St Louis Blues: Top 30 Goaltenders in Franchise History
4. Grant Fuhr
1995-99; 249 games, 108-87-41 record, .900 save percentage, 2.68 GAA, 11 shutouts; 31 postseason games, 15-14 record, 3 shutouts
Fuhr, a Hockey Hall-of-Famer, joined the St Louis Blues near the end of his career, signing with the Blues in July of 1995 after 14 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, and Los Angeles Kings. Despite his status as a grizzled veteran, Fuhr performed like a young player in the prime of his career during 1995-96, playing a franchise single-season record 79 games.
That was Fuhr’s finest season, as he received votes for the Lady Byng, Hart, and Vezina Trophies while finishing 30-28-16 with a .903 save percentage, 2.87 GAA, and three shutouts.
Fuhr got off to a brilliant start in the postseason, holding the Toronto Maple Leafs to one goal in Game 1 of the first round, then stopping the Leafs’ first 11 shots in Game 2 before exiting with a severe knee injury. Unfortunately, that injury would knock him out for the rest of the playoffs and limit his performance for the rest of his Blues career.
His games played and save percentages went down in each of his three subsequent years with the Blues.
Despite his drop-off in regular season performance, it should be noted that Fuhr was a steady postseason goaltender over those three seasons. Though the Blues lost a first-round series in 1996-97 to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, Fuhr was extremely effective, shutting out the Wings twice and accumulating a 2.18 GAA and .929 save percentage during that series. He was largely a victim of a weak Blues offense that scored just 12 goals over six games.
As far as helping the St Louis Blues to victory, Fuhr’s best postseason was 1997-98, when he was in net for a four-game first-round series sweep over his former team, the Kings, and then led the Blues to two wins in a six-game second-round series loss to the Red Wings. With that said, Fuhr’s postseason numbers that year weren’t as dominant, as he posted a 2.73 GAA and .906 save percentage.
In Fuhr’s final postseason, 1998-99, he again led the Blues to a first-round victory, this time against the Phoenix Coyotes, recording a shutout in a Game 7 overtime win. He also picked up two wins in a second-round series loss to the eventual champion Dallas Stars.
Despite Fuhr’s relative playoff success that year, however, he had begun to show his age during that regular season, ceding playing time to four other goalies, and, as a result, he was moved to the Calgary Flames after the season as the Blues acquired Roman Turek to be their new starter.
Though he will be remembered best as the goalie for the dominant Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s, Fuhr will long remain entrenched in Blues folklore because he was such a steady netminder for the successful Brett Hull, Chris Pronger, and Al MacInnis-led teams of the late 1990s.
Next: 3. Roman Turek