Best Sports Debates - Best NHL Goalie Ever

If I were writing this post based on my own perception of who the best NHL goalie ever was, it would come down to a choice between two of the greatest: Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. But, in an effort to bring a bit of objectivity to the discussion, I'll use the same general logic that was used in selecting the best NFL quarterback and best NFL running back of all-time. Let's take a look at the stats.

Top 5 Goalies in:


Career Wins
Martin Brodeur
Patrick Roy
Ed Belfour
Curtis Joseph
Terry Sawchuk

Saves
Patrick Roy
Martin Brodeur
Curtis Joseph
Ed Belfour
John Vanbiesbrouck

Save Percentage
Dominik Hasek
Tim Thomas
Niklas Backstrom
Roberto Luongo
Henrik Lundqvist

Goals Against Average
Alec Connell
George Hainsworth
Charlie Gardiner
Lorne Chabot
Tiny Thompson

Shutouts
Martin Brodeur
Terry Sawchuk
George Hainsworth
Glenn Hall
Jacques Plante

Vezina Trophy Wins
Jacques Plante
Bill Durnan
Dominik Hasek
Ken Dryden
Tiny Thompson
Michel Larocque
Martin Brodeur
Terry Sawchuk

(Thompson, Larocque, Brodeur and Sawchuk all had four wins here, tying for 5th place)

If a goalie appears on any two or more of the six above lists, then he will be included in the analysis for the greatest goalie ever. The candidates then are: Martin Brodeur, Terry Sawchuk, George Hainsworth, Patrick Roy, Curtis Joseph, Dominik Hasek, Jacques Plante, Tiny Thompson and Ed Belfour.

Okay, now that we have our goalies, we'll compare all nine of them by the above categories, and give them points for where they rank. Here are the goalies ranked from top to bottom in each category by where they stand comparatively, from a statistical record point-of-view:

Wins
Martin Brodeur
Patrick Roy
Ed Belfour
Curtis Joseph
Terry Sawchuk
Jacques Plante
Dominik Hasek
Tiny Thompson
George Hainsworth

Saves
Patrick Roy
Martin Brodeur
Curtis Joseph
Ed Belfour
Dominik Hasek
Tiny Thompson
Jacques Plante
Terry Sawchuk
George Hainsworth

(Note: Save stats were note kept during the playing careers of Thompson, Plante, Sawchuk and Hainsworth, so they will all receive the median amount of points in this category. This category is kept for the purposes of determining the best goalie, because of its importance, even though earlier NHL goalies may not have had their saves tracked.)

Save Percentage
Dominik Hasek
Martin Brodeur
Patrick Roy
Ed Belfour
Curtis Joseph
Tiny ThompsonJacques PlanteTerry SawchukGeorge Hainsworth
(The note above applies to the above category / list as well).
Goals Against AverageGeorge HainsworthTiny ThompsonDominik HasekMartin BrodeurJacques PlanteEd BelfourTerry SawchukPatrick RoyCurtis Joseph
ShutoutsMartin BrodeurTerry SawchukGeorge HainsworthJacques PlanteDominik Hasek (T)Tiny Thompson (T)Ed BelfourPatrick RoyCurtis Joseph
Vezina Trophy WinsJacques PlanteDominik Hasek (T1)Tiny Thompson (T1)Martin Brodeur (T2)Terry Sawchuk (T2)Patrick Roy (T3)George Hainsworth (T3)Ed BelfourCurtis Joseph
If you give a point to each goalie, based on where they fall in the standings from 1 through 9 (accounting for ties and the median points given to the goalies who don't have save or save percentage stats), and then sum those points from each of the six categories, or lists, this is how the best goalies stack up, statistically:
1) Martin Brodeur - 46 points2) Jacques Plante - 38 points3) Dominik Hasek (tie) - 37 points3) Tiny Thompson (tie) - 37 points5) Terry Sawchuk (tie) - 36 points5) George Hainsworth (tie) - 36 points7) Patrick Roy - 32 points8) Ed Belfour - 28 points9) Curtis Joseph - 21 points
Not exactly where I thought they'd shake out. I figured Brodeur and Plante would be near the top, but surprised that Roy isn't up near the top with them. For sake of argument, if we say that saves and save percentage should be removed from the tally, let's look at how they'd rank with just the four other categories:
1) Martin Brodeur - 30 points2) Jacques Plante - 24 points3) Dominik Hasek (tie) - 23 points3) Tiny Thompson (tie) - 23 points5) George Hainsworth (tie) - 22 points5) Terry Sawchuk (tie) - 22 points7) Patrick Roy (tie) - 16 points7) Ed Belfour (tie) - 16 points9) Curtis Joseph - 9 points
Not much of a difference in the rankings at all, other than Roy and Belfour matching for the 7 slot.

Agree? Disagree? Why?