As many eyes of the hockey world focus on Alex Ovechkin’s chase of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, Minnesota Wild netminder Marc-Andre Fleury recently became the second-winningest goalie in NHL history. After winning game 552, he took second place, passing his childhood hero Patrick Roy and coming within 139 wins of Martin Brodeur, the game’s all-time winner with 691 victories.
Related: 10 Best First-Round Drafted Goalies in NHL History
As one of only three goalies ever drafted from the first overall spot in the NHL Entry Draft, Fleury has one of the most distinguished careers between the pipes, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win three Stanley Cups during the Sidney Crosby era. Interestingly, despite being the game’s biggest prankster, he’s one of today’s most respected players.
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Even though he’s achieved all his success in the salary cap era, Fleury has passed by some of the most iconic goalie names in NHL history, which leads us to dig deeper into the list of the game’s winningest goalies.
10. Tony Esposito* (423 wins)
Tony Esposito is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and one of the best right-handed catching goalies in NHL history. After a brief stint with the Montreal Canadiens in 1968-69, he joined the Chicago Blackhawks the following season as a 26-year-old and remained their starting goalie for the next 15 seasons.
Upon retirement in 1984, Esposito was the third-winningest goalie in league history, thanks to 423 wins collected over 886 games. Statistically, he had eight 30-win seasons, compiling a league-leading 38 wins in 1969-70, the best season of his career. Although he won three Vezina Trophies and was Rookie of the Year (Calder), Esposito never won the Stanley Cup.
9. Jacques Plante* (437 wins)
Before Patrick Roy came along and broke all his records, Jacques Plante was the greatest statistical goalie for the Canadiens. During his 11 seasons in Montreal, he was a six-time Stanley Cup winner, captured the Hart Trophy (1962) and six Vezina Trophies while compiling a franchise record 314 wins in 556 games.
Widely regarded as the first player to don the goalie mask in an NHL game, Plante was the NHL’s second-winning goalie when he retired in 1975, thanks to three seasons of 40 or more wins. Additionally, he had seven seasons with over 30 victories, setting a career-high…
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