![]() “He made the game easier, you knew where to go, gave head nods on where to be and saved defensemen from getting our heads smashed in.”īrodeur also found his name on the scoresheet with alacrity, notching two goals and 45 helpers in the regular season, while adding one goal and 12 assists in the postseason. It helped the defense and forwards immensely,” added Daneyko. “With his puck handling, the “Marty rule” was put in place because of something he perfected. “His puck handling ability made other teams frustrated,” said MacLean. Serving as a “third defenseman,” Brodeur added to that rush. In 2000-01, the club finished first in goals, in 1999-00, 1998-94, they finished second. Brodeur’s the BestĬontrary to popular belief, those Devils teams could fill up the net. His consistency gave us a chance to win and was remarkable at the most important position,” said Daneyko. “Marty was consistent and never let anything snowball. Figure this, from 1993 to 2014, the Philadelphia Flyers, who consistently battled the Devils for Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference supremacy, had just four seasons of at least 60 games played, by four different goalies (Dominic Roussel, John Vanbiesbrouck, Martin Biron, Steve Mason). Throughout his time with the Devils, Brodeur led all netminders in games played, six times, wins, nine times, shutouts, five times and minutes, seven times. Said Daneyko of Brodeur’s presence, “If you don’t have a stabilizing force in net, it’s tough to win. Not only was Brodeur with New Jersey for 21 seasons, he was a constant in net on a nightly basis. 927 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average. ![]() During that run, Brodeur bested all playoff goalies with 16 wins, three shutouts, 1,222 minutes played, a. The team came first and guys made sacrifices,” said Daneyko. “The run with Marty was great, we built a great team which was all about winning. He certainly was, after losing the season finale on the road a year before, Brodeur helped backstop the Devils to a postseason record ten road victories and their first Stanley Cup title in 1994-95. “He was the right guy, at the right time with the right mentality,” added MacLean. “Marty had all the attributes, kept the same demeanor and was unflappable in net,” said former teammate and legendary Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko. One would imagine such a loss would have a profound negative impact on a young player but such was not the case the following season with Brodeur. Along the way, Brodeur would post a 49-save effort against the Buffalo Sabres, record his first shutout against the Boston Bruins and register a 46-save outing in the aforementioned contest against the New York Rangers. “The timing of him being there coincided with our run. We were as lucky to play with him as he was with us.” (Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)īrodeur and that veteran mix went all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Marty made some pretty big and timely saves and deserves all of the accolades. It was a team solid in all aspects of the game, as MacLean noted, “We all had good offensive numbers and we used the system to our advantage. That squad was the first Devils team to eclipse 100 points in a season, finishing with 106 and a plus 86 goal differential. 915 save percentage, 2.40 goals-against average and three shutouts that season. “I don’t really remember him as a rookie, he had an air about him, a confidence about him,” said teammate and right-winger John MacLean of Brodeur, who posted a. In the 1993-94 campaign, Brodeur became the first player in New Jersey Devils’ history to win the Calder Trophy. You don’t have to take my word for it, you could ask some of Marty’s teammates: and that’s just what I did. When one thinks of ways to describe Martin Brodeur, many words come to mind. This article was originally written in February, 2016.
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