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Hasek Deserves Your Vote
By Jim Iovino

Martin Brodeur is the man. There's no question about it. He's got all the attributions of a Hall of Fame goaltender - great reflexes, great positioning, great instincts, acrobatic saves, tremendous stickhandling - and shows it on a nightly basis.

But Martin Brodeur also has a stifling defense in front of him that allows few shots and even fewer scoring opportunities to reach the New Jersey Devils' goal crease. Call it a "neutral zone trap." Call it "Lemaire's Lock." Whatever you call it, it works.

The Buffalo Sabres, on the other hand, do not rely on a tremendous defensive system to win games. Scratch that. The Sabres do have an incredible defensive scheme. It's called "Let Hasek Stop It."

Every night, Dominik Hasek is peppered with shot after shot, scoring chance after scoring chance, and if his Buffalo Sabres want to win, Hasek has to stop them all. It is a tremendous amount of pressure to put on a goaltender, but that's the kind of situation Hasek thrives under. Rest your hopes on his shoulders and he'll lead you to the Promised Land. Just ask the members of the gold-medal winning 1998 Czechoslovakian Olympic Team, who witnessed Hasek shut out Eric Lindros and the rest of Team Canada during a shootout in the medal round.

Hasek might not have the technique of a Martin Brodeur, but he makes up for it with creativity and quick reflexes. Hasek doesn't really believe in playing angles. He's more interested in stopping pucks than making splashy glove saves. And stickhandling, well, he leaves that to the forwards and defensemen.

What makes Hasek truly great is his ability to makes saves from any angle from anywhere around the crease, yet still be in some sort of position to stop a second shot. Or third shot. Or fourth shot. You get the picture.

Some would call Hasek a butterfly goaltender. But in actuality, that term is a little too conservative for the crazy Czech netminder. Hasek would qualify more as a "pink elephant" goaltender. His style is so unorthodox, so crazy and appears oh-so-painful that Hasek looks more like a student of Timothy Leary's LSD experiments of the 1960s than any goalie coach I've ever seen.

The 33-year-old goalie uses all parts of his body to make saves, including his head (remember the shots he took in back-to-back games earlier in the year that broke his helmet?). Hasek is famous for dropping his goalie stick, dropping to all fours and diving after loose pucks with his rather unprotected blocker hand.

Hasek has proven in the past that he was the best goaltender in the league. He has captured the Vezina Trophy three times - back to back in 1994 and 1995, and then again last season by edging out the same Martin Brodeur that he's up against again this season. His worth to his team was also acknowledged last season when he picked up the Hart Trophy for being the league's most valuable player.

But throwing out all those past achievements and even the Olympic glory of a few months ago, the question remains: Who was the best goaltender in the NHL during the 1997-98 season, Dominik Hasek or Martin Brodeur? The answer, just like last season, should be Dominik Hasek by a landslide.

No NHL game this season showed the greatness of Dominik Hasek better than his 2-1 win against Philadelphia on Monday, April 13th. Hasek made 30 saves in the game that showcased the return of Eric Lindros from his concussion, including 14 in each of the first two periods. But it wasn't the quantity of shots that Hasek faced that was impressive, but the number of miraculous saves he made.

Hasek stoned Lindros on a breakaway after the big man picked up a loose puck a the Sabres blue line, then made another save on the rebound shot by John LeClair.

Then Hasek made an incredible blocker save against Trent Klatt after LeClair gave him a great pass all alone in the slot. With Hasek out of position, it looked like Klatt had an open net to shoot at. Lindros even raised his arms in celebration. But at the last second Hasek dropped his stick and dove back across the crease and got just enough of the shot with his blocker to send it fluttering wide of the net.

Hasek also made an unbelievable sequence of saves against the Flyers. The first saw Hasek stopping one shot at the left side of the crease, then diving across to stop a second shot on the other side. But Hasek wasn't done. While on his back and arms pinned underneath him, Hasek stuck his right pad up in the air to deflect a third shot that looked like it was headed for an open net.

"I don't want to call them great," Hasek said of his saves that night. "But . . .they were great."

Damn straight they were great, Dominik. Hasek made great saves all year, and his numbers show it. Let's do a little comparison between Hasek and Brodeur and see what's up.

Goalie         GP Min.   GAA   Record  SO Shots Save%
Dominik Hasek  72 4220  2.09 33-23-13  13  2149  .932
Martin Brodeur 70 4128  1.89 43-17-8   10  1569  .917

As you can see, Brodeur has played in two less games, but has 10 more wins and a better GAA than Hasek. However, I think the stat that is more telling of a good goalie is save percentage. While Brodeur's .917 is nothing to sneeze at, Hasek's .932 is just incredible. And look at the number of shots faced by the two netminders during the season. Brodeur: 1,569. Hasek: 2,149.

The difference is just incredible. That works out in the following way. Hasek had to face an average of 30.55 shots per game while Brodeur cruised through the season facing just 22.81 shots per contest. There's a big difference between having to face 30 shots a game compared to 22.

Hasek made 2,002 saves. That's a lot. How do I know? Compare that number, not just to Brodeur, but to ALL the Devil goaltenders. The Devils' goalies made 1,777 saves. That's still 225 fewer saves than Hasek! Obviously, Hasek made the most saves in the league this season. Second most? Edmonton's Curtis Joseph, who stopped 1,720 pucks.

