Worst NHL goalie ever

[Killion]

... Ken McAuley perhaps, NY Rangers from 43/45. The club hit hard by the War, lineup decimated. McAuley still holds the record for worst GAA @ 6.24, while in second place, Greg Millen, Starter in Hartford in 82/83 at something like 4.65 GAA..... The 42/43 season saw NY employing a platoon of 4 goalies who were even worse than McAuley however, a guy who was essentially a decent Senior Goalie playing for Saskatchewan & Edmonton in Sr play but in no way up to the task at the NHL level even with the ranks depleted throughout the NHL.

The Rangers however as mentioned, hit the hardest, desperate.... and one fugly night in January 43 the Red Wings lit the poor guy up 15X's, a 16th goal called back as it was scored during the final buzzer of the game. The Rangers meanwhile had all of 9 shots on the Detroit net through 3 periods. Clearly Ken McAuley was receiving no support from his teammates and compounding matters further, while a decent enough amateur, we'll never know if he was a guy who could make that extra step up in elevating his game, those hopes crushed early when he realized what he was playing behind was a dysfunctional mess, the entire team little more than fodder for the rest of the league.

So "the worst" I would have to say would be the 4 guys the Rangers employed in 42/43 along with McAuley from 43/45 however I think an asterisk in order... "War Years"... ranks, depth, talent depleted. Technically however, literally & figuratively, that lot would be the "worst all time". Really any goalie who made it to the NHL with the exception of that period in league history did so because they had the drive, the determination & yes, the talent to get there. So some redeeming qualities, some serious abilities & potential. Sometimes however, bad luck of the draw, confidence destroyed early or whatever. But to get that far, to make it to the NHL? These arent "bad goalies". Just sometimes "bad situations", in some cases a guy figuring "hey, I made it, top of the mountain" and then proceeds to backslide, not care, he made it, that was all that mattered & now he's bored. Sort of like Daigle & plenty of other skaters weve seen over the years. All kinds of reasons obviously.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

Olympic MVP Niittymaki? He isn't even the worst Flyers goalie in the last 15 years...

Good video find on Laskoski...I'm quite sure I am better than him haha...

He could be, but I guess you couldn't tell I was mostly joking.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

Yeah I dont like the Nittymaki mention. I honestly liked him more than Niemi when they were our tandem some years back. IIRC, he just got a serious injury and then went back overseas

Not that he was better than Niemi, my 14 year old self probably just liked his name better hahah

He was the Flyers goalie of the future that never was. He was one of the biggest culprits in our last place season which led to us getting Biron. He wasn't THAT bad, I guess.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

Yeah, he is probably about ten tiers better than any goalie mentioned in this thread...it's just a bad pick. Das it.

Clearly you can't understand jokes. My serious pick was "Red Light" Racicot.

 

[BobbyAwe]

That guy for Boston that Sittler had 10 or 11 points in one game against

 

[Doctor No]

Clearly you can't understand jokes.

Maybe explain it again, because I don't get it either.

Declaring [Average Goalie X] "the worst goalie ever" doesn't seem particularly funny to me, so maybe I'm missing the punchline.

 

[kytem2]

That guy for Boston that Sittler had 10 or 11 points in one game against

It's too bad one game can ruin your career. Until allowing 11 goals in his final game, Dave Reece was:

7-4-2 2.68

 

[Dissonance]

Is there a minimum GP threshold here? If not, it's hard to find much worse than Ron Loustel:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=8056

Ventilated for 10 goals in his one and only NHL appearance. To this day, I'm unable to figure out what possessed the Jets to call him up for that one game. Also, check out that stat line for his 1982-83 (overage) season with the Wheat Kings.

Was curious about this and found a book that had a nice little interview with Loustel about that night.

Feel bad for the guy. Winnipeg was an absolutely *brutal* team that year — winning a total of 9 games — and all of their goaltenders had awful numbers. But then the other goalies get sick and they decide to call up a just-drafted 19-year-old playing in the WHL. Winnipeg gives up 51 shots and countless odd-man rushes, Loustel lets in 10 goals (on the bright side, 41 saves!), the home crowd turns on him, the coach leaves him in for the entire game without a word of advice or support...

Loustel doesn't say so in the interview, but you have to wonder if that just shattered his confidence. He was out of the game a few years later.

