WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.120 Apple podcast title, Martin Brodeur, the hybrid 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:06.139 goalie who broke the NHL rulebook, the deep dive. 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:09.240 Dive into the legendary career of NHL goaltender 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.080 Martin Brodeur. We unpack how his unique hybrid 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:15.300 style, unparalleled puck handling and role as 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:17.519 a third defenseman in the New Jersey Devils trap 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:20.800 system forced the NHL to rewrite its rulebook. 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:23.440 From holding unbreakable records to sparking 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:25.519 fierce debates among hockey analytics experts 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:27.719 over his all time ranking against Patrick Roy 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:30.320 and Dominic Hasek. This episode explores the 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:32.799 geometry of a hockey genius. Welcome to our deep 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.520 dive. Today, we are focusing on a name that is 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:38.600 just absolutely legendary in the sports world, 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:40.600 Martin Brodeur. Yeah. We're talking about a man 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:43.960 who is widely regarded as, well, one of the greatest 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:45.820 goaltenders in National Hockey League history. 00:00:45.939 --> 00:00:47.759 For anyone who follows hockey, I mean, that name 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:50.240 immediately conjures up images of just absolute 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.759 dominance in the crease and a style of play that 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:54.759 we simply hadn't seen before. Right, and haven't 00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:57.579 really seen since. So, to guide our conversation 00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:00.570 today. We're drawing our insights from a comprehensive 00:01:00.570 --> 00:01:04.209 biographical and statistical overview of his 00:01:04.209 --> 00:01:07.129 life and career. We've got this massive stack 00:01:07.129 --> 00:01:10.269 of data, game summaries, historical records. 00:01:10.489 --> 00:01:13.030 All from a highly detailed Wikipedia article. 00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:15.170 Yeah, and it tracks everything from his childhood 00:01:15.170 --> 00:01:17.629 in Montreal all the way to his final days in 00:01:17.629 --> 00:01:20.180 the front office. It's a really fascinating look 00:01:20.180 --> 00:01:23.439 at a career that spanned over two decades. It 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:25.560 gives us a complete picture of his impact, you 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:27.500 know, not just on the stat sheet, but on the 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:30.140 actual evolution of the sport itself. Which brings 00:01:30.140 --> 00:01:32.819 us to our mission for this deep dive. We are 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:35.060 going to explore how Brodeur didn't just play 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:37.439 the goaltender position perfectly, but how he 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:39.959 actually revolutionized it. He really did. We're 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:42.060 going to look at how he changed the very geometry 00:01:42.060 --> 00:01:44.859 of the game so drastically, in fact, that the 00:01:44.859 --> 00:01:48.310 NHL literally had to rewrite its rulebook. just 00:01:48.310 --> 00:01:50.870 to figure out a way to stop him. It's wild to 00:01:50.870 --> 00:01:52.969 think about. I mean, imagine being so uniquely 00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:55.609 dominant at your job, so undeniably good at what 00:01:55.609 --> 00:01:58.329 you do, that your entire industry has to hold 00:01:58.329 --> 00:02:01.209 a meeting and create a special rule just to slow 00:02:01.209 --> 00:02:03.609 you down. Yeah, that's the level of mastery we're 00:02:03.609 --> 00:02:06.310 dealing with today. It puts his career into perspective 00:02:06.310 --> 00:02:08.889 right from the start. You don't get rules named 00:02:08.889 --> 00:02:11.990 after you simply by being fundamentally sound. 00:02:12.189 --> 00:02:14.599 No. Definitely not. You get them by breaking 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:16.919 the systems the league relies on to keep the 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:19.879 game competitive. But what's wild is that this 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:24.379 legendary career, it almost didn't happen. Right. 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:27.599 He was born in Montreal in 1972 into a family 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:30.479 that was deeply embedded in the sport. His father. 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:33.840 Dennis was an Olympic bronze medalist for Canada 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:36.159 and a longtime photographer for the Montreal 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:38.340 Canadiens. So young Martin was always around 00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:40.139 the rink. Breathing in that atmosphere, yeah. 