Goaltending is one of the hardest positions in sports. It requires athleticism, durability, and mental fortitude. An NHL goalie has to read the play, watch the puck’s movement, and react in split-second intervals, all while shouldering most of the blame if a puck does get past them and into the net.
Goaltenders often don’t get the credit they deserve, and that’s what today’s list is about—looking at some of the best goalies and giving them some much-needed recognition. This is every NHL team’s best goalie in history.
Who are the best goalies for each NHL team in history?
Anaheim Ducks: Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Ask any Ducks fan who their favorite netminder is, and more often than not, the answer is going to be Giguere. Drafted 13th overall in the 1995 Entry Draft, Giguere initially started his career with the Hartford Whalers, who are now the Carolina Hurricanes. The Ducks are who he spent the majority of his career with, and of course, who he won the Stanley Cup with.
Giguere would also win the Conn Smythe as the playoff MVP that year. Pair the fact that he was the goalie in the Ducks’ only championship season, and that he never saw his save percentage drop below .900 while with Anaheim, and you have the Ducks’ best netminder.
Boston Bruins: Tim Thomas
This one was difficult. In the long history of the Bruins, they’ve had some pretty notable netminders. Tuukka Rask, Tiny Thompson, and Gerry Cheevers are just some of the names that come to mind. The initial thought was to give Rask the spot here, given that he’s the all-time leader in wins in Bruins history, but in the end, Thomas got the nod.
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Thomas was drafted 217th overall in the 1994 draft. He would make his NHL debut in 2002 with the Bruins. Thomas would play most of his career in Boston, and despite some injury trouble, he put up a stellar career. He won two Vezina trophies and a William M. Jennings Trophy while in Boston, and of course, no one can forget his stellar performance in the 2011 playoffs, when he led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup victory.
He also won the Conn Smythe that year, making him the first goalie since Bernie Parent in the 1974-74 NHL season to win the Conn Smythe, Vezina, and the Stanley Cup all in the same season.
Buffalo Sabres: Dominik Hasek
This one was really only between two guys, Hasek and Ryan Miller. They’re the only two goalies to really have a drastic impact on Buffalo hockey. Miller definitely deserves his flowers for everything he did for the Buffalo franchise, but Hasek is a staple of ’90s hockey and the NHL altogether. He was drafted 199th overall in the 1983 draft, and in 17 seasons played, nine of them were spent in a Sabres uniform.
He played 491 games with Buffalo, winning 234 and boasting an impressive .926 save percentage. He won five of his six Vezina trophies while in Buffalo, as well as two Hart trophies, one William M. Jennings, and two Ted Lindsay awards. He was the backstop of the Sabres’ 1999 Cup Final run, in which they fell short to the Stars.
Calgary Flames: Miikka Kiprusoff
Kiprusoff began his career in San Jose, but would struggle as a backup goalie for the three NHL seasons he spent there. Once he was traded to Calgary, however, he immediately became a legend. Traded in November of the 2003-04 season, Kiprusoff would play the next nine seasons with the Flames, winning a Vezina and William M. Jennings in the process before retiring after the 2012-13 season.
He would also help the Flames reach the Cup Final in 2004, falling short in seven games to the Lightning. What started as a desperation trade after losing their starting netminder turned into Calgary’s salvation for nearly a decade. Kiprusoff would play 576 games with Calgary, a franchise record, and would win 305 of them.
Carolina Hurricanes: Cam Ward
Cam Ward gets a lot of flak for being inconsistent throughout his career, but at his best, he was a pretty dang good netminder, and he’s a Hurricanes legend. Ward was drafted in 2002 by the Canes and would make his NHL debut in the 2005-06 season. He would quickly take over as a starter and would lead the Hurricanes to their first and only Cup win, winning the Conn Smythe in the process.
Ward spent 13 of his 14 NHL seasons with Carolina, setting the franchise record for wins, games played, and shutouts, which he still holds. He played 668 games in Carolina, winning 318 of them.