 

[Doctor No]

It's too bad one game can ruin your career. Until allowing 11 goals in his final game, Dave Reece was:

7-4-2 2.68

Also, many people erroneously blame this game for his demotion. Gerry Cheevers had returned from the WHA (and was on the bench, wearing #31, for this game), and Reece knew beforehand that he would be headed to Springfield.

 

[Doctor No]

Was curious about this and found a book that had a nice little interview with Loustel about that night.

Feel bad for the guy. Winnipeg was an absolutely *brutal* team that year — winning a total of 9 games — and all of their goaltenders had awful numbers. But then the other goalies get sick and they decide to call up a just-drafted 19-year-old playing in the WHL. Winnipeg gives up 51 shots and countless odd-man rushes, Loustel lets in 10 goals (on the bright side, 41 saves!), the home crowd turns on him, the coach leaves him in for the entire game without a word of advice or support...

Loustel doesn't say so in the interview, but you have to wonder if that just shattered his confidence. He was out of the game a few years later.

Agreed 100% with the details here. Loustel didn't shine in his NHL game, but (1) he wasn't ready for the NHL yet, and (2) he had a lot of help in looking bad.

 

[Killion]

That guy for Boston that Sittler had 10 or 11 points in one game against

That was a pretty despicable situation actually, Don Cherry should have but didnt pull Rookie Goalie Dave Reece & left him out there to hang. Reece was one of the first products of the NCAA program to make it to the NHL level and had played solidly when called upon previously backing up Gilles Gilbert who that night was injured... Gerry Cheevers backing up Reece, Cheevers first game back with the Bruins after a 4yr hiatus in the WHA (and for Reece, Cheevers return the writing on the wall that he was either going to be traded or demoted no matter what).

After a 3 goal explosion in the 2nd, and Cherry loathe to pull Goalies even when it was clear their heads werent into the game looked at Cheevers who then put a towel over his head indicating he wanted no part of the Darryl Sittler Festivities taking place on the ice. Going into the game Cherry tagging Reece for the Start, saving Cheevers for their next game which was at the Boston Garden, and therefore Cheevers "Homecoming". So he just left Dave out there.... shortly thereafter, Reece demoted to the Minors where he played another season before retiring & then becoming a High School Guidance Counselor. Career over before it ever really got going as a result of bad management, appallingly bad Coaching.

Wayne Thomas, the Leafs Goalie that night (watching from the other end shocked beyond belief the guy wasnt pulled) has commented that he "really felt bad for Dave as he was a top prospect, a great example of what the NCAA could produce, another in a long line of great US born goaltenders" (words to that affect) and potentially he certainly was.... What "inspired" Sittler on that night along with a couple of others in the months & years that followed while a Leaf were some comments made by Harold Ballard that "I sure wish we could find a decent Center to play between McDonald & Thompson" circulating wildly in the press.

Ballard forever taking the Mickey out of Sittler, the Star of the team, and no one was ever going to be a bigger "Star" of the Leafs than Harold E. Ballard. His ego was that massive, just wouldnt allow for it. Harold the "Star"... just as Cherry's outsized ego wouldnt allow for an alteration in Troop Deployment once set, his guy getting slaughtered out there and so what (?), price you pay, too bad so sad.... and of course he then goes on to win the Jack Adams Award that year, validating his "genuis" as a Coach despite needlessly having destroyed a player or 3 along the way. Blowing it once again in a run to the Cup.

That record still stands btw, one Sittlers very proud of. Pucks going in off ankles, like Defenceman Turnbull's goal explosion one night as well, seemingly everything he fired at the net going in. The previous record being an 8 point night put up by Maurice Richard in 1944 in a game against Detroit, since matched by a few players, but 10 points... not yet.... So, given the context, I wouldnt paint Dave Reece as "worst goalie ever" but instead yet another promising goaltender who through happenstance, bad luck, lousy Coaching when he arrived in the NHL... much more a victim of the sometimes cruel nature of the professional game. That night followed by the demotion ending what could have been a decent career. You can thank Don Cherry & Gerry Cheevers for that one.

 

[Moose Head]

Yeah, take out the Sittler game and Reece put up some very respectable numbers for a rookie. Like really, if you're not going to play the guy on the bench, like Price in that 10 goal Columbus game last season where Montoya was really off, don't dress the guy. If it's your starters day off call up some guy from the A and let him be the backup

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

Maybe explain it again, because I don't get it either.

Declaring [Average Goalie X] "the worst goalie ever" doesn't seem particularly funny to me, so maybe I'm missing the punchline.

