Thursday, October 16, 2014

A Look at Goaltending Statistics

With Corey Crawford passing Murray Bannerman for 5th all time in Franchise Wins, there has been a lot of talk on where he ranks among goaltending greats. As of 10/16/2014, the Blackhawks leaders in various statistical categories (100+ GP) are as follows:

Wins:
1. Tony Esposito 418
2. Glenn Hall 275
3. Ed Belfour 201
4. Jocelyn Thibault 137
5. Corey Crawford 117
6. Murray Bannerman 116
7. Mike Karakas 114
8. Charlie Gardiner 112

Win Percentage:
1. Corey Crawford 54.7%
2. Ed Belfour 48.4%
3. Tony Esposito 47.9%
4. Denis DeJordy 45.5%
5. Glenn Hall 44.5%
6. Nikolai Khabibulin 44.2%

GAA:
1. Charlie Gardiner 2.02
2. Corey Crawford 2.35
3. Jeff Hackett 2.45
4. Glenn Hall 2.60
5. Jocelyn Thibault 2.63
6. Ed Belfour 2.65

Corey Crawford is a relatively young goalie, only in his 5th season and to be ranked in all statistical categories as one of the leaders is quite an accomplishment. Glenn Hall, Charlie Gardiner and Mike Karakas all won the Stanley Cup as Blackhawks (as did Crawford), Tony Esposito and Ed Belfour lost in the Stanley Cup Finals and Murray Bannerman lost in the Western Conference Finals to the dynasty Edmonton Oilers. I would not be surprised if we eventually see #50 join #1 and #35 in the United Center rafters and/or Corey Crawford join Esposito, Hall, Belfour and Gardiner in the Hockey Hall of Fame.