National Hockey League: Martin Brodeur, the best goaltender ever
It was a great disappointment for Martin Brodeur this year; as the remarkable goaltender lost the “Venza Trophy” to a fellow professional hockey player Ryan Miller.
Brodeur’s career started in 1991 when he was called on as a substitute for Chris Terri when he got injured. Terri at the time played for the New Jersey Devils. His debut led to a win for the Devils against the Boston Bruins. It was this particular game that got Martin the recognition at the highest level. After this match, experts predicted that he was ready to become an amazing goaltender. Although he only played one game for the Devils that season, he was officially playing for the Devils in the next seasons after gaining immense popularity amongst the fans. Martin won his first trophy - the “Calder Memorial Trophy” - followed by an award for the best rookie in the National Hockey League (NHL). The rookie led the Devils to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lamentably lost to the New York Rangers. He made his first record of achieving the fourth place in saving the most number of goals percentage.
However, Brodeur played wonderfully in the 1992/93 playoffs where the Devils lost the season, landing at the fifth position in their Conference. The team failed to make it to the Stanley Cup as well. Nevertheless Broduer’s determination and keenness got the New Jersey Devils to the finals in the 1993/94 season. They swept the Boston Bruins in the first round and then faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second; defeating them without any problems. The easiest team for them to shutout was the Philadelphia Flyers in the entire season as they beat them in six games which qualified them into the playoff Finals against the greatly privileged franchise Detroit Red Wings. Brodeur’s sound performance led the team to their first Stanley Cup ever.
Last year’s success for the New Jersey Devils and Brodeur’s stellar playing gave him a notorious image. Next year for the team was not successful as they were not considered for the Stanley Cup but the Brodeur kept to his title, playing an astonishing number of 74 games out of the total of 82 games that year. In the same year, Brodeur made it to the Hockey All-star game and was considered for the Vezina Trophy.
The 1996/97 playoffs seemed to be in the Devils hand but their 93’ rivals New York Rangers stole it right from their sights. That didn’t stop Brodeur from setting records in NHL history as he was awarded the Jennings Trophy which is presented to goalkeepers with the least goals scored against them after the goaltender has played at least 25 games in the season. But it was not the highlight of the season as the most exciting thing for the audience to witness was Martin Brodeur setting the puck, blazing it right into the opponents’ goal from his defence area. This set the crowd to freeze in dismay.
Next year for Brodeur was great. He won the Jennings Trophy for the second time as he also had 10 shutouts along with making it to the All-Star Team again. He took his team to a few matches away from the Stanley Cup which Detroit Red Wings took home cheerfully in the end.
The 83rd season of the NHL was the season which will be remembered for the New Jersey Devils. The Devils faced defending champions Dallas Stars in the playoff finals after destroying their old rivals who gave them a hard run in the past. The Philadelphia Flyers won in the Easter finals by a score of 4-3. Brodeur performed marvellously in the finals by giving up only six goals in the following, which certainly helped the Devils in winning the Stanley Cup on a second occasion after a six year break.
2002/03 was another notable year for the team as they won the Stanley Cup thanks to Brodeur who single-handedly took the same team that he had been serving for the last 12 years. Brodeur made history by finally getting what he long waited for - the Vezina Trophy - which he kept getting nominated for. But it didn’t stop there as he won Jennings Trophy for the third time and made it to the All-Star team yet again landing as number one player in the composition. The year was quite dramatic for Brodeur as he was also nominated for the most prestigious trophy - The Hart Memorial Trophy. Despite his stunning out play throughout the year, he was not selected as the MVP which created a debate amongst the sports enthusiasts.
By 2010, Martin Brodeur won two Olympic goal medals and another Vezina Trophy; making a total of four to his collection. He also made it to the All-Star team on four more occasions which led his country to win the 2004 world hockey tournament. This is ample proof to show how glorious Martin Brodeur is and remains the best goaltender in NHL History.
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