Brodeur Deserves More Exposure

The date is March 23rd, 1994.  A packed Great Western Forum hears loud cheers and screams for “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky, to score his 802nd goal, passing his childhood idol Gordie Howe for the all-time NHL goal record.  Geoff Courtnall of the Vancouver Canucks loses the puck on a short-handed opportunity, which results in the Kings skating it back down the rink and Marty McSorley finding an open Wayne Gretzky in the slot.  It was given; the man would score the goal.  Even before the puck was in the net, people rose from their seats and announcer Gary Thorne already had the play call in his head:  “To Gretzky… He scores!  He did it!  He did it!  The greatest goal scorer in National Hockey League history is Wayne Gretzky!”  This game was televised all across the United States and Canada, since the NHL knew that no one would want to miss the special moment.  This was one of the most important days in NHL history.

Another one of those days is coming up though, yet it seems that there are few people outside of the New Jersey Devils’ fan base that know it.  Martin Brodeur is just 3 wins away from passing Hall-of-Famer Patrick Roy in the all-time wins mark, as well as only 3 shutouts away from Terry Sawchuk’s 103 shutout record.  So where is the media coverage?  Why is it that we are hearing more about Sydney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin’s quarrels than the great achievements set forth by Brodeur?

Something that has made Brodeur’s story even more miraculous is that he has been scratched just 12 games over his previous 14 seasons.  Martin faced adversity earlier this season despite that iron-man streak, missing every game from November 3rd to February 21st with an elbow injury, which translates to a long 50-game span.  He came back to face the Colorado Avalanche in his first game back in the lineup on February 26th and recorded a shutout with 24 saves.  In just his third game back, Brodeur faced 27 shots and stopped them all against the Philadelphia Flyers to record his 100th career shutout.  Brodeur is a fantastic 4-1-0 since his return to the Devils’ lineup.

NHL fans are still reeling from a great career by juggernaut goalie Patrick Roy, who some say is undisputedly the greatest goalie in hockey history.  With 551 wins and 66 career shutouts, Roy holds many NHL records.  Roy has definitely seen much more playoff success than Martin, holding the records for most NHL playoff game wins (151), most Conn Smythe Trophy wins (3), and most NHL playoff shutouts (23).  Retiring in 2003, many still saw Brodeur as a better goalie that could take over his spot as the greatest in just a few short years.  Even though Patrick has seen more playoff time than Brodeur (Roy’s 247 career games vs. Brodeur’s 169), Brodeur has enjoyed a better goals against per game in the post-season, with a 2.03 goals/game, vs. Roy’s mark of 2.36 goals/game.

The bottom line is that Brodeur is challenging for a record that some considered almost unbeatable when Roy retired.  The New Jersey goalie has provided NHL highlights every night he plays it seems, so why is there no coverage for the 36 year old goaltender?  Is it just that he is too old and the NHL wants to cover its younger guns?

Sydney Crosby has been the talk of the American and Canadian coverage for the last three years.  It is important to put the young phenom’s stories to the side for the next coming weeks so that Brodeur can have the spotlight that he so rightfully deserves.  He has taken 983 regular season games thus far to get where he is at, it is his time and hockey media needs to realize that.  If the NHL wants to market its players correctly, they will market Brodeur as a marquee man who can break records with the rest of the major league athletes.  This is an important tool that the NHL seems to have forgotten over the years. 

Let’s just hope that Devils announcer Mike Emrick’s call is heard around two nations, and not just the New Jersey viewing area.