Second-Best Sabres Goalie Ever?

[Eleven]

There are some good choices.  IMO it's Miller, but cases can be made for an awful lot of others.  The Sabres traditionally were blessed with superior goaltending.  So, your thoughts?

[spndnchz]

Hasek by sure, Miller, sure there is some no mask guy that was great though. 

[Taro T]

13 minutes ago, spndnchz said:

Hasek by sure, Miller, sure there is some no mask guy that was great though. 

Joe Daley was not great. ?

[darksabre]

27 minutes ago, Eleven said:

There are some good choices.  IMO it's Miller, but cases can be made for an awful lot of others.  The Sabres traditionally were blessed with superior goaltending.  So, your thoughts?

It's gotta be a tie between Edwards and Miller.

[tom webster]

Again, I know most don’t remember but Roger Crozier was unbelievable till stomach issues did him in.

I believe Miller was number two because of Crozier’s limited tenure but after that Barasso, Puppa, Edwards and Sauve were all about on the same level in my opinion.

[Pimlach]

5 minutes ago, tom webster said:

Again, I know most don’t remember but Roger Crozier was unbelievable till stomach issues did him in.

I believe Miller was number two because of Crozier’s limited tenure but after that Barasso, Puppa, Edwards and Sauve were all about on the same level in my opinion.

Barasso, Edwards, and Sauve were all excellent.  Pupa was a notch or two below them, definitely not in the same category. 

 

[msw2112]

My personal favorite was Paul Harrison.  He wore that long white mask....But seriously, the Sabres have had a lot of excellent goalies over the years.  No doubt the Dominator was the best, but it's hard to pick a #2 among Miller, Edwards, Sauve, Barrasso, etc.  Fuhr was a great NHL goalie, but his tank was pretty empty by the time he came to Buffalo and he didn't have the Edmonton Oilers multi-cup winning team in front of him.  I seem to recall Gerry Desjardins being pretty good, but I was a young kid at the time and not really old enough to judge.  Perhaps some of the more senior members (than me) on the board can elaborate.

[dudacek]

C’mon @eleven save it for the best team thread ?

(It’s Miller)

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I think Miller would be a notch, or two, above Edwards and then Sauve.  Crozier was great and if he was at the top of his game in 1975 then who knows what might have happened.  DesJardins was brought in '75 for the playoffs and he kind of ran out of gas, or something.  

[Neo]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

Again, I know most don’t remember but Roger Crozier was unbelievable till stomach issues did him in.

I believe Miller was number two because of Crozier’s limited tenure but after that Barasso, Puppa, Edwards and Sauve were all about on the same level in my opinion.

Agree.   Crozier was a great goaltender, but Miller reached his high level and sustained it longer.   Crozier did it with an expansion team and Miller did it with high level vets.  That “favors” Crozier who always appeared under siege!  I agree with the second tier.  Edwards and Sauve were our best one/two, I believe.

Memorable:

1). Dave Dryden playing against his brother Ken in The Aud.   Their family (Mom and Dad) was there.  Dave played well.  Montreal won (like they always did, against anybody!)

2).  Joe Daley, our last unmasked guy.   He’d play a period of hockey and leave for the dressing room with his hair all a mess, of course, and then return for the next period with a perfect side part, slicked.  I was 10 or so years old, and always imagined him combing his hair perfectly between periods for a look that lasted two minutes.

3)   Desjardins and Crozier  ... two good goaltenders and semingly good guys standing opposite Bernie Parent in the playoffs, feet ahuffling during the national anthems.  Must’ve been like so many goalies staring down Hasek in the same situation.  Crozier’d been ill all year.  Bromley, I believe, was playoff series injured.

4)   Tom Barrasso with AW on his mask, for all world.  A brash you g goalie from RPI shows up and puts AU on his mask.

 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Neo

[GASabresIUFAN]

Steve Shields against Ottawa in the playoffs when Hasek was injured

 

[Neo]

1 hour ago, msw2112 said:

My personal favorite was Paul Harrison.  He wore that long white mask....But seriously, the Sabres have had a lot of excellent goalies over the years.  No doubt the Dominator was the best, but it's hard to pick a #2 among Miller, Edwards, Sauve, Barrasso, etc.  Fuhr was a great NHL goalie, but his tank was pretty empty by the time he came to Buffalo and he didn't have the Edmonton Oilers multi-cup winning team in front of him.  I seem to recall Gerry Desjardins being pretty good, but I was a young kid at the time and not really old enough to judge.  Perhaps some of the more senior members (than me) on the board can elaborate.

Gerry was good, in my opinion.   Unfortunately, he had to be nearly as good as Bernie Parent when it mattered most to Buffalo.   I recall him as a solid starter, top half of the league in a 1 - 18 way. 

