#11 - Martin Brodeur

Martin Brodeur (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #11)

Adjusted Stats

1991-1992  NJ        4 GP, 2-1-0, .667 win%, 183 min, 9 GA, 2.96 GAA
1993-1994  NJ        46 GP, 26-11-8, .667 win%, 2563 min, 97 GA, 2.28 GAA
1994-1995  NJ*      68 GP, 32-19-10, .607 win%, 3731 min, 157 GA, 2.52 GAA
1995-1996  NJ        77 GP, 34-30-12, .526 win%, 4433 min, 169 GA, 2.29 GAA
1996-1997  NJ        67 GP, 37-14-13, .680 win%, 3838 min, 127 GA, 1.98 GAA
1997-1998  NJ        70 GP, 43-17-8, .691 win%, 4128 min, 151 GA, 2.20 GAA
1998-1999  NJ        70 GP, 39-21-10, .629 win%, 4239 min, 189 GA, 2.68 GAA
1999-2000  NJ*      72 GP, 43-20-8, .662 win%, 4312 min, 180 GA, 2.51 GAA
2000-2001  NJ        72 GP, 42-17-11, .679 win%, 4297 min, 185 GA, 2.59 GAA
2001-2002  NJ        73 GP, 38-26-9, .582 win%, 4347 min, 183 GA, 2.53 GAA
2002-2003  NJ*      73 GP, 41-23-9, .623 win%, 4374 min, 170 GA, 2.34 GAA
2003-2004  NJ        75 GP, 38-26-11, .580 win%, 4555 min, 184 GA, 2.43 GAA
2005-2006  NJ        73 GP, 43-23-7, .637 win%, 4365 min, 190 GA, 2.61 GAA
2006-2007  NJ        78 GP, 48-23-7, .660 win%, 4697 min, 183 GA, 2.33 GAA
2007-2008  NJ        77 GP, 44-27-6, .610 win%, 4635 min, 190 GA, 2.46 GAA
2008-2009  NJ        31 GP, 19-9-3, .661 win%, 1814 min, 79 GA, 2.61 GAA
2009-2010  NJ        77 GP, 45-25-6, .632 win%, 4499 min, 184 GA, 2.46 GAA
2010-2011  NJ        56 GP, 23-26-3, .471 win%, 3116 min, 143 GA, 2.75 GAA

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1991-1992  NJ        1 GP, 0-1, .000 win%, 32 min, 3 GA, 4.92 GAA
1993-1994  NJ        17 GP, 8-9, .471 win%, 1171 min, 37 GA, 1.91 GAA
1994-1995  NJ*      20 GP, 16-4, .800 win%, 1222 min, 30 GA, 1.48 GAA
1996-1997  NJ        10 GP, 5-5, .500 win%, 659 min, 20 GA, 1.82 GAA
1997-1998  NJ        6 GP, 2-4, .333 win%, 366 min, 13 GA, 2.19 GAA
1998-1999  NJ        7 GP, 3-4, .429 win%, 425 min, 22 GA, 3.10 GAA
1999-2000  NJ*      23 GP, 16-7, .696 win%, 1450 min, 47 GA, 1.94 GAA
2000-2001  NJ        25 GP, 15-10, .600 win%, 1505 min, 61 GA, 2.43 GAA
2001-2002  NJ        6 GP, 2-4, .333 win%, 381 min, 11 GA, 1.68 GAA
2002-2003  NJ*      24 GP, 16-8, .667 win%, 1491 min, 49 GA, 1.97 GAA
2003-2004  NJ        5 GP, 1-4, .200 win%, 298 min, 17 GA, 3.34 GAA
2005-2006  NJ        9 GP, 5-4, .556 win%, 533 min, 20 GA, 2.24 GAA
2006-2007  NJ        11 GP, 5-6, .455 win%, 688 min, 32 GA, 2.77 GAA
2007-2008  NJ        5 GP, 1-4, .200 win%, 301 min, 17 GA, 3.34 GAA
2008-2009  NJ        7 GP, 3-4, .429 win%, 427 min, 17 GA, 2.45 GAA
2009-2010  NJ        5 GP, 1-4, .200 win%, 299 min, 14 GA, 2.83 GAA

Career - 1159 GP, 638-358-141, .623 win%, 68126 min, 2770 GA, 2.44 GAA
Career-Highs - 78 GP (06-07); 48 wins (06-07), .691 win% (97-98); 4697 min (06-07); 1.98 GAA (96-97)
Avg. (17 seasons) - 68 GP, 38-21-8, .623 win%, 4007 min, 163 GA, 2.44 GAA
Peak Avg. (96-04) - 72 GP, 40-21-10, .634 win%, 4261 min, 171 GA, 2.41 GAA, 2 Cups

Playoff Career - 181 GP, 99-82, .547 win%, 11248 min, 410 GA, 2.19 GAA
Playoff-Highs - 16 wins (3 times); .800 win% (94-95); 1.48 GAA (94-95)

Accolades - 4 Vezina Trophies, 5 Jennings Trophies, Calder
All-Star Teams - 4-time 1st-team, 4-time 2nd-team
3-time Stanley Cup Champion

Aside from the fact that he clearly belongs on the short list of candidates for greatest goaltenders ever, you need to know where I'm coming from personally when it comes to Martin Brodeur. In my life, I've only really had two heroes who weren't a part of my family: the film director Steven Spielberg, and Martin Brodeur. And of all the athletes I've cheered for, all the ones that I'd say I'm a "fan" of (Jeff Bagwell, Vlad Guerrero, Joe Sakic, Aaron Rodgers), there are really only two that have transcended sport to become true personal favourites of mine: Brodeur, and Blue Jays' pitcher Pat Hentgen.

