Martin Brodeur - Great Goalie or Greatest Goalie?

[R_of_G]

Firstly, congratulations to Martin Brodeur on his 552nd win, a new NHL record surpassing Patrick Roy's mark. 552 wins is quite an achievement, and Brodeur is still only 36 and playing for a first place team so who knows how many more he can rack up barring any more injuries.

I've seen/heard some discussion on whether or not Brodeur is the "greatest" goalie of all time. As usual, these questions are always completely subjective, but still fun. I think Brodeur is the second best goalie that I've seen. Roy is my favorite player of all time. All four of his Stanley Cup runs were impressive, but perhaps none more so to me than what he was able to do in that first one in 1986 when he was only 20. Spectacular.

Brodeur's three Stanley Cup winning runs were great as well. He's also the reason the league changed some rules about how goalies can handle the puck. I guess they thought the Devils were getting too much benefit from having a goalie that can actually skate and handle the stick. I thought it made the game that much more interesting because you couldn't get away with the same stuff against Brodeur as you could many other goalies because he could embarrass you in a hurry.

Congratulations Martin Brodeur.

[marnold]

Big kudos to him. I've heard a lot of people speak against him because he played on good, defense-first teams. Well, duh! No goalie is going to be successful on a team that plays no defense. When they change the rules specifically because of you, that speaks volumes (especially after watching the Dominator try to play the puck--yikes!). Imagine where his win total would be if he hadn't lost the entire lockout year. The scary thing is that he could have another ~200 wins in him if he stays healthy.

Obviously, I'm biased but I'm still amazed by guys like Terry Sawchuk, playing with those little, tiny pads and no mask. Plus there were only six teams, so no dilution of talent. The fact that his shutout record still stands (although not for long) is almost unbelievable to me. A tragedy how his life came to an end.

[R_of_G]

Imagine where his win total would be if he hadn't lost the entire lockout year.

The way the Devils were playing then and how many games Brodeur starts, probably another 40+ easy. Brodeur does it night in and night out. If the Devils stay competitive (which they should very well do) and Brodeur stays healthy, I can see 200 more wins. The Devils are going to be one of the toughest challenges to anyone else trying to win the East this year.



Obviously, I'm biased but I'm still amazed by guys like Terry Sawchuk, playing with those little, tiny pads and no mask. Plus there were only six teams, so no dilution of talent. The fact that his shutout record still stands (although not for long) is almost unbelievable to me. A tragedy how his life came to an end.

There's definitely something to be said for those guys who did it with far less equipment and especially without a mask. It takes a special kind of person not to flinch at the frozen piece of rubber winging its way toward their skull. :thwap:

[marnold]

There's definitely something to be said for those guys who did it with far less equipment and especially without a mask. It takes a special kind of person not to flinch at the frozen piece of rubber winging its way toward their skull. :thwap:
IIRC, Sawchuk had over 600 stitches on his face over the course of his career. Back in those days too few, if any, teams had backup goalies!

[Robert]

He ain't too bad, but I think there are better goalies in history.

[Blaze]

I say, Quebec s goalie are the best, objectively...:D

Brodeur is some goalie and is known as the ''gentleman'' in the NHL maybe this is what s makin him the best...Statistis shows the same..



Blazes (http://www.bluetracks.ca/labels/blazes?label_renomme=blazes&label_renomme=blazes&screen_width=1280&change_lang=en)
:AOK: