Butterfly style
A goaltending technique that drops to the knees to block low shots.
In ice hockey, the butterfly style is a goaltending method where the goalie drops to their knees to block shots aimed at the lower part of the net. The name comes from how the spread leg pads and gloves resemble a butterfly’s wings. This approach is the opposite of the stand-up style, in which the goalie stays on their feet to stop most shots.
Several developments helped make the butterfly the standard style today. These include the popularization of the goalie mask by Jacques Plante, Vladislav Tretiak’s standout use of the technique during the 1972 Canada–USSR Summit Series, the rise of Tony Esposito in the 1970s and Dominik Hašek in the 1990s in the NHL, the creation of lighter pad materials, and the work of professional goaltending coaches like Warren Strelow and Benoit and François Allaire.
Few NHL goalies now rely solely on the stand-up style. While effective and widely used, the butterfly can leave the upper part of the net more exposed to shots.
The modern profly variation, most famously used by Patrick Roy, is the style most often taught and employed. It is a specialized evolution of the butterfly, originally named after a leg pad model designed for that technique. Over time, the term came to describe goalies who use the butterfly save as the foundation for most of their saves.
The term "hybrid" is used to indicate how much a goalie departs from the butterfly as their base save. In some goaltending circles, "hybrid" sits between a pure butterfly goalie and a pure stand-up goalie.
**History**
Glenn Hall is generally credited as the first goalie to drop to his knees in reaction to shots, doing so without a mask. His contemporaries, such as Terry Sawchuk and Jacques Plante, mostly used the stand-up style. Plante, who helped popularize the goalie mask, tried the butterfly while sharing goaltending duties with Hall in St. Louis but warned against using it except against certain screened shots. Hall’s innovation was later refined in the 1960s and 1970s by Roger Crozier and Tony Esposito. Despite their success, the butterfly fell out of favor until Patrick Roy emerged in the mid-1980s. This updated version became known as the "profly" style.
Key advocates of the profly progression include Canadian coaches François Allaire and Benoit Allaire.
- First goaltender to drop to knees
- Glenn Hall
- Popularized goalie mask
- Jacques Plante
- Notable early adopters
- Roger Crozier, Tony Esposito
- Modern profly popularizer
- Patrick Roy
- Key coaches of profly
- François Allaire, Benoit Allaire
- Equipment designers
- Michel Lefebvre, Michael Vaughn, Brian Heaton
Lore & Background
Glenn Hall is generally thought to be the first goaltender to react to shots by dropping to his knees, doing so without a mask. Other contemporaries such as Terry Sawchuk and Jacques Plante relied mostly on the stand-up style. Plante tried the butterfly when sharing goaltending duties with Glenn Hall in St. Louis, but cautioned against its use except under certain types of screened shots. Hall's innovation was improved upon later in the 1960s and 70s by Roger Crozier and Tony Esposito. Despite their success, the butterfly fell out of favour until the emergence of Patrick Roy in the mid-1980s, whose modern version became known as the profly style.
The modern profly derivative was made most popular by Patrick Roy and is the style most commonly used and taught. The profly style is a specialized progression of the butterfly style, with the name deriving from a leg pad model designed specifically for the butterfly. Profly goaltenders tend to have wide butterflies, use stiffer leg pads, and cover the lower portion of the net. They are mobile in the butterfly stance, using techniques such as butterfly crawls and butterfly slides. NHL goaltenders such as Marc-André Fleury, Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo fit into the profly/blocking style.
The term 'hybrid' is commonly used to measure how far a goaltender strays from using the butterfly technique as a base save. Hybrid goaltenders use their reflexes to make saves rather than depending on blocking with their bodies, often having narrower butterflies and more flexible leg pads. The original stand-up style is considered obsolete, though Martin Brodeur was arguably the last stand-up goaltender remaining in the NHL.
Reader's Guide
The butterfly style has become a de facto standard in modern goaltending, driven by several factors: the popularization of the goalie mask by Jacques Plante, Vladislav Tretiak's outstanding use of the style at the 1972 Canada–USSR Summit Series, the NHL emergence of Tony Esposito in the 1970s and Dominik Hašek in the 1990s, the development of lightweight materials for pads, and the influence of professional goaltending coaches such as Warren Strelow and Benoit and François Allaire. Equipment advancements—particularly modern lightweight plastics and energy-absorbent foams—allowed goaltenders to block and trap shots with their bodies, making the profly style possible. Patrick Roy worked with the Allaire brothers and used Lefebvre-designed pads and Heaton-designed gloves to modernize the style. Although effective and popular, the butterfly style can leave the upper portion of the net more vulnerable to scoring attempts. There is no universal agreement on style classifications; the butterfly is sometimes considered not a style but a save selection used by most goaltenders. The profly and hybrid are specialized progressions within the modern butterfly framework.
Did You Know?
- Glenn Hall is generally thought to be the first goaltender to drop to his knees to stop shots, doing so without a mask.
- The butterfly style derives its name from the resemblance of the spread goal pads and hands to a butterfly's wings.
- Patrick Roy made the profly derivative most popular, working with the Allaire brothers and using Lefebvre-designed pads.
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