Martin Brodeur

Martin Brodeur (born May 6, 1972, in Montreal (St-Jérome), Quebec) is a professional ice hockey goaltender. He has played his entire National Hockey League career with the New Jersey Devils. He is on pace to surpass Patrick Roy's career records for wins, games played and minutes played, as well as Terry Sawchuk's record for career shutouts. Brodeur has been among the NHL's most consistent goaltenders, winning at least 35 games each of the last nine seasons.

Playing career

Brodeur was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, from the Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL), in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils, for whom he has played since 1992.

1993-94: Brodeur won the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) after leading the Devils to 2nd place in the conference and the 3rd round of the playoffs where they lost to the New York Rangers in the deciding game of a best-of-seven conference final. He finished 2nd in goals against average and 4th in save percentage during the regular season.

1994-95: The Devils finished tied for 9th overall and were not considered a Stanley Cup contender. However, they defeated the Boston Bruins in the 1st round, with Brodeur notching 3 shutouts. They defeated Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in the 2nd and 3rd rounds and then swept Detroit in 4 games to win the Stanley Cup.

1995-96: The Devils were in the middle of the pack for most of the season and barely missed the playoffs for only the second time in 9 seasons. Brodeur played in 77 (of a possible 82) games, and had the 2nd most shutouts in the league. He was a starter in the All-Star game, stopping all 12 shots he faced. He finished 4th in voting for the Vezina Trophy. He also set a single-season record for most minutes played by a goalie. Brodeur played on Team Canada during the 1996 World Cup tournament.

1996-97: The Devils finished 3rd in the NHL, but lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to the rival New York Rangers. Brodeur was runner-up for the Vezina, named to the 2nd All-Star Team, won the Jennings Trophy, and had the lowest goals-against-average by a goalie in almost 30 years. He also had 10 shutouts and a .927 save-percentage, one of the highest ever achieved.

1997-98: Brodeur had 43 wins and 10 shutouts in the regular season. The Devils finished first in the Eastern Conference, but lost in the 1st round of the playoffs to the Ottawa Senators. He was named to the 2nd All-Star Team, was the runner-up for the Vezina, won the Jennings and was among the stats leaders in most categories.

1998-99: The Devils finished first in the Eastern Conference for the 3rd straight season. Brodeur won 39 games. He was among the contenders for the Vezina Trophy and started in the All-Star game, making his 4th appearance. The Devils lost in the 1st round to Pittsburgh, as Brodeur allowed 20 goals in 7 games.

1999-00: Brodeur won 43 games for the 2nd time in his career. The Devils went on to win their second Stanley Cup against the Dallas Stars in 6 games.

2000-01: Brodeur topped the 40 win mark for the 3rd time in his career, despite having an average GAA and save percentage throughout the year. He played in the All-Star game for the 6th consecutive season. He took the Devils to the Stanley Cup finals for the second straight season, where they lost to Colorado in 7 games.

2001-02: Brodeur finished among the league leaders in wins and GAA. Brodeur continued to lead the league in victories and remained a Vezina and MVP candidate.

2002-03: Brodeur achieved what had been eluding him his whole career: the Vezina Trophy. He was also a Hart Trophy finalist, won the Jennings, was named to the 1st Team All-Star and started in the All-Star Game. He also guided the Devils to their 3rd Stanley Cup victory. Brodeur set a playoff record with 7 shutouts.

2003-04: Brodeur won his 2nd consecutive Vezina Trophy and Jennings trophy. He was on the 1st Team All-Star, played in the All-Star game, and was a finalist for the Hart Trophy.

2005-06: Brodeur represented Canada at the Turin Olympics. He had another 43-win season, and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy for the third straight year.

Brodeur was selected as Team Canada's backup goalie for the 1998 Winter Olympics, but did not play. Canada failed to win a medal.

In the 2002 Olympics, Brodeur won gold for Canada, playing in every game except the tournament opener against Sweden. He had the best GAA in the tournament and went undefeated, stopping 31 of 33 shots in the Gold Medal victory over Team USA.

He backstopped Team Canada to the World Cup of Hockey championship in 2004, allowing only 5 goals in 5 games. He led all goalies in GAA and save percentage while going undefeated.

He was selected to Team Canada for the 2006 Winter Olympics. He started in 4 of 6 games, but Canada failed to win a medal.

Brodeur currently holds the record for the best career goals-against-average during the NHL's modern era. He ranks first among all active goaltenders in career shutouts. He also holds the record for most shutouts in a playoff year with 7, set in 2003. With a victory against the New York Rangers on March 4, 2006 he became the first goalie in NHL history to win 30 games for 10 straight seasons ^*. Finally, he currently holds the records for most 35 and 40 win seasons in a career (9 and 5, respectively).

Noted for his puckhandling ability, he has twice scored a goal. His first goal, the fifth by a goaltender in NHL history, was scored against his hometown Montreal Canadiens in the first game of the first round of the playoffs in 1997. With the Canadiens' goalie pulled, Brodeur shot the puck the length of the ice into the empty net. His second goal came in the regular season against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he did not shoot, but was credited as the last New Jersey Devils player to touch the puck. The goal was the game winner, making Brodeur the only goaltender in NHL history to be credited with a game-winning goal.

Brodeur's father Denis competed in the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, as the goaltender for Canada, winning a bronze medal. Denis would later become a hockey photographer, best known for pictures of the Montreal Canadiens.

On January 27, 2006 Brodeur signed a contract extension with the Devils that will pay him $31.2 million over six years.