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.199 He idolized the Canadiens' legendary goaltender, 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:46.219 Patrick Roy. But here is the surprising fact. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:49.060 Brodeur didn't even start out as a goaltender. 00:02:49.219 --> 00:02:51.539 Which is so hard to picture. He was a forward. 00:02:52.030 --> 00:02:54.169 Right. You assume someone with his instinct for 00:02:54.169 --> 00:02:56.509 the crease was just born wearing the pads. The 00:02:56.509 --> 00:02:58.710 turning point came when he was seven years old. 00:02:58.969 --> 00:03:01.789 His youth coach needed a backup goalie for a 00:03:01.789 --> 00:03:03.530 local tournament and just asked him if he wanted 00:03:03.530 --> 00:03:05.849 to try it out. And he said yes. Brodeur later 00:03:05.849 --> 00:03:08.810 called it the biggest decision of his life. He 00:03:08.810 --> 00:03:10.969 didn't even know why he said yes. He just thought 00:03:10.969 --> 00:03:13.509 it'd be fun to play goal for a weekend. A monumental 00:03:13.509 --> 00:03:16.310 decision made on a total whim by a seven -year 00:03:16.310 --> 00:03:18.909 -old. It really highlights how fragile sports 00:03:18.909 --> 00:03:21.210 history can be. Okay, let's unpack this a little 00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:23.229 more because the road to the NHL wasn't perfectly 00:03:23.229 --> 00:03:26.509 smooth after that tournament either. At age 12, 00:03:26.689 --> 00:03:28.689 he actually intended to quit hockey entirely. 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.460 Really? Yeah, he missed a game, his coach benched 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:34.819 him for the next one as punishment, and Brodeur 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:37.319 was ready to just walk away from the sport. Wow. 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:39.879 It was only a serious conversation with his brother 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:42.860 Claude that convinced him to stick with it and 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:45.419 push through that early frustration. What's fascinating 00:03:45.419 --> 00:03:48.000 here is how his early development shaped the 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.259 highly unconventional player he eventually became. 00:03:50.860 --> 00:03:53.199 When Brodeur was in his teens, he was exposed 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:55.879 to a huge variety of different styles. He didn't 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.300 just have one coach drilling a singular philosophy 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:00.780 into him, right? Exactly. He paid very close 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:02.780 attention to the techniques of other goaltenders. 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.139 And crucially, he attended a camp run by the 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:09.180 retired Soviet goaltending legend, Vladislav 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:12.560 Tritiak. Okay. Tritiak heavily encouraged using 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:14.979 multiple methods rather than sticking to just 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:18.259 one rigid set of movements. He wanted goaltenders 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:21.759 to be fluid and read the play. Because of this 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:25.259 influence, Brodeur became what he called a student 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:28.860 of the game. And that study paid massive dividends. 00:04:29.540 --> 00:04:31.980 During his era, most goaltenders were moving 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:35.319 toward strictly using the butterfly style. Dropping 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:37.259 to the knees. Right. It was becoming the standard 00:04:37.259 --> 00:04:39.100 doctrine. Dropping to your knees to block the 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:41.259 lower part of the net, taking away the highest 00:04:41.259 --> 00:04:43.740 percentage shooting areas, and just relying on 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:45.870 the equipment to do the work. Brodeur looked 00:04:45.870 --> 00:04:48.470 at that standard doctrine and went in a completely 00:04:48.470 --> 00:04:50.970 different direction. He developed a very rare 00:04:50.970 --> 00:04:53.870 hybrid style. Standing up more often. Yeah, he 00:04:53.870 --> 00:04:55.889 stood up much more often than typical butterfly 00:04:55.889 --> 00:04:58.750 goalies. He relied heavily on his incredible 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:01.689 reflexes, particularly his glove hand and his 00:05:01.689 --> 00:05:04.189 brilliant positional play. He would challenge 00:05:04.189 --> 00:05:06.329 shooters dynamically rather than just dropping 00:05:06.329 --> 00:05:08.769 into a preset block. Which is so much harder 00:05:08.769 --> 00:05:10.980 to execute. It is. And if you think about your 00:05:10.980 --> 00:05:13.899 own career or passions, there's a really powerful 00:05:13.899 --> 00:05:16.939 lesson here for you. True mastery often comes 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:18.920 from synthesizing different styles and perspectives. 