ESPN NHL

Grant Fuhr was never interested in the numbers racket.

Just the winning racket.

"Everything revolves around numbers now,'' complains one of the 2003 inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame. "People are so hung up on them. It kind of bugs me, actually. This guy's save percentage, that guy's goal-against average.

"There was only one number I was ever concerned with: wins. The rest of it ... didn't care at all. Honestly, not at all. If we won 6-5 I was just as happy as if we won 1-0. Bottom line, get one more goal than the other team and I was a happy man.

"Numbers ..."

He spits the word out disdainfully, almost as if it were a longshoreman's curse.

"You can have great numbers and never win a thing."

Only five goaltenders in the history of the National Hockey League have won more regular-season games than Grant Fuhr's total of 403. In the playoffs, when it counted most, he went 92-50. And, of course, he was an indispensible part of four Stanley Cup champions.

Fuhr joins Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Glen Sather as Edmonton Oilers of that landmark dynasty of the '80s to be granted admittance into the Hall. Defenseman Paul Coffey is a slam-dunk next year in his first year of eligibility, as will be the big man, Mark Messier, when (if?) he retires.

Always a trailblazer, Fuhr becomes the first black player to be inducted into the Hall. His immense talent cut across any and all borders.

"Honestly, I figured Glenn Anderson would get in before me,'' says Fuhr, whose No. 31 was retired by the Edmonton Oilers in a ceremony on Oct. 9. "And maybe Kevin (Lowe), too. And he maybe didn't have the regular seasons other guys did, but in the playoffs he always came up big. Rod Langway's in the Hall of Fame for being a defensive defenseman. Well, Kevin played the same way.''

In an age when Hall of Fame worthiness is debated ad nauseum, there is absolutely no quibbling with Grant Fuhr's credentials. His critics will wag an admonishing finger at his highly-publicized bout with cocaine as being a black mark on the game, but if moral perfection is ever put in as a criteria for sports Hall induction, they'll be housing the things in broom closets.

Oh, and they'll undoubtedly argue the numbers, too. To those unlucky enough to never have seen him at his high-wire zenith, Fuhr's personal statistics don't stack up with those of others: a career goals-against average of over 3 (3.28) -- in fact, in only three of 19 seasons did his GAA dip under 3.00 and he never led the league in that category -- and a save percentage of under .900 (.887). Both medians of goalkeeping excellence in the current game.

But listen, for a moment, to those in the know.

"You can't compare Grant to the goalies of today,'' argues Rogers SportsNet analyst John Garrett, an old lodge member. "Or even of his era, actually. How can you compare Grant to, say, Billy Smith? Playing for the Islanders, Billy wouldn't see five 2-on-1s in a month. Grant might see that many in a game. And the Oilers' defense might even give up the pass on the 2-on-1, just to watch Grant dive across the net, arms flailing, to pull off one of those highlight-reel saves he routinely made.

"His hockey-sense was a lot better than everyone gave him credit for. I discovered this more when I got into broadcasting than when I played against him. Say he was playing the Islanders the next night. You'd be talking to him, and he'd start spouting off guys' tendencies, 'So-and-so likes to shoot high, so-and-so would always pass on the odd-man rush.' That kind of thing. Most guys would write it down; keep a book. With Grant, it was all in his head.''

Fuhr played in a different era, one long gone, now lamented, that his team, the Edmonton Oilers, revolutionized. An era of trading scoring chances, of 200-point seasons, of an ebb and flow now suffocated by the defensive mania that suffocates the game today. In the nervy game of Russian-roulette that the NHL was during his prime seasons, there was no one at his position who could touch Grant Fuhr. His style, his mental makeup, perfectly fit into the Oilers' all-out-attack approach.

"Grant was so good,'' says teammate Paul Coffey, "that sometimes I think he got bored. That's why he'd let in the odd, uh, questionable goal. He almost used that as a challenge to himself. Because when the game was on the line, when we needed that huge save to hold a lead or keep us close, he was there.

	“	Fuhrsie was this incredible safety net back there. He allowed us to play the way we did. And we won Cups being able to play that way. ”
		— Paul Coffey, former Oilers defenseman

"I hear all about his numbers ... what a bunch of crap. Forget them. Throw them out the window. They don't begin to reflect Grant's ability or his contribution.

"Fuhrsie was this incredible safety net back there. He allowed us to play the way we did. And we won Cups being able to play that way. Honestly, I can't think of a higher compliment to pay him."

Grant Fuhr may not have been the greatest goaltender ever. Baby-boomers would more than likely choose Patrick Roy if pressed, their dads opt for Terry Sawchuk, with some Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall votes thrown in for good measure. But a solid argument could be made for Fuhr being the fastest, the most acrobatic, the most breathtaking individual ever to strap on a pair of pads. His entertainment value was immenese.

It was once written, with accuracy, that he was as quick as a frisky kitten with a ball of yarn.

"Guys absolutely loved to play in front of Grant,'' says Kelly Hrudey, now a commentator on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada package. "Know why? Well, in a 3-3 game, say, a defenseman pinches in trying to create an offensive chance and, boom!, the opposition is off on a 3-on-2. A lot of goalies would go ballistic that the defenseman had taken that chance. Not Grant. He always wanted his team to push for the win. He just felt it was his obligation to make the save at the other end on that 3-on-2. That was part of job his job.

"How can you not love a guy like that?''

The image we all have, we all hold, of Grant Fuhr is the nonchalant genius; the carefree spirit who took everything -- both good and bad -- in a casual stride; whistling his way happily through life. Nothing seemed to rattle him. He seemed insulated from pressure; protected from self-doubt.

"I disagree, to a point,'' protests Hrudey.

"I played a year with Fuhrsie in L.A. And I remember one time Sean O'Donnell saying to me 'I'll bet in the history of the game, there's never been two goalies this loose on the same team at the same time.' I didn't buy it then, and I don't buy it now. I know I looked laid back. But underneath, believe me, I was paddling like crazy. I think Grant was, too. You can't be as good as Grant Fuhr was without being nervous, without being edgy, without paddling like crazy, at least below the surface."

"I think that with every goalie, even guys like Grant and Patrick (Roy), there is fear,'' says Garrett. "Fear of looking bad. Patrick had this air of supreme arrogance about him. We all do. The trick is when you do crack, to be able to get it together again quickly.

"Grant was good at that, too.''

What may surprise people most about Grant Fuhr's induction into the Hall is that he intends to make a speech on the big night. This is someone, after all, who never said much at all during 19 years as an NHLer. A smile, a shrug, and he was gone.

"I intend to go the full four minutes,'' Fuhr says. "The Hall of Fame is something that takes in an entire career, which is what make it so special.''

During his days as the best goaltender on the planet, it was often said that nothing could excite the Ice Man.

"Yeah?" Fuhr replies, amused. "Nothing? Well, I guess they were wrong.

"Because I'm excited by this."

George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.