Martin Brodeur

• Born: May 6, 1972
• Place of Birth: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

SPORT: Ice hockey

Early Life

Martin Pierre Brodeur was born into a sports-oriented family and was raised in St. Leonard, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was the youngest of five children. His father was an Olympic ice hockey goalie. He was also a photographer of professional sports teams such as the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Montreal Expos of Major League Baseball. His oldest brother, Claude, played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and had a professional baseball contract. His brother Denis Jr., was one of Canada’s top BMX bike riders. As a child, he honed his skills at the outdoor and indoor skating rinks near his house and on the street outside his house, where he played endless road hockey games. His father instilled a love of the game into him and did not push him into a hockey career, even though he had won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympic Games.

The Road to Excellence

Brodeur played minor-league hockey near his home. For fifteen years, he played in the same venue, which was later renamed Martin Brodeur Arena. At fifteen years old, he moved up to the AAA midget team in Montreal; at the age of seventeen, he played junior hockey in the QMJHL for the St. Hyacinthe Lasers. In junior hockey, he was named to the all-rookie team in 1990 and was a second-team all-star in his final season in 1992. During his junior hockey career, he was picked twentieth overall in the 1990 NHL entry draft by the New Jersey Devils.

In March 1992, Brodeur was promoted to the Devils. He was paid $700 per day in the NHL compared to the roughly $60 a week he made playing junior hockey. He won his first two NHL games. He played a year in the professional minor leagues in 1992–1993 and then, in 1993–1994, played forty-seven games in goal in his first full season with New Jersey. He led the team to a franchise record 106 points. He won the Calder Trophy as the Rookie of the Year.

The Emerging Champion

During his NHL career, Brodeur achieved superstar status. In only his second season in the NHL, he led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Championship against the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings. In the four-game sweep, he allowed just seven goals. Over the next several years, he won numerous NHL goaltending awards and established himself as an all-star. In the 1999–2000 season, he led New Jersey to the Stanley Cup again. Then, in 2002–2003, he had what many considered the best Stanley Cup series of his career, recording seven shutouts in the playoffs, a league record, and winning his third Stanley Cup. In 2006–2007, he recorded forty-eight wins in a single season, setting a new NHL record. During the same season, he raised his career-win total to 462, placing him second place behind Patrick Roy.

Brodeur was one of the best-known goalies ever to play in the NHL. In 2006, he was rewarded with a $31.2 million dollar contract for six years. He guided the Devils to three Stanley Cups and helped the team to the playoffs every year he played except one. He played for Canada in seven international competitions, and his most tremendous success up to that point was winning a gold medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Continuing the Story

In the 2007–2008 season, Brodeur was named the starting goalie in the NHL All-Star Game. At the end of the 2007–2008 season, with 96 career shutouts, he needed only seven more to become the all-time leader. By the end of 2008, he still competed at a high level. After overcoming an injury late in 2008 that kept him out for several weeks of the 2008–2009 season, he cemented his status as one of the greatest goalies in NHL history. He notched his 552nd regular-season victory on March 17 to surpass Roy’s career record. His team fell in the first round of the 2009 playoffs, but not before he tied Roy’s playoff record of twenty-three career shutouts.

Additionally, he broke the all-time record for shutouts in a career during the 2009–2010 season. Up to that point, this record had been held by Terry Sawchuk. Also in 2010, Brodeur won his second gold medal with the Canadian team in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

After more than twenty seasons with the Devils, Brodeur decided to become a free agent and was signed by the St. Louis Blues for the 2014–2015 season. In January 2015, he announced that he would be retiring. At that time, he left the game as a player with career records for most wins (691) and most shutouts (125). Staying with the Blues organization, he started as a special assistant to the general manager before becoming assistant general manager. In February 2016, the Devils retired his jersey.

Summary

Brodeur was a goalie of outstanding achievements and records. He won the Vezina Trophy for top goalie in the NHL four times, the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals five times, and the Calder Trophy as best rookie. Brodeur was an NHL All-Star ten times. He often won thirty games and sometimes forty games per season for his team. He was the first goaltender in history to win thirty games in ten consecutive seasons and the first goaltender to win forty games in a season seven times. He is also among the few goalies to have scored a goal in both the regular season and the playoffs.

Brodeur has moved through various hockey positions since his retirement in 2015. He first served as the Assistant General Manager of the St. Louis Blues from 2016-2018. He returned to the Devils' front offices in 2018 as an advisor to the general manager. In November 2022, Brodeur was promoted to the Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.

In 2024, Brodeur was outspoken about the state of hockey. He was particularly critical of goalies, whom he believed had fallen off in their ability to stop opposing scorers. Brodeur expressed concern about the consistency of goaltenders who could have a great season followed by a sub-par performance the next year. He also commented on the changed nature of the game due to data analytics.

Bibliography

Brodeur, Martin, and Damien Cox. Brodeur: Beyond the Crease. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 2006.

Carroll, Michael. The Concise Encyclopedia of Hockey. Vancouver, Greystone Books, 2001.

Fuchs, Jeremy. "'King of New Jersey' Brodeur Has Devils' Number Retired." Sports Illustrated, 10 Feb. 2016, www.si.com/nhl/2016/02/09/martin-brodeur-devils-jersey-retired. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.

Korac, Louie. "Martin Brodeur to Retire, Join Blues Front Office." NHL.com, 27 Jan. 2015, www.nhl.com/news/martin-brodeur-to-retire-join-blues-front-office/c-750524. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.

LeBrun, Pierre. "LeBrun: What Martin Brodeur Will Do in His New Job with the Devils, and Why He Was Ready to Play a Bigger Role." The Athletic, 11 Nov. 2022, www.nytimes.com/athletic/3836446/2022/11/11/devils-martin-brodeur-new-role/. Accessed 23 June 2024.

LeBrun, Pierre. "LeBrun: Martin Brodeur on Why NHL Goaltending Has Become So Volatile — ‘We Baby Our Goalies’." The Athletic, 27 May 2024, app.contentstack.com/#!/stack/blt575edc14fa8659d9/content-type/article/en-us/entry/blt2dda8fdb7e92a094/edit?branch=main. Accessed 23 June 2024.

Morrison, Scott. By the Number: From 0 to 99. Toronto, Key Porter Books, 2007.