Chicago Blackhawks: Glenn Hall
The name Glenn Hall is revered in the Blackhawks franchise. He was undrafted, making his NHL debut in 1952 with the Detroit Red Wings. In his last two seasons with Detroit, he would play all 70 games, putting up impressive numbers in the process. He would then find his way to Chicago, where he would continue to impress the NHL with his shot-stopping prowess.
He would also continue the trend of starting every single game for the next five seasons. He holds the NHL record for consecutive games started and played with 502, a record that will most likely never be broken. He would win two Stanley Cups while in Chicago, as well as two Vezina trophies. He played 618 games with Chicago, winning 248.
Colorado Avalanche: Patrick Roy
Patrick Roy is one of the best goalies in NHL history, and he is the best goalie in Colorado’s history. Roy was drafted in 1984 by Montreal and would spend a whopping twelve seasons with the Habs before infamously having a falling out with the coach and demanding a trade. He was given what he wanted and was traded to Colorado, where he would spend another eight seasons.
Roy would play 478 games in Colorado, not including playoffs, and set the franchise record for wins with 262. He would also win two Cups with the Avs in 1996 and 2001, winning the Conn Smythe in 2001. He would also win the William M. Jennings with the franchise.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Sergei Bobrovsky
Columbus is still a relatively young franchise by league standards, and has struggled with goaltending for much of their existence. Bobrovsky easily takes the title home for their best goalie in history, likely being the only truly elite goaltender they’ve ever had. Bobrovsky entered the league undrafted, starting his career with the Flyers.
Despite promising signs, the Flyers elected to trade Bobrovsky to the Jackets in 2012. The lockout-shortened 2012-13 season was Bob’s first with the Columbus franchise, and he immediately started paying his dues. Bobrovsky would play 374 games with Columbus, setting a franchise record in goals against average and wins. He would also win two Vezina trophies before eventually signing with the Panthers in 2019, where he remains today.
Dallas Stars: Marty Turco
You could make a solid argument that Ed Belfour deserves this number one spot, especially given that Turco doesn’t have the same playoff success that Belfour does. However, Belfour doesn’t have the longevity in a Stars uniform that Turco had, or, quite frankly, the long-term stats. Yes, Turco never touched the Cup, or really had much playoff success at all.
But he dedicated nine of his eleven seasons to the Stars, putting up impressive numbers every step of the way. He played 509 games with the Stars, winning 262 of them. He’s beloved in the Stars franchise and will forever be a legend in Dallas.
Detroit Red Wings: Terry Sawchuk
Detroit has a long history of fantastic goalies. Jimmy Howard, Chris Osgood, and Dominik Hasek are just a few of the names on that resume. But we have to go with the only goalie in Red Wings’ history to have his number retired. Sawchuk came into the league undrafted and began his career with the Red Wings, and after a brief two-season stint with the Bruins, he would come back to Detroit.
He would win three Cups with Detroit, as well as the Calder trophy, and four Vezina trophies. He is the only goalie in NHL history to achieve a GAA of under 2.00 for four consecutive seasons, something he also accomplished while in a Detroit uniform. Sawchuk is often considered an NHL legend, but his legacy mostly belongs to the Red Wings, something they honored when they put his number one into the rafters.
Edmonton Oilers: Grant Fuhr
The Oilers’ dynasty in the 80s boasted a lot of fantastic players, and their netminder was no different. Fuhr was drafted 8th overall in the 1981 draft and would make his NHL debut the very next season. He would play the first ten seasons of his long 21-season career with the Oilers. He would be the starting netminder for four of the Oilers’ five Stanley Cup championships, and would have his name placed on the Cup for the fifth despite being injured.
He was also the first black player to ever win a Stanley Cup in NHL history. He would also win the Vezina trophy while with Edmonton. By the time he left Edmonton in 1991, he had solidified himself as the team’s best ever netminder, a title he should still hold today.
