Twice led NHL in save percentage while facing the highest number of shots per 60 minutes
1995-96 was an unfortunate season for Dominik Hasek and the Buffalo Sabres. But especially for Hasek, who led the league with 30 losses. It was a year where Hasek should have won the Vezina Trophy and secured yet another First Team All-Star honor, but he didn’t because of what might just be the worst goaltender stat out there: Wins-Losses.
Generally, I share a goaltender’s win/loss record as a stat because there are fans out there that want to see it, and at times, the win-loss record will reflect goalie performance. At least to some degree. The 1995-96 season wasn’t one of those years, and it was mainly Hasek playing stellar hockey for a bad team.
The Sabres finished 33-42-7 that season, good for 73 points. Despite the high number of losses, Hasek still led the league in save percentage, at 0.920. It was the first of two instances where he paced the NHL in save percentage and in shots faced per 60 minutes.
Hasek faced the same conundrum in 1997-98. Once again, he topped the league in save percentage, but at 0.932 this time around. He also rightfully won the Vezina that season, along with the Hart. Tack on a First Team All-Star honor and the Pearson Award, and Hasek was recognized as the best player in the NHL that season.
Until another goaltender faces such a high number of shots per 60 minutes and leads the league in save percentage, it should be no contest regarding who holds the title of best goaltender in NHL history. Regardless of the number of Stanley Cups.