As you can see, I would tend to agree that you are not one of the best unless you’ve beaten one of the best, and have that ‘ring’ to prove it.  I think the only Goalie without a cup during the 80s-90s on this list would be Barasso, and you can add him to yours, but I submit to you that Lemieux and the awesomeness of the Penguin offense had more to do with winning than Barasso did.  At least Smith and Fuhr were counted on to make the big save once in a while.  The only other cup goalies would be Osgood, Ward, and Giggy, and if you are confused why they’re not mentioned, well then you should just move along.

So let’s breakdown the list in order of 8th to best.

#8: Mike Vernon - Vernon a solid goalie with 2 Stanley Cups, his Flames would have been toast of the league had it not been for those dreaded Oilers just up the road, and just a smidge better.

#7: Ed Belfour - The Eagle revolutionized the way goaltenders play, with his butterfly style.  In an NHL where a good goaltender could post a 3.50 GAA and .885 Save Percentage, Eddie the Eagle went into Chicago and threw up a .910 SA% and 2.60 GAA.  All those goaltenders you see dropping to their knees today and keeping their chest up and their legs fanned you can thank Belfour for.   Throw in a ring and some Vezina hardware too, he made Chicago and Dallas a contender every year (oh yeah and the Leafs too if you think they were actually contending).  Too bad Eddie was a bit of a choke artist early going in his career during the playoffs.

#6: Billy Smith - 4 Straight Stanley Cups for Billy Smith, a modern day record really for a goalie and one we’ll likely never see repeated again given the economics of the NHL today.  Smith had a great team but did what he had to do to win.   Won a Vezina, was chosen to play for team Canada in 81 but was unable to play, and swept those young upstart Oilers for his final Cup.  Smith was also known for the ‘occasional’ use of violence around the crease to create space for himself.

#5: Bill Ranford - Surprised?  Billy Ranford  led the Oilers to the cup in 1990, the year without Gretzky or Coffey and won the Conn Smyth trophy as the Playoffs MVP that year.  He started and backstopped a championship for Canada in the final ever Canada Cup (which was later name World Cup, which later transformed into the Olympics).  He won Canada Cup MVP as well.  Then he backstopped Canada to a World Championship and won tournament MVP there too.  No other goalie every in the history of the sport can show off the hardware that Bill Ranford won.  The only significant trophy he hasn’t won would be the Vezina.

#4: Grant Fuhr - 5 Stanley Cups in 7 years (4 as the starter), a Canada Cup, and was runner up to the Hart Trophy voting in 1987, finishing only behind a guy named Mario (beating out his team mate buddy Wayne).   Grant’s also battled some personal demons in his life around substance abuse, is a scratch golfer and was one of the few Black men in hockey.

#3: Dominik Hasek - 2 Hart Trophies as league MVP and a Stanley Cup.  No other goalie was a dominant ever in a 5 year stretch as Hasek.  What other goalie could post a 1.90 GAA and .930 SA% on an average team that couldn’t score, for 70 games?  None… just this guy.  I guess the biggest knock on him was all that talent and dominance and only one cup.  Give too that screwed over a few teams (like everyteam he played for) with his injury problems and “suggested” lack of fortitude to play through injuries.

#2: Patrick Roy - Why?  Well I had to pick one.  That’s the problem, but Patty and Marty are #1’s.  It would be a cop-out to pick a tie, so here I justify why.  Both Goalies (Roy / Brodeur) have loads of hardware, are among the top in wins, shutouts, playoff games, etc.   Why Roy at #2?  Read Below.

#1: Martin Brodeur - Why?  International Play.  Marty has represented his country in international play and has Olympic gold to show for it.  When Roy  was at his best, Canada went with Fuhr, Ranford, Joseph, and then Brodeur.  Patrick Roy was often thought of as a different breed in the dressing room, and not the nicest of guys.  Perhaps he got screwed over by the “old boys club” led by Sather when picking all those international teams, but the only real edge that Brodeur gets over St Patrick is international play and success.

There you have it.