GOAT Rank · 24

Greatest Ice Hockey athletes of the 1940s

This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.

#AthleteGOAT Score

2

94.2

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1946–1980
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 93.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 93.0
Longevity: 99.0

Athlete: Gordie Howe

3

93.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1947–1969
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 94.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 96.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Doug Harvey

10

91.5

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1947–1967
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 96.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Red Kelly

20

90.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1947–1975
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Jacques Plante

40

89.4

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1947–1970
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Terry Sawchuk

46

George Armstrong

89.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1949–1971
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: George Armstrong

71

88.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1948–1962
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bert Olmstead

77

87.8

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1944–1965
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Ted Lindsay

79

Maurice Richard

87.7

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1942–1960
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Maurice Richard

113

87.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1940–1954
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Elmer Lach

115

Émile Bouchard

87.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1941–1956
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Émile Bouchard

142

86.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1941–1955
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Bill Mosienko

149

86.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1943–1960
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Harry Lumley

150

86.0

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1949–1966
Country: 🇸🇪 Sweden

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Sven Tumba

177

85.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1942–1957
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Ted Kennedy

188

84.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1949–1974
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Tim Horton

216

83.8

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1947–1965
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Tom Johnson

222

83.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1943–1950
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 58.0

Athlete: Bill Durnan

242

82.9

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1940–1954
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Max Bentley

248

82.6

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1941–1951
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Buddy O'Connor

257

82.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1945–1955
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Edgar Laprade

261

82.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1944–1961
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Fernie Flaman

273

81.3

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1944–1954
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Herb Carnegie

277

81.1

Sport: Ice Hockey
Career: 1946–1966
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Bill Gadsby

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
2	Gordie Howe	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1946–1980	94.2
3	Doug Harvey	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1947–1969	93
10	Red Kelly	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1947–1967	91.5
20	Jacques Plante	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1947–1975	90.4
40	Terry Sawchuk	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1947–1970	89.4
46	George Armstrong	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1949–1971	89.1
71	Bert Olmstead	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1948–1962	88
77	Ted Lindsay	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1944–1965	87.8
79	Maurice Richard	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1942–1960	87.7
113	Elmer Lach	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1940–1954	87
115	Émile Bouchard	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1941–1956	87
142	Bill Mosienko	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1941–1955	86.3
149	Harry Lumley	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1943–1960	86.1
150	Sven Tumba	Ice Hockey	🇸🇪 Sweden	1949–1966	86
177	Ted Kennedy	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1942–1957	85.1
188	Tim Horton	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1949–1974	84.9
216	Tom Johnson	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1947–1965	83.8
222	Bill Durnan	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1943–1950	83.6
242	Max Bentley	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1940–1954	82.9
248	Buddy O'Connor	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1941–1951	82.6
257	Edgar Laprade	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1945–1955	82.3
261	Fernie Flaman	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1944–1961	82.1
273	Herb Carnegie	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1944–1954	81.3
277	Bill Gadsby	Ice Hockey	🇨🇦 Canada	1946–1966	81.1

Compare the leaders

Gordie Howe vs Doug Harvey

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.

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