[Marvin]

This is hard.  The Sabres normally had solid to excellent goaltending.  I have to pick Miller, in part because the team was so much worse without him from 2007-12.

[French Collection]

Miller is my choice as well. He played at a high level for more years in Buffalo than any of the other guys.

Other than Dom, my favourite goalie was Don Edwards.

[#freejame]

Can Miller hold the title of second greatest Sabres goalie while also holding the title of most overrated Sabres goalie ever? If so, I agree with Miller. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by #freejame

[Weave]

I'm hedging towards Miller, but it might be recency bias.  Barrasso, Edwards, and Sauve were all excellent.  I think you can make a case for Edwards and Barrasso.  Sauve might be a half notch behind.

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

I think Miller would be a notch, or two, above Edwards and then Sauve.  Crozier was great and if he was at the top of his game in 1975 then who knows what might have happened.  DesJardins was brought in '75 for the playoffs and he kind of ran out of gas, or something.  

No.   Desjardins came in late in 1975 (9 games) and took over for an ill Roger Crozier.    Crozier played great that year when healthy, which was not often.   
 

Desjardins had two very strong years after the SC playoff, then faded.  

[Marvin]

18 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

No.   Desjardins came in late in 1975 (9 games) and took over for an ill Roger Crozier.    Crozier played great that year when healthy, which was not often.   
 

Desjardins had two very strong years after the SC playoff, then faded.  

Desi got that eye injury that resulted in Edwards being called up and Al Smith quitting.

[Andrew Amerk]

4 hours ago, msw2112 said:

Fuhr was a great NHL goalie, but his tank was pretty empty by the time he came to Buffalo and he didn't have the Edmonton Oilers multi-cup winning team in front of him.  

I would disagree with this. Two years after we got rid of Fuhr, he played 79 games that season for St Louis, including 76 in a row. He also had nearly three 30 win seasons in a row (30,33,29) for those Blues. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Andrew Amerk

[Marvin]

5 hours ago, Neo said:

Agree.   Crozier was a great goaltender, but Miller reached his high level and sustained it longer.   Crozier did it with an expansion team and Miller did it with high level vets.  That “favors” Crozier who always appeared under siege!  I agree with the second tier.  Edwards and Sauve were our best one/two, I believe.

Memorable:

1). Dave Dryden playing against his brother Ken in The Aud.   Their family (Mom and Dad) was there.  Dave played well.  Montreal won (like they always did, against anybody!)

2).  Joe Daley, our last unmasked guy.   He’d play a period of hockey and leave for the dressing room with his hair all a mess, of course, and then return for the next period with a perfect side part, slicked.  I was 10 or so years old, and always imagined him combing his hair perfectly between periods for a look that lasted two minutes.

3)   Desjardins and Crozier  ... two good goaltenders and semingly good guys standing opposite Bernie Parent in the playoffs, feet ahuffling during the national anthems.  Must’ve been like so many goalies staring down Hasek in the same situation.  Crozier’d been ill all year.  Bromley, I believe, was playoff series injured.

4)   Tom Barrasso with AW on his mask, for all world.  A brash you g goalie from RPI shows up and puts AU on his mask.

5. In protest to Barrasso's "All World" and Puppa's "All Universe" monikers, Clint Malarchuk put a calf skull on his helmet with the moniker, "All Hillbilly."

[Neo]

Just now, E4 ... Ke2 said:

5. In protest to Barrasso's "All World" and Puppa's "All Universe" monikers, Clint Malarchuk put a calf skull on his helmet with the moniker, "All Hillbilly."

True?  I had no idea ....

[apuszczalowski]

I would say its hasek #1 (No question considering he was the greatest goalie to ever play the game......)

Then #2 would have to be Miller, I also don't think he is overrated, I think its the opposite, he took a lot of crap from Sabres fans who expected so much more

[Taro T]

Would give that title to Miller but had Crozier been just a bit younger as a Sabre he would have gotten it.

Would round out the top 5 with Edwards and Fuhr.  Except for his rookie year, Barasso wasn't the same goalie in Buffalo that he was in Pittsburgh.  Thought long and hard about whether to give Sauve the 5th slot or Fuhr but in the end went with Grant.  One extremely good year from Puppa wasn't enough to crack the top 5.  Too bad we had Roloson before he reinvented his game; the guy that played in Minnesota would've been top 4 for sure.

[Marvin]

On 4/17/2020 at 11:36 PM, apuszczalowski said:

I would say its hasek #1 (No question considering he was the greatest goalie to ever play the game......)

Then #2 would have to be Miller, I also don't think he is overrated, I think its the opposite, he took a lot of crap from Sabres fans who expected so much more

IMHO, Miller had the misfortune of following Hasek too closely.  After the best goalie of all time, mere excellence is a letdown.

[SABRES 0311]

Enroth by a mile.