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:21.959 Right. Brodeur took the reactive elements of 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:24.540 the stand -up style, blended them with Soviet 00:05:24.540 --> 00:05:27.500 positional fluidity, and incorporated the butterfly 00:05:27.500 --> 00:05:29.899 only when necessary to build something entirely 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:32.920 his own. And that hybrid style fast -tracked 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:35.519 him to the pros. He was drafted 20th overall 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:38.680 by the New Jersey Devils in 1990. He had a few 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.300 minor league call -ups early on. Yeah, but by 00:05:41.300 --> 00:05:43.939 the 1993 -94 season, he won the starting job 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:46.759 permanently. And he burst onto the scene in a 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:49.240 massive way, winning the Calder Trophy as the 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.500 NHL's Rookie of the Year. He proved immediately 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:54.300 that his unconventional style translated flawlessly 00:05:54.300 --> 00:05:57.160 to the speed and skill of the NHL level. It didn't 00:05:57.160 --> 00:05:58.800 take long for him to capture the ultimate prize, 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:01.839 either. The 1994 -95 season was shortened to 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:04.600 48 games due to a labor lockout. The lockout 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:06.860 year. The Devils made the Cinderella run all 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:08.959 the way to the Stanley Cup final, facing off 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:11.060 against the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:14.019 A powerhouse team. And... Brodeur the Devils 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:16.199 didn't just beat that Detroit team. They swept 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:19.040 them in four games. Brodeur held them to just 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:22.339 seven goals across the entire series. Winning 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:25.300 a Stanley Cup in your second full season, especially 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:27.779 against a team loaded with Hall of Famers like 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:30.720 that Detroit squad, is an extraordinary feat. 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:33.959 It cemented his reputation as a big game performer 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:37.139 early on. The way Brodeur described the end of 00:06:37.139 --> 00:06:40.319 that final game is incredibly human, too. I actually 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:41.939 have the quote from the source material right 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:44.079 here. Oh, let's hear it. He said, in the last 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:46.480 game against Detroit, the time from 10 minutes 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:49.100 left to one minute left was probably the longest 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:52.019 nine minutes of my life. But from one to zero 00:06:52.019 --> 00:06:54.079 was probably the greatest time I've ever had. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:57.120 I didn't want the clock to run out. It was such 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:59.459 a great feeling. People crying in the stands, 00:06:59.660 --> 00:07:01.360 people jumping up and down, people cheering. 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:03.000 Guys couldn't even sit up on the bench. It was 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:04.980 probably the best minute of my life. You can 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:07.680 really feel the intense pressure of those final 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:11.000 minutes giving way to just pure, overwhelming 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.240 joy of realizing you've reached the pinnacle 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:16.459 of your sport. Now, to win that cup, the Devils 00:07:16.459 --> 00:07:18.600 relied on a defensive system that completely 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.399 defined that era of hockey. If we connect this 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:24.120 to the bigger picture. The Devils were famous 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:27.899 and in some circles deeply resented for utilizing 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:31.360 the neutral zone trap. Very resented. It was 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:33.779 a suffocating defensive structure designed to 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:36.399 completely stifle the opposing team's transition 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:39.839 game. It clogged up the middle of the ice and 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:42.300 made it nearly impossible for teams to carry 00:07:42.300 --> 00:07:44.680 the puck cleanly into the offensive zone. So 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:46.579 the standard counter to the trap was the dump 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:48.680 and chase. If you can't skate through the neutral 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:51.399 zone, you just fire the puck deep into the corners 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:53.759 