From 1935 to 1970, there is a very simple algorithm to determine the First Team All-Star goalie. Look at all the goalies who played in at least 75% of their team's games, rank them by goals against average, and take the guy at the top of the list. That's the First Team All-Star. That solution worked in 30 out of 36 seasons, all of them except for 1957, 1958, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1969. Here are the goalies who were named First Team All-Star ahead of the high-minutes GAA leader in those seasons:
1957: Glenn Hall
1958: Glenn Hall
1960: Glenn Hall
1964: Glenn Hall
1968: Gump Worsley**
1969: Glenn Hall
**-Led the league in GAA by a wide margin but did not play in 75% of his team's games during a season where all of the top 4 guys in GAA were in platoon situations.
Glenn Hall was quite obviously the exception to the rule. That he was the only guy to get named the league's best goalie without playing on one of the league's top defensive teams reflects well on him, and it's even more impressive that he did it 5 times. That shows that he was considered a difference-maker and is evidence of why he is considered one of the best goalies to ever play the game.
http://brodeurisafraud.blogspot.com/2009/09/dont-always-believe-your-lying-eyes.html
hall's sv% (from hockeydb) and rank in those seasons
'57: .927 (1st)
'58: .909 (tied for 5th with marcel paille)*
'60: .918 (2nd to bower's .919)
'64: .929 (2nd to bower's .933)
'69: .928 (2nd to teammate plante's .940)
* flyershistory calculated hall's sv% as .908 in this thread:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=675698
hall played 14 more games than bower in '64. hall played more games than plante in '69, and i think overpass has posted that plante usually faced weaker teams than hall in STL.
'58 is also strange, b/c chicago had a bad record (24-39-7) and missed the playoffs (and were not close to making the playoffs).
hall was also 5th in hart voting in '58.
1957-58
HART: (315/324, 138-155)
1. Gordie Howe, Det RW 105 (47-58)
2. Andy Bathgate, NYR RW 70 (11-59)
3. Doug Harvey, Mtl D 41 (27-14)
4. Henri Richard, Mtl C 40 (30-10)
5. Glenn Hall, Chi G 37 (23-14)
6. Bill Gadsby, NYR D 9
7. Camille Henry, NYR C 6
8. Dickie Moore, Mtl LW 4
9. Fleming Mackell, Bos C 3
10. seven players with one point