Vezina v. Benedict

Quick one today. Who was better: Georges Vezina or Client Benedict?

Two very much contemporary goaltenders, both Hall-of-Famers, both rightly considered among the best of their time, or indeed any time. So who was better?

Well, we can have a look at what the Point Allocation system suggests, which certainly isn't the answer, but is an answer. And a good one at that.

Georges Vezina

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1911	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4785	0.0	19.1	-0.1	19.0	3.97
1912	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	20.3	-0.1	20.2	4.21
1913	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	19.5	-0.1	19.4	4.04
1914	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4788	0.0	20.1	-0.1	20.0	4.18
1915	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4789	0.0	16.1	-0.1	16.0	3.34
1916	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	20.9	0.0	20.9	4.35
1917	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	19.4	0.0	19.4	4.04
1918	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.3	0.0	20.3	4.23
1919	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	18.0	0.0	18.0	3.75
1920	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	18.2	0.0	18.2	3.79
1921	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	21.1	0.0	21.1	4.40
1922	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.1	0.0	20.1	4.19
1923	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	22.2	0.0	22.2	4.63
1924	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	21.9	0.0	21.9	4.56
1925	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.6	0.0	20.6	4.29
1926	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	1	44	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.4	9.09
				1201	72006	0	298.2	-0.5	297.7	4.13

Clint Benedict

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1912	Ottawa New Edinburghs	IPAHU	G	80	4778	0.0	16.2	-0.2	16.0	3.35
1913	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	15	854	0.0	4.4	0.0	4.4	5.15
1914	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	31	1825	0.0	6.0	0.0	6.0	3.29
1915	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	79	4713	0.0	19.8	0.0	19.8	4.20
1916	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	79	4735	0.0	19.4	0.0	19.4	4.10
1917	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	73	4329	0.0	22.4	0.0	22.4	5.17
1918	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	16.3	0.0	16.3	3.40
1919	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.3	0.0	20.3	4.23
1920	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4793	0.0	23.5	-0.1	23.4	4.88
1921	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	23.1	0.0	23.1	4.81
1922	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	22.5	0.0	22.5	4.69
1923	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	24.3	0.0	24.3	5.06
1924	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	74	4410	0.0	21.5	0.0	21.5	4.88
1925	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	80	4795	0.0	10.5	0.0	10.5	2.19
1926	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	18.6	0.0	18.6	3.88
1927	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	79	4697	0.0	20.0	0.0	20.0	4.26
1928	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	79	4730	0.0	14.3	0.0	14.3	3.02
1929	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	67	4015	0.0	7.3	0.0	7.3	1.82
1930	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	23	1332	0	1.3	0	1.3	0.98
				1319	78806	0	311.7	-0.3	311.4	3.95

Oh dear, that didn't help much did it? Vezina has a better career average (though that might be due to missing stats for his pre-Montreal days), but Benedict had better best seasons. Vezina was strikingly consistent, which is quite a tribute given the shoddy defences he often played behind in his early years. Benedict generally benefited from better teams in front of him, but was still remarkable in his own right.

If I had to choose, I'd probably go with Vezina, since you would know exactly what you were going to get. Benedict could often be better, but sometime noticeably worse as well. Hard to complain about either of them.