Maybe saying it with an exclamation point and then saying "but seriously" should have been the first clue.

 

[Doctor No]

Maybe saying it with an exclamation point and then saying "but seriously" should have been the first clue.

Oh, I see now. Yeah, that's really funny.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

Oh, I see now. Yeah, that's really funny.

Thank you, I am glad you now understand that I was joking and do not really think Antero Niittymaki was the worst goalie in NHL history.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Clearly you can't understand jokes. My serious pick was "Red Light" Racicot.

What was funny about your post ?

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Thank you, I am glad you now understand that I was joking and do not really think Antero Niittymaki was the worst goalie in NHL history.

There's sarcasm dripping from the post you quoted...

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

There's sarcasm dripping from the post you quoted...

Correct, so I responded in an overly specific and also sarcastic manner.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

What was funny about your post ?

I didn't like Niitty, so as a joke I named him. Then I said "But seriously, probably Andre Racicot". Everybody took me at face value and so I've been explaining it away ever since.

 

[tarheelhockey]

So this thread has taken a turn for the hilarious.

 

[crobro]

Fukufuji and myshkin

 

[Sanf]

... Ken McAuley perhaps, NY Rangers from 43/45. The club hit hard by the War, lineup decimated. McAuley still holds the record for worst GAA @ 6.24, while in second place, Greg Millen, Starter in Hartford in 82/83 at something like 4.65 GAA..... The 42/43 season saw NY employing a platoon of 4 goalies who were even worse than McAuley however, a guy who was essentially a decent Senior Goalie playing for Saskatchewan & Edmonton in Sr play but in no way up to the task at the NHL level even with the ranks depleted throughout the NHL.

The Rangers however as mentioned, hit the hardest, desperate.... and one fugly night in January 43 the Red Wings lit the poor guy up 15X's, a 16th goal called back as it was scored during the final buzzer of the game. The Rangers meanwhile had all of 9 shots on the Detroit net through 3 periods. Clearly Ken McAuley was receiving no support from his teammates and compounding matters further, while a decent enough amateur, we'll never know if he was a guy who could make that extra step up in elevating his game, those hopes crushed early when he realized what he was playing behind was a dysfunctional mess, the entire team little more than fodder for the rest of the league.

So "the worst" I would have to say would be the 4 guys the Rangers employed in 42/43 along with McAuley from 43/45 however I think an asterisk in order... "War Years"... ranks, depth, talent depleted. Technically however, literally & figuratively, that lot would be the "worst all time". Really any goalie who made it to the NHL with the exception of that period in league history did so because they had the drive, the determination & yes, the talent to get there. So some redeeming qualities, some serious abilities & potential. Sometimes however, bad luck of the draw, confidence destroyed early or whatever. But to get that far, to make it to the NHL? These arent "bad goalies". Just sometimes "bad situations", in some cases a guy figuring "hey, I made it, top of the mountain" and then proceeds to backslide, not care, he made it, that was all that mattered & now he's bored. Sort of like Daigle & plenty of other skaters weve seen over the years. All kinds of reasons obviously.

To make it worse I remember reading that 40 or something McAuleys relatives was watching that Red Wings loss.

But true there probably was more worse goalies in the WW2 era than McAuley. Buzinski... Hec Highton wasn´t success. McAuley did spent second year with Rangers. That tells something.

McAuley was good prospect. Was one year out before because of head injury IIRC? At the start he was compared to Dave Kerr. He was still relatively young and Madison Square Garden at those times was horrible place for goalie.

His numbers are bad, but I don´t believe he is the correct answer to this.

 

[Killion]

To make it worse I remember reading that 40 or something McAuleys relatives was watching that Red Wings loss.

But true there probably was more worse goalies in the WW2 era than McAuley. Buzinski... Hec Highton wasn´t success. McAuley did spent second year with Rangers. That tells something.

McAuley was good prospect. Was one year out before because of head injury IIRC? At the start he was compared to Dave Kerr. He was still relatively young and Madison Square Garden at those times was horrible place for goalie.

His numbers are bad, but I don´t believe he is the correct answer to this.

Good heavens, I wasnt aware of that, that he had friends, family & relatives watching in the stands. Thats dreadful, and may actually have been part of the reason for his lousy play. I experienced the same thing, same phenomena one time as a Goalie when my family & relatives all came out for a game. I was so distracted by their presence & wanting to do well that I completely choked. Let in just about everything coming at me and no backup. For sometime thereafter I BANNED all family members from whatever arena thinking it was a curse. That if they were in the stands watching, like a VooDoo Hex.

