The Best NHL Goalies of the 1980s

The 1980s was the golden era of the National Hockey League (or so I’m told).

It was a time of dynastic teams, high-scoring games and some of the best international hockey that’s ever been played.

Of course, there were also the shady owners (from ‘Peter Puck’s last stand,’ Globe and Mail, 12/23/2008), the constant violence, scrums after every whistle and whatever the complete opposite of “parity” is. (from ‘Oilers ’84: Gretzky pounds Devils, calls them ‘Mickey Mouse’,’ Edmonton Sun, 10/09/2014)

Nevertheless, the on-ice product is fondly remembered, primarily for the sheer amount of goals it produced. A large part of this scoring was made possible by an influx of generational offensive talent, which the goaltending of the era simply couldn’t catch up to.

That said, not all the goaltending was bad. The 1980s made legendary the backstops of perennial powerhouses, such as Billy Smith, Grant Fuhr and Mike Vernon. There was what could have been with Pelle Lindbergh and what was with his successor, Ron Hextall. And, of course, 1985 saw the debut of Patrick Roy, arguably the greatest goaltender to ever play the game.

Nostalgia aside, what do the statistics say? Who was the best when it came to tending goal in the 1980s?

What Were the 1980s, in NHL Terms?

First of all, when we talk about the “1980s,” we all know we’re talking about the decade which lasted from the beginning of 1980 until the end of 1989. Obviously.

However, in an NHL context, “1980s” refers more to an era of the game; an era in which goals were plentiful and superstars reigned supreme.

In 1978-79, goal-scoring jumped to an average of 3.50 goals per game per team, a mark unseen since 1944-45, while the 1992-93 campaign – a year regarded as the best of all time, saw teams average 3.63 goals per game, a statistic which dropped off sharply the following two seasons.

The peak of this offensive binge came from 1980-81 until 1985-86, inclusive when said average never dropped below 3.84.

For reference, teams in 2017-18 averaged 2.97 goals per game, the highest total since the 3.08 registered in post-lockout 2005-06.

Thus, for the purposes of this article, “1980s” shall refer to the time between the 1978-79 and 1992-93 NHL seasons, inclusive.

Statistical…