Personal life

Martin and his wife Melanie Dubois (native from St-Liboire, Canada) were married in 1995, after the birth of their son, Anthony. The following year they had twin sons, William and Jeremy. In 2002 they had a daughter, Annabelle Antoinette.

Between his hockey seasons, Martin was travelling from New Jersey to St-Liboire where he used to own a little house to join his wife Melanie's family. Recognizing his presence in the village, the Loisirs of St-Liboire (owners and managers of the central park of the town) named their center "Le Centre Martin Brodeur" (The Martin Brodeur Center). His name was used by the Loisirs' directors to create a golf tournament named after him. This fundraising activity contributed to many projects such as a new children's park, a tennis court and an arena over the ice rink.

Martin and Melanie were divorced in 2003 after an off-the-ice incident with one of Melanie's close relations. His involvement with the village are now done, but the park center is still named after him.

Awards Summary

QMJHL All-Rookie Team - 1990
QMJHL 2nd All-Star Team - 1992
NHL All-Rookie Team - 1994
Calder Memorial Trophy - 1994
William M. Jennings Trophy - 1997-(shared with Mike Dunham), 1998, 2003 (tied), 2004
Vezina Trophy - 2003, 2004
Stanley Cup - 1995, 2000, 2003
NHL 1st All-Star Team - 2003, 2004
NHL 2nd All-Star Team - 1997, 1998, 2006
NHL All-Star Game - 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004

Career statistics

Regular season


Season	Team	League	GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	S/P
1989-90	Saint-Hyacinthe	QMJHL	42	23	13	2	2333	156	0	4.01	n/a
1990-91	Saint-Hyacinthe	QMJHL	52	22	24	4	2946	162	2	3.30	n/a
1991-92	Saint-Hyacinthe	QMJHL	48	27	16	4	2846	161	2	3.39	n/a
1991-92	New Jersey	NHL	4	2	1	0	179	10	0	3.35	.882
1992-93	Utica	AHL	32	14	13	5	1952	131	0	4.03	.884
1993-94	New Jersey	NHL	47	27	11	8	2625	105	3	2.40	.915
1994-95	New Jersey	NHL	40	19	11	6	2184	89	3	2.45	.902
1995-96	New Jersey	NHL	77	34	30	12	4434	173	6	2.34	.911
1996-97	New Jersey	NHL	67	37	14	13	3838	120	10	1.88	.927
1997-98	New Jersey	NHL	70	43	17	8	4128	130	10	1.89	.917
1998-99	New Jersey	NHL	70	39	21	10	4239	162	4	2.29	.906
1999-00	New Jersey	NHL	72	43	20	8	4312	161	6	2.24	.910
2000-01	New Jersey	NHL	72	42	17	11	4297	166	9	2.32	.906
2001-02	New Jersey	NHL	73	38	26	9	4347	156	4	2.15	.906
2002-03	New Jersey	NHL	73	41	23	9	4374	147	9	2.02	.914
2003-04	New Jersey	NHL	75	38	26	11	4554	154	11	2.03	.917
2005-06	New Jersey	NHL	73	43	23	7	4,364	187	5	2.57	.911
NHL CAREER TOTALS			813	446	240	105	47,875	1,760	80	2.21	.912

Stats as of April 23rd 2006

-- (bolded numbers) indicate he was NHL leader

Playoffs


Season	Team	League	GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1989-90	Saint-Hyacinthe	QMJHL	12	5	7		678	46	0	4.07
1990-91	Saint-Hyacinthe	QMJHL	4	0	4		232	16	0	4.17
1991-92	Saint-Hyacinthe	QMJHL	5	2	3		317	14	0	2.64
1991-92	New Jersey	NHL	1	0	1		32	3	0	5.62
1992-93	Utica	AHL	4	1	3		258	18	0	4.18
1993-94	New Jersey	NHL	17	8	9		1171	38	1	1.95
1994-95	New Jersey	NHL	20	16	4		1222	34	3	1.67
1996-97	New Jersey	NHL	10	5	5		659	19	2	1.73
1997-98	New Jersey	NHL	6	2	4		366	12	0	1.97
1998-99	New Jersey	NHL	7	3	4		425	20	0	2.83
1999-00	New Jersey	NHL	23	16	7		1450	39	2	1.61
2000-01	New Jersey	NHL	25	15	10		1505	52	4	2.07
2001-02	New Jersey	NHL	6	2	4		381	9	1	1.42
2002-03	New Jersey	NHL	24	16	8		1491	41	7	1.65
2003-04	New Jersey	NHL	5	1	4		298	13	0	2.62
2005-06	New Jersey	NHL	9	5	4		473	17	1	2.25
NHL CAREER TOTALS			152	89	63		9,472	297	21	1.88

Stats as of April 30th 2006

International play

Played for Canada in:

1996 World Championships (Silver)
1996 World Cup of Hockey (Lost Final)
1998 Winter Olympic Games (failed to medal)
2002 Winter Olympic Games (Gold)
2004 World Cup of Hockey (Champions)
2005 World Championships (Silver)
2006 Winter Olympics (failed to medal)

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1996	Canada	WC	3	0	1	1	140	8	0	3.43
1996	Canada	WCH	2	0	1	0	60	4	0	4.00
1998	Canada	Oly	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	--
2002	Canada	Oly	5	4	0	1	300	9	0	1.80
2004	Canada	WCH	5	5	0	0	300	5	1	1.00
2005	Canada	WC	7	5	2	0	419	20	0	2.87
2006	Canada	Oly	4	2	2	0	238	8	0	2.01
Senior Int'l Totals			26	16	6	2	1477	54	1	2.19

-- (bolded numbers) indicate he was tournament leader