Schwei's Devils Notes: Martin Brodeur's Top 30 Moments
By John Schweibacher
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The New Jersey Devils will officially retire Martin Brodeur's No. 30 on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center prior to their game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Here are 30 Martin Brodeur moments and facts as the Devils prepare to honor him:
1) June 16, 1990: Brodeur is selected 20th overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver.
Brodeur played in 1,464 regular season and playoff games for New Jersey, and 1,471 overall.
Career games played by goalies selected in 1990 NHL Draft:
• Martin Brodeur, 20th, New Jersey, 1,471
• Felix Potvin, 31st, Toronto, 707
• Trevor Kidd, 11th, Calgary, 397
• Mike Dunham, 53rd, New Jersey, 394
• Roman Turek, 113th, Minnesota, 350
• Tommy Soderstrom, 214th, Philadephia, 156
• Corey Schwab, 200th, New Jersey 150
Only one player selected 20th overall in an NHL draft appeared in more career games than Brodeur: his future coach, Larry Robinson, who went at 20 in the second round to Montreal in 1971. Two current Devils -- Travis Zajac (2004) and Jacob Josefson (2009) -- are the only other players ever selected 20th by New Jersey.
MORE: Lichtenstein: Devils Fans Can't Thank Brodeur Enough For His Loyalty
2) March 26, 1992: Brodeur makes his NHL debut with a 4-2 win vs. the Boston Bruins at the Meadowlands.
Andy Moog took the loss for Boston. Joe Juneau scored first goal against Brodeur. Jim Dowd, the first New Jersey-born player to appear for the Devils, made his debut in the same game.
Jeff Christian played his second career NHL game that same night for New Jersey, his last appearance with the Devils and only game alongside Martin Brodeur.
Here are the players who appeared in just one game with Brodeur for the New Jersey Devils (courtesy Elias Sports Bureau).
• Jeff Christian, 3/26/92 vs. Boston
• Peter Stastny, 4/15/92 at Islanders
• Bryan Muir, 10/10/98 at Chicago
• Stanislav Gron, 2/23/01 at Carolina
• Josef Boumedienne, 10/6/01 at Washington
• Joel Bouchard, 1/26/02 at Minnesota
• Noah Clarke, 1/2/08 vs. Florida
• Rob Davison, 2/10/10 vs. Philadelphia
• Stephane Veilleux, 2/14/12 at Buffalo
• Matt Anderson, 1/31/13 vs. Islanders
3) Oct. 20, 1993: Brodeur records his first career shutout vs. the Ducks at the Meadowlands, making 17 saves in a 4-0 win. Ron Tugnutt took the loss for Anaheim.
4) April 19, 1994: Brodeur wins his first game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at the Meadowlands.
Brodeur made 24 saves in the win. Future teammate Alexander Mogilny scored the lone Sabres goal. Brodeur's final playoff win came in Game 5 of the 2012 Final vs. L.A., a 2-1 win in Newark. Brodeur made 25 saves. Justin Williams scored the lone goal for the Kings.
5) May 15, 1994: After sitting out in favor of Chris Terreri in Game 6 of the Devils' Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Bruins, Brodeur started Game 1 of the conference finals vs. the Rangers. Including that game, Brodeur started 194 straight postseason games for New Jersey, an NHL record for a goalie.
6) June 6, 1994: Brodeur wins the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. Future teammate Jason Arnott of Edmonton finished second. Only three goalies have won the award since: Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose, 2001), Andrew Raycroft (Boston, 2004) and Steve Mason (Columbus, 2009).
7) June 24, 1995: The Devils win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, completing a four-game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings.
Brodeur went 16-4 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in the postseason.
Brodeur's five opposing goalies in Stanley Cup Finals:
• Mike Vernon (Detroit, 1995): Two-time Stanley Cup winner, Conn Smythe winner 1997
• Ed Belfour (Dallas, 2000): Stanley Cup winner, Hockey Hall of Famer
• Patrick Roy (Colorado, 2001): Four-time Stanley Cup winner, three time Conn Smythe winner and Hockey Hall of Famer
• J.S. Giguere (Anaheim, 2003): Stanley Cup winner, Conn Smythe winner
• Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles, 2012): Two-time Stanley Cup winner, Conn Smythe winner.