And I haven't even mentioned Hasek's 13 shutouts, which left him just two short of the modern-day record set by Tony Esposito way back in 1969-70. That's mighty impressive, eh?

So there you have it. Statistical figures, an in-depth analysis of Hasek's season, an example of what he can do in a single game and even a reference to the counter-culture drug revolution of the 1960s. If that's not enough to make you choose Hasek over Brodeur, I don't know what could. (Perhaps a little of Professor Leary's special sauce?)

My fellow hockey fans (and sportswriters who will be voting this year), please believe the hype. Dominik Hasek is the only true candidate for the Vezina Trophy. Please use your vote wisely.

Thank you and goodnight.

Brodeur Rhymes with Vezina
by Michael Dell

Jim, you ignorant slut. Exactly how much room is left on that Dominik Hasek bandwagon? It's time people open their eyes and see that the one true Vezina winner calls New Jersey home. His name is Martin Brodeur. He stops pucks.

Brodeur is the picture of goaltending excellence. Watching him in net is watching how the position is meant to be played. He's a living, breathing instructional video. There's never a wasted movement with Brodeur. He doesn't flop around and flail his limbs like a monkey on ether. And you want to know why? Because he doesn't have to, that's why.

Brodeur is always on his angle and in perfect position to challenge shooters. He doesn't need to rely on unpredictability or an unorthodox style in order to catch opposing teams off guard. Shooters know where Brodeur is going to be and what he's going to do, and they still can't beat him.

Control is the name of the game for Brodeur. He never gets rattled. He calmly waits for the shooter to make the first move and then reacts. He rarely gets caught dropping early, which is the usual flaw in butterfly goaltenders. Instead, he stands his ground and waits, giving little if any net to shoot at. When the trigger finally gets pulled, Brodeur is usually in such superb position that most shots just hit him in the chest. And if any do seem ticketed for a corner, he's quick to flash the leather. Brodeur has one of the fastest gloves in show business and is rock solid with the blocker.

Even on the rare occasions when the opposition might get the drop on Brodeur, his skating and reflexes are more than quick enough to make up the difference. For a big netminder (6'1", 205), Brodeur moves with the grace of a cat. Or, if you prefer, the grace of a ring-tailed lemur. There are really no weaknesses in his game.

Comparing Hasek to Brodeur is like comparing a lucky bastard to a great goaltender. Goaltending is an art. Goaltending is a discipline. It's not supposed to be a flashback to "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo". Give Hasek a Run DMC tape and a piece of cardboard and he could make an honest living as a street performer. While that's swell and all, I don't think it's exactly great goaltending. And the Vezina is given to the best goaltender, not the player most closely resembling a circus performer.

Just watch Hasek, he's constantly getting away with things that other goaltenders would be sent to the minors for trying. He spends a large portion of the game on his knees or otherwise rolling on the ground. While Brodeur is all about patience, Hasek seldom waits for the shooter to make the first move. Instead he just goes into the same old routine whenever someone gets a chance. It starts with him placing his blocker hand on the ice. He then flops on his right side, stacking his pads to the left while waving his left arm over his head. This causes him to roll over on to his back. The maneuver is completed when Hasek is resting spread-eagle on his back making snow angels. Aw, that's cute. But it isn't good goaltending.

The worst part is that during this whole little dog-and-pony trick, Hasek has no idea where the puck is. It's just criminal the stuff he gets away with. He may stop the shot, but is it really something you want to hold up as the goaltending ideal? Shouldn't we expect more from the league's best goaltender than repeated demonstrations on what to do in case you are accidentally set on fire? It's admirable that Hasek is taking his public safety message to such extremes, but the whole Stop, Drop, and Roll act is wearing a bit thin.

And even the most staunch Hasek supporters have to admit Brodeur's superiority in one area of the game: puck handling. It's an adventure every time Hasek leaves the crease. Moses wandered less than Hasek. The Czech netminder seems to lose all concept of time and space when he exits the blue paint. Watching him try and play the puck is like watching Rocky Balboa chase that chicken in the alley. Sadly, I don't even think Mick, Rocky's gruff but loveable trainer, could help Hasek. The "Dominator" is just an absolute joke with the stick. Meanwhile, Brodeur is like a third defensemen. With the possible exception of Tom Barrasso, Brodeur is the best goaltender in the league when it comes to moving the puck. He didn't score a goal against Montreal in last year's playoffs by accident.

If the differences in techniques isn't enough to convince you that Brodeur should be recognized as the league's best goaltender, take a look at the stats. Hasek did lead the league in save percentage (.932) and shutouts (13), but Brodeur led in wins (43) and was a mere hundredth of a point off the goals- against lead (1.89). So take your pick as to which categories are more important.

If you go back over the past five seasons, Hasek has the better save percentage (.928 to .916), but Brodeur has the lower goals- against average (2.15 to 2.25) and more victories (160 to 141). Both men have recorded 32 shutouts.

While Brodeur's numbers more than stack up to Hasek's, the El Diablo netminder has yet to win a Vezina. Hasek has claimed three ('93-94, '94-95, '96-97) and seems to be in line for a fourth. That's just not right.

It's time the voters share the wealth. The little circus boy has won enough. Give Brodeur the recognition he deserves.

So when you go into that voting booth this election season, be certain to pull lever 1B for Brodeur. Because remember, "You Can Be Sure with Martin Brodeur."

Thank you.

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