Florida Panthers: Roberto Luongo
Many people think of Luongo in a Canucks uniform, and while he accomplished a lot in Vancouver, he was also a legend in Florida. Luongo was drafted fourth overall in 1997 by the Islanders, but would only play one season with them before finding his way to Florida for the first time.
He would play five seasons as Florida’s starter, never having a season save percentage below .915. After a long stint in Vancouver, Luongo would find himself back in Florida for another six seasons, spending eleven seasons overall in a Panthers uniform.
His 230 wins are the most in Panthers’ history, paired with games played as a Panther netminder with 572. Only Thomas Vokoun has a better save percentage all-time than his. Despite never winning a Vezina or a Stanley Cup, Luongo had a Hall of Fame-worthy career, with a lot of it spent in Florida.
Los Angeles Kings: Jonathan Quick
This one is a no-brainer. Not only is he most likely the best American-born goalie in NHL history, but he is pretty soundly the best in Kings history. Think of any goaltending-based record a franchise can have, and Quick probably holds it for the Kings. Drafted in the third round of the 2005 draft, Quick made his debut in the 2007-08 season.
\He would quickly rise to the role of starter and go on to play 18 seasons with LA before eventually being traded in the 2022-23 season. For better or worse, Quick was consistently the backbone of LA, consistently stealing games and dazzling audiences. Quick constantly showed up in the playoffs, as shown by his record-breaking 2012 playoff performance that saw him go 16-4-0 with a 1.41 GAA and a .946 save percentage that led LA to its first-ever Stanley Cup championship.
He won the Conn Smythe that year. He was, of course, an important piece in LA’s second championship as well. Quick would be a two-time Vezina finalist and a two-time William M. Jennings trophy winner, all with LA.
Minnesota Wild: Niklas Backstrom
Much like the Blue Jackets, the Wild are still relatively young in the NHL. Devan Dubnyk has a solid case to be here as well, but we have to go with the man who was the face of this franchise for much of its existence.
Backstrom came into the league undrafted in the 2006-07 season, playing 41 games in his inaugural season. He would play all but one season in Minnesota, often being their most consistent player even when the rest of the team was struggling. Though he struggled with injuries later in his career, and that certainly affected his performances, that doesn’t take away all the work he put in for Minnesota for the better part of a decade.
He holds the franchise record for games played with 409 and the franchise record for wins with 194. He may not have seen much playoff success in his career, but that was more due to the teams around him than himself.
Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price
This was a hard one. Montreal has a long history of fantastic goaltenders. Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante, the list goes on and on. But Price matches most of those guys in stats, and you could argue that skill for skill, he’s just better than all of them. Price is quite frankly one of the best goalies skill-wise that we’ve ever seen in the NHL.
He was also highly drafted, being drafted 5th overall in the 2005 draft. He would make his debut in 2007 and would quickly make his way to the starting lineup. He would spend his entire fifteen-season career in Montreal and was, quite frankly, the main reason they were relevant through much of the 2010s.
He has the franchise record in games played with 712 and wins with 361. Despite not much playoff success, Price would win the Vezina, the Bill Masterton trophy, the Hart trophy, the William M. Jennings trophy, and the Ted Lindsay award.
Nashville Predators: Pekka Rinne
In the Predators’ 27-year history, Rinne was the starter for 13 of them. He holds every goaltender record for the Predators, and it’s not really remotely close either. He would win the Vezina trophy and the King Clancy Memorial trophy in his career. He was in 2004 and would play a total of 15 seasons, all of them with Nashville.
He would also lead the Predators to their first and only Stanley Cup Finals appearance in franchise history. While they fell short to the Penguins, you could make a case for Rinne winning the Conn Smythe that year, though it was eventually given to Crosby. He would play 683 games with the Preds, almost 300 more than second-place Saros, and he would win 369 of them. His number now rightfully sits in the rafters of Bridgestone Arena where it belongs.