8) Jan. 14, 1997: Brodeur picks up his 100th career victory, a 4-2 win against the Boston Bruins at the Meadowlands to join Chris Terreri as the only goalies in club history to win 100 games. Brodeur passed Terreri on the all-time Devils win list a month later on Feb. 15, 1997, with career win No. 107, a 4-1 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal.
9) April 17, 1997: Brodeur becomes the second goalie to score a playoff goal with an empty-netter in a 5-2 Devils win in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series against the Montreal Canadiens at the Meadowlands. Brodeur would later be credited with two goals in the regular season, but this was the only one he scored by shooting the puck into the net.
10) March 24, 1998: Brodeur makes 23 saves in a 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers to earn his 40th victory of the season, the first of eight times in his career he would reach 40 wins in a single season.
NHL goalies, career 40-win seasons:
• Martin Brodeur, 8
• Mikka Kiprusoff, 3
• Evgeni Nabokov, 3
• Jacques Plante, 3
• Terry Sawchuk, 3
11) April 14, 1999: Brodeur registers his 200th career win, 2-1, at Buffalo. Brodeur makes 29 saves in the victory with Dwayne Roloson taking the loss for the Sabres as Dominik Hasek did not play. Brodeur went 12-12-2 with one no-decision in 27 career regular and postseason games against Hasek.
12) June 10, 2000: Brodeur and the Devils outlast the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Final to win their second Stanley Cup and earn his 50th playoff victory, making 30 saves in the 2-1, double-overtime win.
Brodeur's 1.61 goals-against average was the second best of his career in any postseason and his lowest in any of the postseasons New Jersey reached the Stanley Cup Final:
• 1999-00, 16-7, 39 goals allowed, 1.61 GAA
• 2002-03, 16-8, 41 goals allowed, 1.65 GAA
• 1994-95, 16-4, 34 goals allowed, 1.67 GAA
• 2000-01, 15-7, 52 goals allowed, 2.07 GAA
• 2011-12, 14-9, 52 goals allowed, 2.12 GAA
13) March 21, 2001: Brodeur stops all 11 shots he faces in a 4-0 win against the New York Rangers for his 50th career shutout. The 11 saves were the second-fewest by Brodeur in a shutout win:
• 12/4/03, Was 0 at NJD 3, 9 saves
• 3/21/01, NYR 0 at NJD 4, 11 saves
• 3/20/11, NJD 3 at CBJ 0, 13 saves
• 10/9/99, TB 0 at NJD 1, 14 saves
14) Dec. 15, 2001: Brodeur makes 39 saves in a 2-0 victory against the Ottawa Senators to pick up his 300th career win.
Brodeur, nearly five months shy of his 30th birthday, became the youngest goaltender to reach the milestone.
Brodeur total wins:
• Age 19-29, 324
• Age 30-39, 332
• Age 40-43, 35
15) June 9, 2003: Brodeur and the Devils win the Stanley Cup for the third time, defeating Anaheim, 3-0, in Game 7.
Brodeur made 24 saves, becoming the third goalie to record a shutout in a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final. He finished with a record seven shutouts in a single postseason.
Broduer's 24 playoff shutouts are the most by any goalie in NHL history.
• Martin Brodeur, 24
• Patrick Roy, 23
• Curtis Joseph, 16
• Chris Osgood, 15
16) May 9, 1994: Brodeur records his first playoff shutout, a 2-0 win at the Meadowlands in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals series against Boston. Brodeur's final postseason shutout was on April 19, 2012, a 4-0 victory in Game 4 of New Jersey's Eastern Conference quarterfinals series against Florida at the Prudential Center.
17) Brodeur wins the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender following the 2003 season. It was the first of two consecutive and four out of five Vezina trophies Brodeur would win spanning the 2002-03 through 2007-08 seasons. Jacques Plante (7), Bill Durnan (6), Dominik Hasek (6) and Ken Dryden (5) are the only goalies with more Vezina Trophy wins than Brodeur.
