The Muse presents: The NHL backup goaltender hall of fame

In the game of hockey, nobody works harder than the starting goaltender. Logging 60 minutes a night, night in and night out, for at least 50 or 60 games a season, he or she is the scapegoat for many a lost game and is seen as the savior for big games won.

The same cannot be said for the backup goaltender.

Most NHL clubs seem to rely on one starting goaltender. He sees regular duty and gets the call to start the majority of games. Even your hardest working and determined starter needs a few nights off a year, and he and the team need to rely on the backup to hold down the fort and keep the pucks out while the starter catches his breath.

Some NHL goalies have made a living as a number-two goalie, content to play only a handful of games a year. Even fewer goalies have had the privilege of backing up some of the living legends in the game, and hockey being a team sport, have reaped huge benefits while doing essentially no real work.

Today, I present to you my ballot of candidates for the 2009 induction into the Backup Goaltender Hall of Fame (for the goalies who have received the most acclaim for doing the least actual work).

Chris Terreri

Playing behind the winningest goalie in NHL history, Martin Brodeur, Chris Terreri knew he wasn’t getting much ice time with the New Jersey Devils. Even in his limited role, Terreri has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup not once, but twice playing behind Martin Brodeur in 1994-95 and 1999-2000.

So what did Terreri do to earn the right to place his name on the Cup amongst NHL legends? In the ‘94 -‘95 playoffs, he played a whopping eight minutes and stopped a heavy two shots on goal in those minutes.

Clearly, a guy of legend. He didn’t even see the ice in the Devils’ 1999-2000 playoff run. All Brodeur.

Terreri does have some individual accomplishments in the game of hockey. In the ‘80s, while playing for Providence College, he is credited as being the first goaltender to place a water bottle on top of his net during the game.

Nowadays, essentially all goalies place bottles on their nets and it’s Terreri who is credited with starting this mass goaltender trend. Can’t say that, can you Martin Brodeur?

Kevin Hodson

Hodson enjoyed an excellent junior career in the ’90s. He backstopped his junior team the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to their first ever Memorial Cup championship in 1992-93 and was selected the top goaltender in the 1993 Memorial Cup.

As an NHLer, Hodson was plain awful. In his seven years in the league, Hodson played in only 71 games, most of those as a backup, averaging only 40 minutes per game. NHL games are 60 minutes. How does an NHL goalie who struggles to play a full 60 minutes get his name on the Cup?

When the Red Wings won the Cup in 1996-97, Hodson was their third stringer and played in only six regular season games. Because Hodson had spent the whole year with the team and had become close with other players and staff, Detroit lobbied to have his name engraved on the Cup, even though he didn’t play in enough games to officially qualify.

That’s nuts.

Kevin Hodson’s name is on the Stanley Cup because management felt bad for him and he became friends with the real players.

Brian Hayward

Hayward found the same fate as Terreri, taking a back seat to a young Patrick Roy when playing for the Montreal Canadiens between 1986 and 1990.

In his four-year tenure with Montreal, he played in his fair share of games (141 games) and was outshone by Roy in all four seasons.

After Roy’s sparkling debut in the 85-86 playoffs that saw him not only lead the team to a Stanley Cup championship, but earn a Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP, Hayward, who joined the team the year after, found himself smack-dab in the middle of Roy-mania in Montreal and found himself essentially ignored for four seasons.

While the Habs didn’t win a Cup during Hayward’s tenure in Montreal, Patrick Roy’s stellar play earned Hayward back-to-back-to-back William M. Jennings trophies between 1986 and 1989, given to the goaltending duo with the fewest goals scored against. In that stretch, Roy played in the vast majority of games (139 to Hayward’s 112) and did most of the work in bringing home Hayward’s hardware.

Hayward did find some individual successes – kind of. He was in net when the San Jose Sharks won their very first NHL victory back when they were first introduced to the league in 1991.

That’s gotta count for something, right?