Do you NEED a star goaltender to win a cup?

Watching Brandon Bussi backstop the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup got me really thinking. As a Rangers fan, I think the world of Igor, but I have to admit, as good as he is, as many games as he’s stolen single-handedly for us, I don’t think he’s a “must have” for a ticker tape parade through the Canyon of Hero’s.

Now I know that will rankle many a Ranger fan, but I’m starting to think it’s true. I grew up watching Roy’s, Brodeur’s and Belfour’s winning cups in the 90s and 00s just like every other hockey fan during those glorious Gary Thorne-called ESPN days. I feel like back then you did NEED an all star goalie with a pedigree to win it all.

But then at some point, for some reason I feel like it stopped mattering. Jamal Crawford, Darcy Kuemper, Adin Hill, Matt Murray… who the hell are these guys, even? Vasilevsky, Fleury, yes, I know those guys, everyone knows those guys. But the rest of those guys I wouldn’t call stars. Did they have to be good? Yes of course. They had to get hot at the right time. Are they the kinds of guys you’d build a team around? Fuck no. Yet they’ve won cup(s!). It’s funny because as high powered an offense as the oilers have had with McJesus and Leon, they’ve yet to win one in this era, and their goalies are usually huge scapegoats.

So does it matter? To some extent of course. But you clearly don’t need your top paid player or your best player to be your goaltender to win a cup. If you’re trying to build a championship roster, you should be focused on balancing chemistry, grit and talent. That will take a team far further than a world beating tendy!