And ya, he mustve shown enough promise, and even with the Rangers losing in 43/44 was likely the reason they didnt lose by a lot more than they did so rather than bringing back Buzinski, Highton & the rest of the Sad Sack's theyd employed in 42/43, couldnt find anyone better or even comparable, went with McAuley. Bringing him back for another season.... stuck him on the wrong end of the high speed conveyor belt producing pucks at MSG & elsewhere. And obviously, he was game. A lot of guys wouldve just quit. The money wasnt that great, the travel lousy, and he'd been a fairly successful Senior player able to call the shots as to where he was playing while also working F/T.

Really, I cant come up with a "worst NHL goalie ever", anathema to me to even think in those terms actually as pretty much every single goalie who's ever played in the NHL if even for just a few minutes, a period or a single game.... they all had talent. Varying degree's of talent of course, some just not able to make that step-up or mis-managed, badly coached, brought in from Senior play, the minors or internationally, imports from Europe, Scandinavia or wherever. In ranking them so lowly, it can easily slip into a form of undeserved ridicule. Anyone's who's ever played the position at an appreciably high level or a well versed amateur including Coaches & Scouts in some cases & who understands the complexities of playing that position.. impossible not to be somewhat sympathetic, empathetic as with knowledge comes greater understanding.

That being said, and going for a stroll back through the decades, ever changing styles of play, techniques, the only real criticism I level against some NHL goaltenders would be of that kind & nature. That they werent playing with full toolboxes. Didnt have "complete game". In some cases a lack of mental toughness & focus at times. Thats not to say they didnt belong in the NHL in some cases, they could & did perform very admirably in other leagues & situations. 1980 Team USA Miracle on Ice Goalie Jim Craig for example. He was a fabulous goaltender however, maybe he just gave & left everything he had out there on the ice at Lake Placid. That in reaching that Summit, the peaks & valleys of the pro game just not all that appealing. Trevor Kidd would be another in that mold. Highly rated Junior, tremendous internationally. A million stories, reasons. But "worst"?... as I said I think that squadron in 42/43, New York, that was pretty much bottom of the barrel, though extenuating circumstances, and even at that all 4 of those guys werent "lousy goalies", they were just in over their heads, thrust as they were into a really bad situation.

 

[Sanf]

Good heavens, I wasnt aware of that, that he had friends, family & relatives watching in the stands. Thats dreadful, and may actually have been part of the reason for his lousy play. I experienced the same thing, same phenomena one time as a Goalie when my family & relatives all came out for a game. I was so distracted by their presence & wanting to do well that I completely choked. Let in just about everything coming at me and no backup. For sometime thereafter I BANNED all family members from whatever arena thinking it was a curse. That if they were in the stands watching, like a VooDoo Hex.

And ya, he mustve shown enough promise, and even with the Rangers losing in 43/44 was likely the reason they didnt lose by a lot more than they did so rather than bringing back Buzinski, Highton & the rest of the Sad Sack's theyd employed in 42/43, couldnt find anyone better or even comparable, went with McAuley. Bringing him back for another season.... stuck him on the wrong end of the high speed conveyor belt producing pucks at MSG & elsewhere. And obviously, he was game. A lot of guys wouldve just quit. The money wasnt that great, the travel lousy, and he'd been a fairly successful Senior player able to call the shots as to where he was playing while also working F/T.

Really, I cant come up with a "worst NHL goalie ever", anathema to me to even think in those terms actually as pretty much every single goalie who's ever played in the NHL if even for just a few minutes, a period or a single game.... they all had talent. Varying degree's of talent of course, some just not able to make that step-up or mis-managed, badly coached, brought in from Senior play, the minors or internationally, imports from Europe, Scandinavia or wherever. In ranking them so lowly, it can easily slip into a form of undeserved ridicule. Anyone's who's ever played the position at an appreciably high level or a well versed amateur including Coaches & Scouts in some cases & who understands the complexities of playing that position.. impossible not to be somewhat sympathetic, empathetic as with knowledge comes greater understanding.

