Wednesday MOurning Skate: Why Martin Brodeur is better than Patrick Roy

Editor's Note: this post was purchased by for a $50 donation to Movember. Feel free to disagree in the comments instead of starting a torch-and-pitchfork mob.

Arguments about which player is better than another have gone on as long as sports have existed. One common one in hockey is "which goalie is better - Martin Brodeur or Patrick Roy?" Today I aim to settle thay debate once and for all. We'll look at a couple areas of their respective games to figure it out. He asked me to keep it to two stats to compare them. So I took the 2 most important I could find:

Stat 1: Save% vs Montreal

By far the most important thing a goalie can do is stop pucks. And by far the most important pucks to stop are those shot by habs. So let's take a look. Roy of course was on the habs for a while but we like to ignore that. What's important is that Martin Brodeur is riding a .931 sv% vs the habs, and Roy is a paltry .921 sv% vs. Montreal. That's a whole percentage point better. Obviously, Brodeur is the superior goalie in the most important stat.

Stat 2: Playoff Scoring

If stopping Montreal from scoring is the most important thing a goalie can do, by far the second most important thing is helping on the attack. And everyone knows that the most important part of the hockey season is the playoffs. So, let's look at playoff scoring. Patrick Roy may have the lead in games played, but he only has 11 points in all those games. Brodeur, who is closing on Roy in terms of playoff time, has scored 13 points, and one of those was a goal! It's obvious to see which one is better here. The guy who scores more in fewer games. Brodeur, again, wins.

Non-Stat: Roy is a Quitter

Think about it. Martin Brodeur has been with his team for his whole career. He's been at it for many many years. Roy? Quit on the habs (can't really blame him for that, though - I'd want to get out of Montreal too). Quit after getting rocked by the Wild in 2003. Quit rushing up the ice halfway. But Brodeur? Nope. He's still playing, he's still passing the puck. Not a quitter. Did he quit when he slept with his sister-in-law? No. Uncle-daddy got right back on that horse and re-married...his sister-in-law.

Then again, if Lou Lamoriello was my boss I'd be too scared to quit, too.

So there you have it, Brodeur > Roy and it's not really a competition.

The preceding post was written as part of a Movember fundraiser. Thanks to Crouching Tiger Flying Bobby for the donation!