regular season at least---felt that a W was a W, no matter what the score was. No real difference between winning 4-2 and winning 13-8.
It wouldn't be Fuhr or Smith deciding the series anyway. If we are taking about teams at the peak of their ability, its very hard to argue against a team that could send the top six at you that the 1988 Oilers could. Their bottom six were not that bad either. Plus, their defence group has always been quite underrated. Kevin Lowe, Steve Smith, Jeff Beukeboom, Randy Gregg, Craig Muni, Charlie Huddy and Marty McSorley might not be as sexy as some other d-groups, but they got the job done quite admirably. They lack the puck moving of a Coffey, but as a defensive group they were quite good at keeping the puck out.
They lack a Potvin, but after that, compare quite well to the Isles group.
Goalies are at worst, equal.
Defence corp gets and edge to the Isles for Potvin, but rest of the groups are a wash.
Forwards go to the Oilers. The best of the Oil is better than the best of Isles, while the Isles role players may be better than the Oil role players, its your best players that win games. And the Oilers have, overall, the best players.
Hopefully that was coherent enough.