So clearly I'm biased, and yet when building the pyramid, I was very careful to make sure I placed Brodeur in his proper place. That is why, for the reasons discussed in the entry on Roy, I couldn't put him ahead of Roy despite trying to find every possible reason to do it. But Brodeur, probably the most consistent goaltender ever, is easily one of the two best players of the 2000s, along with another model of consistency, Nicklas Lidstrom.

It seems as if detractors have been taking away from Brodeur for his entire career, and that's one of the reasons that championing him became something of a personal cause. I remember early in his career when the whispers were that Brodeur was merely a product of a great defensive team. Sure he was, just as Tom Brady was a product of a great system in New England. Give me Hasek or Joseph, the fans said, goalies who "steal" games. Well, Brodeur didn't steal games because he didn't have to...except on those rare occasions where the Devils were off their game or needed a big save, Brodeur miraculously was always there to answer the bell.

It's worth remembering that, despite all evidence that this was one of the most ridiculous decisions ever made (and a decision that I argued until I was blue in the face with any friends of mine unfortunate to be Leaf fans), Team Canada chose to go with Curtis Joseph as their starting goaltender in the 2002 Olympics, not Brodeur. Forget the fact that Brodeur had already won two Stanley Cups by that point...Joseph on a great team would surely be amazing, since he was so successful with the Blues, Oilers and Leafs, who had porous defenses. Well, we all know what happened, and it was a turning point in how Brodeur was viewed nationally. The average fan came to realize what true students of the game always knew: there are great "bad-team" goalies and great "good-team" goalies, and counterintuitive as it is, it might be harder to be a great "good-team" goalie.

Brodeur was the best "good-team" goalie in the history of the game, narrowly beating out Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden. Sometimes he would only face 20 shots, but three of them would be 2-on-1s and one would be a breakaway...and almost all the time, it was with the team leading by only one goal. It was that pressure that Brodeur thrived under...fans may say it was boring hockey, but I remember watching enthralled at the Dallas/New Jersey Stanley Cup finals, watching Belfour and Brodeur duel it out in overtime, wondering who would crack first. (One of my favourite saves of that series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Grq2evrRfg)

Like Roy, Brodeur was a master of the "big save". When I think of the 2002 Canadian gold medal team, I think of them losing to Sweden (when Joseph was in net) and then struggling to beat the German squad. The final game of the Round Robin was played against the Czech Republic, probably the best team in international hockey for the previous four years, and though Canada was badly outplayed, they salvaged a 3-3 tie. Many consider the turning point of that game, and the entire tournament, to be Brodeur's diving glove save to keep the game tied. And although Canada won the gold medal game 5-2 vs. the USA, it was 3-2 late in the third when Brodeur made a game-saving stop against a Brett Hull one-timer.

Brodeur's puckhandling was more than just a novelty. He was integral to the way the Devils played the game, allowing defencemen like Scott Niedermayer to stay 20 feet up the ice on dump-ins and begin the rush with an advantage. This is something that shouldn't be forgotten...goaltenders like Roberto Luongo and Curtis Joseph created shots against them with their somewhat shaky puckhandling and rebound control, while Brodeur contributed to his own minimal workload. Harry Neale called Brodeur a thinking man's goalie...and indeed, while many goaltenders were relying on ridiculously-sized equipment, Brodeur brought artistry to goaltending. His style was hard to pin-down: a hybrid between stand-up and butterfly, with odd pokechecks and occasional instinctive gambles worked into the mix.

Hard as it is to believe, Brodeur didn't win his first Vezina trophy until 2003 (the year he also got his third Cup). He's added three more to his resume since then, defying those who have consistently tried to pass the mantle of league's best goaltender to Roberto Luongo (who, incidentally, has never won a Vezina). The mantle may have finally been passed now, in 2011, as Brodeur is enduring an awful year with the Devils. But for fifteen years, he was the backbone of one of the most successful organizations in hockey...always giving you 70+ games, 40+ wins, stellar play, and usually a Vezina nomination. Brodeur has to defer to Roy for the title of greatest ever, because while he has been an excellent postseason goaltender at times, he's also endured more than his share of first-round upsets (some of which were cases in which he was directly outplayed). Still, few goaltenders can match his resume, and it's doubtful that his career record for wins and shutouts will be falling any time soon. Marty Brodeur was my favourite, and he was also one of the very best to ever play the game.