and send your fastest forwards to go retrieve 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.579 it and establish a forecheck. And that is precisely 00:07:56.579 --> 00:07:58.600 where the secret weapon of the New Jersey trap 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:01.160 came into play. And that weapon was Martin Brodeur 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:04.439 himself. His stick handling. Yes. His teammate, 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:07.279 Scott Gomez, famously considered Brodeur the 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.259 equivalent of an extra defenseman. Because Brodeur 00:08:10.259 --> 00:08:12.420 was so exceptionally skilled at handling the 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:14.800 puck with his stick, any time the opposing team 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:16.879 tried to bypass the trap by dumping the puck 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.600 into the devil's zone, Brodeur would simply skate 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:22.040 out of his crease. Grab the puck. intercept it 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.500 right off the boards and accurately pass it back 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:27.199 up the ice to his forwards in transition. He 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.959 single -handedly neutralized the only effective 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:32.779 counter strategy to their defense. Which perfectly 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:36.600 sets up a mind -bending fact about Brodeur. Goaltenders 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:38.690 are supposed to stay in their net stop pucks, 00:08:38.730 --> 00:08:41.049 and lead the offense to the skaters. That's the 00:08:41.049 --> 00:08:43.990 job description. But Brodeur is the only NHL 00:08:43.990 --> 00:08:46.309 goaltender in history to score three career goals. 00:08:46.490 --> 00:08:49.750 It defies the entire logic of the position. A 00:08:49.750 --> 00:08:52.269 goalie scoring once is considered a generational 00:08:52.269 --> 00:08:56.490 fluke. Doing it three times requires intent and 00:08:56.490 --> 00:08:58.990 skill. Let's break down these three goals because 00:08:58.990 --> 00:09:01.009 they all highlight different aspects of his awareness. 00:09:01.169 --> 00:09:03.830 Okay. The first one happened in the 1997 playoffs 00:09:03.830 --> 00:09:06.909 against his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens. 00:09:06.929 --> 00:09:09.090 In the playoffs, no less. The Canadiens pulled 00:09:09.090 --> 00:09:11.090 their goalie for an extra attacker late in the 00:09:11.090 --> 00:09:13.889 game, and Brodeur corralled the puck, looked 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:16.710 down the ice, and literally fired it the entire 00:09:16.710 --> 00:09:19.379 length of the rink. right into the empty net. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:21.659 It was only the second time a goalie had ever 00:09:21.659 --> 00:09:24.759 scored in the playoffs. The sheer audacity to 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:27.539 try that in a high -pressure postseason environment 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:30.539 against the team he grew up watching is incredible. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.080 It requires immense confidence. If he misplays 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.120 that puck or turns it over, the Canadians are 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.720 set up for an immediate scoring chance. Then, 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:42.539 in 2000 against the Philadelphia Flyers, he secured 00:09:42.539 --> 00:09:45.679 his second. He was credited with a goal after 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:48.100 he made a save, and then the Flyers accidentally 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:50.440 passed the puck into their own empty net on a 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:52.960 delayed penalty. Right. Since Brodeur was the 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.019 last Devils player to touch the puck, he got 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:57.960 the official credit. That one involves a bit 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.299 of circumstantial luck, certainly, but you still 00:10:00.299 --> 00:10:02.340 have to be actively involved in the play and 00:10:02.340 --> 00:10:04.320 making the stop to get the credit on the score 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.940 sheet. The third one, however, in 2013 against 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:10.649 the Carolina Hurricanes is just wild. He scored 00:10:10.649 --> 00:10:13.090 on a power play. A power play? He became the 00:10:13.090 --> 00:10:15.789 first goalie to do that since 2002. This isn't 00:10:15.789 --> 00:10:18.090 just quirky trivia to memorize. It underscores 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:20.230 exactly what made his stick handling so lethal. 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:23.210 He wasn't a passive defender. He was an active 00:10:23.210 --> 00:10:26.029 offensive threat from his own crease. Opposing 00:10:26.029 --> 00:10:28.250 coaches had to constantly account for him. They 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:29.929 had to account for the fact that the goaltender 00:10:29.929 --> 00:10:32.409 could transition the puck faster and more accurately 00:10:32.409 --> 00:10:34.389 than some of the professional defensemen on the 00:10:34.389 --> 00:10:37.750 ice. He was creating odd man rushes from 200 00:10:37.750 --> 00:10:40.149 feet away. Here's where it gets really interesting. 