18) March 23, 2004: Brodeur becomes the first goalie to record his 400th career win, all with a single team, by beating the Florida Panthers, 4-3, in overtime.
19) April 5, 2007: Brodeur sets the single-season record for victories by a goalie, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 for his 48th win of the season, breaking Bernie Parent's single-season mark.
Most wins in single-season, NHL goalies:
• 48, Martin Brodeur, New Jersey, 2006-07
• 47, Roberto Luongo, Vancouver, 2006-07
• 47, Bernie Parent, Philadelphia, 1973-74
• 46, Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose, 2007-08
20) Nov. 17, 2007: Brodeur records his 500th career win, making 26 saves in a 6-2 victory over the Flyers in Philadelphia.
21) March 1, 2009: Brodeur registers his 100th career shutout with a 3-0 win against the Flyers at the Prudential Center. Brodeur's 12 career shutouts against Philadelphia are his most against any single opponent:
Brodeur, career shutouts vs. opponents (with Devils):
• Philadelphia, 12
• N.Y. Islanders, 10
• Montreal, 9
• NY Rangers, 9
• Pittsburgh, 9
• Hartford/Carolina, 9
22) March 14, 2009: Brodeur ties Patrick Roy on the NHL's all-time win list for goaltenders with a 3-1 win in Montreal, his 551st career victory. Brodeur won 22 times on the road against the Canadiens, his "hometown" team, tied for his third most vs. any opponent.
Brodeur career road wins vs. opponents (with Devils):
• Pittsburgh, 24
• NY Islanders, 23
• Philadelphia, 22
• Montreal, 22
• Ottawa, 20
23) March 17, 2009: Brodeur defeats the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2, to earn his 552nd career victory, surpassing Patrick Roy on the all-time list as the NHL's winningest goaltender.
24) Dec. 21, 2009: Brodeur makes 35 saves in a 4-0 win against the Penguins for career shutout No. 104, passing Terry Sawchuk for the most in NHL history.
25) April 6, 2010: Brodeur becomes the first goalie to win 600 career games, reaching the milestone with a 3-0 victory against the Atlanta Thrashers.
26) May 6, 2012: Brodeur celebrated his 40th birthday with a 4-2 win that gave the Devils a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Flyers.
Brodeur became the oldest goaltender in NHL history to start a playoff game on his birthday. Tony Esposito of the Blackhawks shut out the Blues, 2-0, on his 39th birthday (April 23rd, 1982).
Brodeur is the only goaltender in NHL history to appear in playoff games as both a teenager and as a 40-year old.
27) May 25, 2012: Brodeur and the Devils defeat the Rangers, 3-2, in overtime in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the final playoff overtime win for Brodeur, who went 16-24 all-time in sudden death in the post-season.
28) June 9, 2012: The Devils defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, Brodeur's last career postseason victory.
NHL career playoff wins:
• Patrick Roy 151
• Martin Brodeur 113
• Grant Fuhr 92
• Ed Belfour 88
• Billy Smith 88
• Ken Dryden 80
29) April 13, 2014: Brodeur plays his final game with the Devils, defeating the Boston Bruins 3-2. Chad Johnson took the loss in goal for Boston. Brad Marchand scored the final Bruins goal.
The win was Brodeur's 688th with New Jersey, the most wins by a goalie with a single franchise in NHL history.
30) Feb. 9th, 2016: The New Jersey Devils will retire Brodeur's No. 30, joining teammates Scott Stevens (4), Ken Daneyko (3) and Scott Niedermayer (27). The four players' first regular season game together with New Jersey came on Oct. 8th, 1993, a 6-3 road win against the Capitals. Their final game together was Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final against Anaheim.
Most career games played with Brodeur:
• 963 Patrik Elias
• 788 Sergei Brylin
• 738 Jay Pandolfo
• 701 Scott Niedermayer
• 700 Scott Stevens
• 615 Ken Daneyko
(Thanks to NHL.com, the Elias Sports Bureau, Hockey-reference.com and the Hockey Summary Project for their help in compiling the information for this article.)