New Jersey Devils: Martin Brodeur
Anyone reading this list probably saw this one coming from a mile away. Brodeur is arguably the best goalie in NHL history, so it’s without saying that he’s the best goalie in Devils’ history. Drafted in 1990 by the Devils, Brodeur would go on to play a whopping 21 seasons with New Jersey, playing 1,259 games in a Devils uniform, by far the record.
He would win 688 of those games, another Devils record. The only record Brodeur doesn’t hold for the Devils is save percentage, though he wasn’t that far behind Corey Schneider. Brodeur would be the goalie for all three of the Devils’ Stanley Cup wins. He would also win four Vezinas, a Calder, and five William M. Jennings awards, all with the Devils.
He would also score three goals in his career, although only one was a direct shot to the net. If his impressive stats and insane longevity weren’t enough, it’s worth pointing out that Brodeur successfully transferred from the standing goalie era to the butterfly era, dominating both.
New York Islanders: Billy Smith
The Islanders are one of the few teams in NHL history to ever win four Cups in a row, and they did it with Billy Smith in the net. Smith was drafted in the fifth round of the 1970 NHL draft by the Kings, but he would only play five games in an LA uniform. He would then be suited up in an Islanders uniform, having been claimed by them in the expansion draft.
He would then play 17 seasons with the Islanders. Billy was known for his attitude, racking up penalty minutes and enemies every time he stepped on the ice. But attitude aside, he was also a pretty darn good NHL goalie. He played 674 games for the Islanders, winning 304 of them. On top of the four Cups he would win with New York, he also won a Vezina, a Conn Smythe, and a William M. Jennings.
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist
Lundqvist was dubbed “The King” during his playing career, and he was worthy of the title. He was drafted in the 7th round of the 2000 draft, but wouldn’t make his debut until the 2005-06 season. He would immediately make an impact with the Rangers, playing 53 games in which he started 50, won 30, and had a 2.24 GAA and a .922 save percentage. This was just a taste of what was to come in the King’s luxurious career.
Lundqvist only saw three seasons in his fifteen-season career where his save percentage dipped below .915. He played 887 games with the Rangers, winning 459 of them. He holds most of the Rangers’ goaltending records as well. He would lead them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, but they would fall short to the Kings.
Lundqvist would win the Vezina trophy in his career and finished as a finalist a few other times. When all was said and done, he definitively finished his career as the best goalie in Rangers’ history, and possibly even the best Ranger in history, period.
Ottawa Senators: Craig Anderson
Craig Anderson is one of my all-time favorite NHL goalies, both because of his playing style and just the kind of guy he was. Anderson was drafted in 2001 by Chicago, where he would spend the first three seasons of his career. He would then spend another three seasons in Florida before spending two in Colorado.
He would then find his way to Ottawa, where he would spend the next ten years of his career. Anderson was Ottawa’s constant. He gave his all to the team day in and day out, even when the team didn’t give their all back to him.
Even when his wife was battling cancer, Anderson was dedicated to the team. He played 435 games in an Ottawa uniform, winning 202 of them and having the highest all-time save percentage in franchise history with .914. He would also win a Bill Masterton Memorial trophy while with the team.
Philadelphia Flyers: Bernie Parent
After Ron Hextall left the team, the Flyers really struggled to find any real, consistent goaltending. And while Hextall himself is a Flyers’ legend and holds multiple records for the team, Parent wasn’t that far off from him, and I think he was simply a better goalie. He played three fewer games than Hextall, with 486. He would win 231 of them, also second behind Hextall. He has the third-best save percentage in Flyers’ history with .917, but played in 5 or more seasons than the two goalies in front of him on the list.
Parent would actually enter the league undrafted as a Bruin. He would play two seasons with them before finding his way to the city of Brotherly Love. He would play four seasons with the Flyers, leave for the Maple Leafs for two seasons, then come back to the Flyers and play another six. He also led the team to its only two Stanley Cup victories in franchise history in the 70’s, winning the Conn Smythe for both of them. He would also win two Vezina trophies while with the team.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury
Now that the curtain has finally closed on Fleury’s career, it feels like the Hall of Fame is just waiting to open its doors for him. It’s impossible to forget the incredible career the Flower has had, and how most of that career came with Pittsburgh. Alongside Crosby and Malkin, Fleury helped lead the Penguins franchise back to relevance and dominance.