00:10:40.649 --> 00:10:43.210 Because Brodeur was so effective at handling 00:10:43.210 --> 00:10:45.590 the puck, because he was essentially acting as 00:10:45.590 --> 00:10:48.110 a third defenseman who ruined the opponent's 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:51.450 forecheck, the NHL decided they had to step in 00:10:51.450 --> 00:10:53.950 and legislate his skill out of the game. The 00:10:53.950 --> 00:10:56.169 league executives felt the flow of the game was 00:10:56.169 --> 00:10:58.509 being fundamentally altered, and not for the 00:10:58.509 --> 00:11:00.789 better in terms of entertainment value. Before 00:11:00.789 --> 00:11:04.669 the 2005 -06 season, the NHL instituted what 00:11:04.669 --> 00:11:07.970 is widely known as the Brodeur Rule. They painted 00:11:07.970 --> 00:11:10.509 a trapezoid behind the net. Literally painted 00:11:10.509 --> 00:11:13.049 on the ice. The rule stated that if a goalie 00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:15.029 played the puck behind the goal line, anywhere 00:11:15.029 --> 00:11:17.850 outside of that newly designated trapezoid, they 00:11:17.850 --> 00:11:20.149 would be slapped with a two -minute minor penalty 00:11:20.149 --> 00:11:22.940 for delay of game. They drew boundaries on the 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:25.259 ice to contain one man's skill set. This sparked 00:11:25.259 --> 00:11:27.320 a massive debate, which the sources outlined 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:30.440 quite clearly. You have two very distinct philosophies 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.899 colliding. On one side, you have the league's 00:11:33.899 --> 00:11:36.539 view, which was heavily articulated by former 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:39.700 general manager Brian Burke. He argued that the 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:42.080 rule was necessary because the game was turning 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:44.889 into what he called. A tennis match. Ack and 00:11:44.889 --> 00:11:47.889 forth. Exactly. A team would dump the puck in, 00:11:47.990 --> 00:11:50.570 the goalie would easily retrieve it and throw 00:11:50.570 --> 00:11:53.330 it right back out into the neutral zone. The 00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:55.830 league wanted to encourage those soft chips into 00:11:55.830 --> 00:11:58.529 the corners to force physical puck battles between 00:11:58.529 --> 00:12:01.350 forwards and defensemen. They wanted to inject 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:04.830 grit, tension, and offensive zone pressure back 00:12:04.830 --> 00:12:07.389 into the sport to increase scoring and excitement. 00:12:07.950 --> 00:12:10.090 Brodeur saw it from a completely different angle, 00:12:10.129 --> 00:12:12.629 though. His view wasn't just about protecting 00:12:12.629 --> 00:12:15.309 his own statistics or his team's strategic advantage. 00:12:15.710 --> 00:12:19.029 He argued it was an issue of player safety. He 00:12:19.029 --> 00:12:21.669 claimed that the trapezoid rule directly endangered 00:12:21.669 --> 00:12:24.169 defensemen. Without the goalie allowed to roam 00:12:24.169 --> 00:12:26.049 into the corners to intercept those dump -ins, 00:12:26.230 --> 00:12:28.710 defensemen were being forced to skate back and 00:12:28.710 --> 00:12:31.190 retrieve the puck while taking huge high -speed 00:12:31.190 --> 00:12:33.669 hits from incoming four -checkers. Right, because 00:12:33.669 --> 00:12:35.750 they couldn't rely on Brodeur to clear it for 00:12:35.750 --> 00:12:38.289 them anymore. And because the NHL had simultaneously 00:12:38.289 --> 00:12:41.289 cracked down on interference penalties, those 00:12:41.289 --> 00:12:43.470 four checkers were coming in faster and harder 00:12:43.470 --> 00:12:46.690 than ever before. Brodeur stated publicly that 00:12:46.690 --> 00:12:49.610 he felt incredibly guilty having to just stand 00:12:49.610 --> 00:12:52.269 helplessly in his crease and watch his teammates 00:12:52.269 --> 00:12:55.250 take these massive, potentially career -altering 00:12:55.250 --> 00:12:57.690 hits because he was legally barred from skating 00:12:57.690 --> 00:12:59.879 10 feet to the left to help them out. It's a 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:02.899 deeply compelling conflict. You have the league 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:05.720 trying to manufacture a specific type of entertainment 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:08.240 and physical engagement for the fans, and you 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:10.480 have the innovator pointing out the severe unintended 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:13.360 human cost of artificially restricting that innovation. 