That being said, and going for a stroll back through the decades, ever changing styles of play, techniques, the only real criticism I level against some NHL goaltenders would be of that kind & nature. That they werent playing with full toolboxes. Didnt have "complete game". In some cases a lack of mental toughness & focus at times. Thats not to say they didnt belong in the NHL in some cases, they could & did perform very admirably in other leagues & situations. 1980 Team USA Miracle on Ice Goalie Jim Craig for example. He was a fabulous goaltender however, maybe he just gave & left everything he had out there on the ice at Lake Placid. That in reaching that Summit, the peaks & valleys of the pro game just not all that appealing. Trevor Kidd would be another in that mold. Highly rated Junior, tremendous internationally. A million stories, reasons. But "worst"?... as I said I think that squadron in 42/43, New York, that was pretty much bottom of the barrel, though extenuating circumstances, and even at that all 4 of those guys werent "lousy goalies", they were just in over their heads, thrust as they were into a really bad situation.

That was also time when Canadiens hold all the cards in goalie market. They were stacked. Paul Bibeault did good in 42-43 with Maple Leafs. But he was on loan in there. Maple Leafs wanted to buy Bibeault, but Canadiens refused because they felt that Maple Leafs was cup contender and they didn´t want to "help" the team. Maple Leafs was also interested of young Gerry McNeill but Canadiens refused to loan him.

Then Montreal had Bert Gardiner on loan to Chicago with right to recall (which they used after the season). Future Manitoba Hall Of Famer Legs Fraser was 2nd on Canadiens depth chart, but he wasn´t eager to turn pro. Connie Dion was only one that Canadiens was ready to let go, but he was 6th on Canadiens depth chart.

 

[Hobnobs]

Good heavens, I wasnt aware of that, that he had friends, family & relatives watching in the stands. Thats dreadful, and may actually have been part of the reason for his lousy play. I experienced the same thing, same phenomena one time as a Goalie when my family & relatives all came out for a game. I was so distracted by their presence & wanting to do well that I completely choked. Let in just about everything coming at me and no backup. For sometime thereafter I BANNED all family members from whatever arena thinking it was a curse. That if they were in the stands watching, like a VooDoo Hex.

And ya, he mustve shown enough promise, and even with the Rangers losing in 43/44 was likely the reason they didnt lose by a lot more than they did so rather than bringing back Buzinski, Highton & the rest of the Sad Sack's theyd employed in 42/43, couldnt find anyone better or even comparable, went with McAuley. Bringing him back for another season.... stuck him on the wrong end of the high speed conveyor belt producing pucks at MSG & elsewhere. And obviously, he was game. A lot of guys wouldve just quit. The money wasnt that great, the travel lousy, and he'd been a fairly successful Senior player able to call the shots as to where he was playing while also working F/T.

Really, I cant come up with a "worst NHL goalie ever", anathema to me to even think in those terms actually as pretty much every single goalie who's ever played in the NHL if even for just a few minutes, a period or a single game.... they all had talent. Varying degree's of talent of course, some just not able to make that step-up or mis-managed, badly coached, brought in from Senior play, the minors or internationally, imports from Europe, Scandinavia or wherever. In ranking them so lowly, it can easily slip into a form of undeserved ridicule. Anyone's who's ever played the position at an appreciably high level or a well versed amateur including Coaches & Scouts in some cases & who understands the complexities of playing that position.. impossible not to be somewhat sympathetic, empathetic as with knowledge comes greater understanding.

That being said, and going for a stroll back through the decades, ever changing styles of play, techniques, the only real criticism I level against some NHL goaltenders would be of that kind & nature. That they werent playing with full toolboxes. Didnt have "complete game". In some cases a lack of mental toughness & focus at times. Thats not to say they didnt belong in the NHL in some cases, they could & did perform very admirably in other leagues & situations. 1980 Team USA Miracle on Ice Goalie Jim Craig for example. He was a fabulous goaltender however, maybe he just gave & left everything he had out there on the ice at Lake Placid. That in reaching that Summit, the peaks & valleys of the pro game just not all that appealing. Trevor Kidd would be another in that mold. Highly rated Junior, tremendous internationally. A million stories, reasons. But "worst"?... as I said I think that squadron in 42/43, New York, that was pretty much bottom of the barrel, though extenuating circumstances, and even at that all 4 of those guys werent "lousy goalies", they were just in over their heads, thrust as they were into a really bad situation.

The worst goalie Ive ever witnessed never played in the NHL but was drafted by the North Stars. Byan Schoen. When he saved a shot he would jump up (for dramatic effect) making him drop the puck. It was embarrassing.