He won three Cups with the team, though he was injured for one of them. He was always the most consistent player on the ice, though earlier in his career, he was criticized for choking in the playoffs. He is only the third goalie in NHL history to ever be drafted first overall when he was drafted in the 2003 draft by Pittsburgh.
He would spend the next thirteen seasons with Pittsburgh, playing in 691 games and winning 375 of them. He has the team’s third-best save percentage with .913 while playing a lot more games with the two goalies in front of him. When all is said and done, it’ll be a crime if Pittsburgh doesn’t retire his number.
San Jose Sharks: Evgeni Nabokov
The only other real option here for the Sharks is Antti Niemi and maybe Martin Jones. But I think most Sharks fans will agree the title belongs to Nabokov. He was a staple for the team for years, holding the franchise record in games played by a large margin with 563. He would win 293 of those, another franchise record, while boasting a GAA of 2.39, which is third in Sharks history. He would have a .912 save percentage, which is good for fourth overall in the franchise’s history.
He was drafted in 1994 by the Sharks and would make his debut five years later in 1999. He would win the Calder trophy in the 2000-01 season and play for the Sharks until the end of the 2009-10 season. For anyone counting, that’s ten full seasons with San Jose. After a few years away, Nabokov would be traded back to the Sharks so he could retire in a San Jose uniform. After retiring, he would stay with the Sharks as a goaltending coach.
Seattle Kraken: Joey Daccord
The Kraken are only a few years old, so the options here are slim pickings. But given that the only other option here was Phillip Grubauer, this one was a no-brainer. Drafted in 2015 by Ottawa, Daccord struggled in his first two seasons with the Sens, though he only played nine games. The Kraken would claim Daccord in their expansion draft, but he would only play a combined ten games across his first two seasons.
It wasn’t until Grubauer got injured in the 2023-24 season that Daccord got his moment to shine, quickly becoming a lifeline for the struggling Kraken. Daccord continues to be a household name in Seattle and is, quite frankly, probably their best player right now.
St Louis Blues: Jordan Binnington
What a story Binnington has turned out to be. He is quickly breaking many franchise records, recently becoming the all-time wins leader in Blues history with 173. Binnington was drafted in 2011 by the Blues. He wouldn’t make his NHL debut until the 2015-16 season, where he only played one game, and it went pretty poorly. He would once again be demoted to the minors, where he spent the next few seasons. He would be recalled in the 2018-19 season, get demoted again, before being recalled again in January.
The rest is history. Binnington quickly took the NHL by storm, having a stellar rookie year as a goalie and leading the Blues into the playoffs and to their first-ever Stanley Cup championship. Despite a couple of moments of people saying Binnington may be shaky, he continues to come up large for the big moments (if the Four Faceoffs was any indication). The Blues struck gold where they least expected it with Binnington.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Andrei Vasilevskiy
For a while, you could’ve maybe said Ben Bishop, but I mean, come on. The Lightning wouldn’t be where they are today without Vasilevskiy. He helped this team win two Stanley Cups and make three straight finals appearances. He is consistently one of the best goaltenders in the league year in and year out. He’s got the franchise record in games played with 540, a significant amount more than second-place Bishop at 227, and he’s still active.
He’s won 331 of those games, which is another franchise record that he holds by a large amount. Ben Bishop is in second place in shutouts with 17. How many does Vasilevsky have? 40. He’s in first place in just about every category for the Bolts, and it’s not even remotely close. He’s won two Cups, a Conn Smythe, and a Vezina trophy, and he’s still adding to this legacy. He’s only 30 guys, just how many more records can this guy set?
Toronto Maple Leafs: Turk Broda
This one was hard. The Maple Leafs have a long history of taking goaltenders and turning them into mush or wasting their talents. I had to go way back to find their best goalie, and considering Broda leads them in most categories, I felt he deserved to be here. Broda began his career with the Leafs in 1936.
The Maple Leafs goalie would play with Toronto his entire career, eventually retiring after the 1951-52 NHL season. He played in 629 games for the Leafs and holds the franchise record in wins with 304. He also had a 2.53 GAA, which was pretty dang good for that era! He would lead the Leafs to five Cup victories in his time with them, as well as winning two Vezina trophies.
Utah Mammoth: Mike Smith
This one is complicated, as the Mammoth have only technically had one season. However, they used to be the Coyotes and are still basically the same team, so we’re going to dig into the Coyotes’ history here. Ilya Bryzgalov deserves an honorable mention here, but I’m giving it to Mike Smith, as he had similar stats and also backstopped the team to their only ever conference finals appearance.
Smith was the team’s backbone from the 2011-12 season to the end of the 2016-17 season. He was consistently their best player, and currently holds the franchise record in games played with 312. He’s third in the franchise in wins with 128, only two behind first-place Bryzgalov.
Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo
An NHL goalie so nice he gets to be on this list twice. After his first stint with the Panthers came to an end after the 2005-06 season, Luongo found his way to Vancouver and into the hearts of Canadian fans everywhere. He would play the next eight seasons in Vancouver, carrying much of their workload. He’s second in franchise history in games played with 448, but he’s first in wins, 252. He also leads them in shutouts, save percentage, and GAA.
He would win the William M. Jennings trophy in the 2010-11 season, when he would also lead Vancouver to the Cup Finals, the last time the team had made it that far in the postseason. They fell short to the Bruins in seven games, but Luongo had an absolutely insane year that year and likely would’ve won the Conn Smythe if not for Tim Thomas.
Vegas Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Vegas is still a very young team, given all that they’ve accomplished in such a short time. In that short time, however, there’s only one goalie who’s truly made a mark to be remembered, and that’s once again the Flower. Vegas claimed Fleury in their expansion draft, and he would lead them to the Stanley Cup Final in their very first year.
He would put up insane numbers in the four years he played with Vegas before they foolishly traded him to Chicago. In 192 games played in Vegas, he won 117 of them, with 23 shutouts, a 2.41 GAA, and a .917 save percentage. He would also win his first and only Vezina with the Golden Knights.
Washington Capitals: Braden Holtby
Despite a rather unceremonious end to his time in Washington, Holtby certainly made the most of his time there. He was drafted by the Capitals in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, and he would make his debut in the 2010-11 season. He would be granted the starter role in the playoffs of the 2011-12 season, and all systems were go from there. Holtby would play 468 games for the Capitals, the second most all-time, and win 282 of them.
Despite entering the 2018 postseason as Grubauer’s backup, Holtby would come in as relief in game two against the Blue Jackets and completely take over, leading the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup Championship. Holtby would also tie Martin Brodeur’s record of the most wins in a season with 48, the same year he would win the Vezina trophy. He would also win a William M. Jennings while with Washington.
Winnipeg Jets: Connor Hellebuyck
The Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and became the Jets at the end of the 2009-10 season. Despite some decent seasons from Kari Lehtonen and Ondrej Pavelec, they would struggle to find consistently elite goaltending. That is, until Hellebuyck came along. He was drafted in the 2012 draft and would make his debut in the 2015-16 season. He would be promoted to starter the very next season and has been one of the best goalies in the NHL ever since.
Despite some playoff struggles, Hellebuyck consistently wows the league with his insane numbers. He’s without a doubt the best goaltender in the league right now, and most certainly the best the Jets franchise has ever seen. He’s won two Vezinas already with the Jets and two William M. Jennings trophies. He already leads the franchise in games played, wins, shutouts, save percentage, and GAA, and he’s still playing. Did I mention he’s only 31?