00:13:13.980 --> 00:13:17.019 Do you prioritize the aesthetic flow of the game 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:19.039 or the health of the players navigating that 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.899 flow? Think about that dynamic in the context 00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:25.409 of your own life or your own industry. What happens 00:13:25.409 --> 00:13:27.970 when someone is so innovative, so far ahead of 00:13:27.970 --> 00:13:30.149 the curve, that the traditional rules simply 00:13:30.149 --> 00:13:32.409 can't contain them? It creates a fascinating 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:34.710 tension. The governing bodies always have to 00:13:34.710 --> 00:13:36.970 decide whether to let the innovator force everyone 00:13:36.970 --> 00:13:39.750 else to evolve or to rewrite the rules to pull 00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:41.909 the innovator back down to the pack. Berdour 00:13:41.909 --> 00:13:43.870 wasn't just inspiring rule changes regarding 00:13:43.870 --> 00:13:46.570 puck possession either. Let's talk about the 00:13:46.570 --> 00:13:49.000 Avery rule. Which remains one of the most bizarre 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.240 moments in modern hockey history. Oh, this is 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.879 a classic. During the 2008 playoffs, the Devils 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.080 were playing their fierce Hudson River rivals, 00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:00.580 the New York Rangers. A Rangers forward named 00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:03.840 Sean Avery decided on a completely novel strategy 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.000 to deal with Brodeur's dominance. Novel is one 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.320 word for it. During a five -on -three power play, 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.429 Avery planted himself in front of the net. But 00:14:12.429 --> 00:14:14.370 instead of looking for a deflection or a rebound, 00:14:14.629 --> 00:14:17.450 he literally turned his back to the play, faced 00:14:17.450 --> 00:14:20.009 Brodeur directly, and began frantically waving 00:14:20.009 --> 00:14:22.970 his hands and his stick right in Brodeur's face 00:14:22.970 --> 00:14:25.929 just to visually distract him. It was an incredibly 00:14:25.929 --> 00:14:28.830 surreal scene. The puck is live, the Rangers 00:14:28.830 --> 00:14:31.190 have a two -man advantage, and Avery is completely 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:33.669 ignoring the play to essentially perform jumping 00:14:33.669 --> 00:14:35.710 jacks in front of the goaltender. The officials 00:14:35.710 --> 00:14:37.720 on the ice were baffled because... There was 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:39.820 technically nothing in the rulebook explicitly 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:42.220 stating a player couldn't face the goalie and 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:44.259 wave his arms. They had no idea what to call. 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:47.179 The very next morning, the NHL had to issue an 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:50.159 emergency memo inventing a revision to the unsportsmanlike 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:52.659 conduct rule, which everyone immediately dubbed 00:14:52.659 --> 00:14:55.700 the Sean Avery rule, to officially outlaw those 00:14:55.700 --> 00:14:58.440 kinds of antics. It just goes to show that conventional 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:00.799 methods weren't working. Opponents were trying 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:03.600 literally anything to throw Broguer off his mental 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.809 game. When your technical skill is seemingly 00:15:05.809 --> 00:15:08.370 flawless, teams resort to psychological warfare. 00:15:08.730 --> 00:15:11.409 Which brings us to the records, he said. Remember 00:15:11.409 --> 00:15:14.029 how Brodeur idolized Patrick Roy growing up in 00:15:14.029 --> 00:15:16.429 Montreal? Yeah. He systematically dismantled 00:15:16.429 --> 00:15:19.429 almost every major record Roy held. In March 00:15:19.429 --> 00:15:22.809 2009, he passed Roy's all -time win record, capturing 00:15:22.809 --> 00:15:26.350 his 551st victory. The final staggering numbers 00:15:26.350 --> 00:15:28.029 from the source material are almost difficult 00:15:28.029 --> 00:15:29.809 to comprehend when you consider the physical 00:15:29.809 --> 00:15:31.809 toll of the goaltending position. Go ahead, lay 00:15:31.809 --> 00:15:35.600 them out. Berdue retired with 691 regular season 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:38.700 wins. That is the most in NHL history by a massive 00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:42.659 margin. He recorded 125 shutouts, absolutely 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:45.220 shattering the previous legendary record of 103 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:49.580 held by Terry Sawchuck. He played in 12 ,266 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:52.259 games, which is more than 200 games above any 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:54.220 other goaltender to ever lace up the skates. 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:56.879 The consistency required to hit those numbers 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:00.379 is just wild. He won at least 30 games in 12 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:03.120 straight seasons. He remains the only goaltender 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.799 with eight 40 -win seasons. And across that massive, 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.399 sprawling career in New Jersey, he had only one 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:12.240 single season where he posted more losses than 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:14.779 wins. It speaks to a level of durability and 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:17.059 endurance that we may never see matched, especially 00:16:17.059 --> 00:16:19.259 with modern load management strategies where 00:16:19.259 --> 00:16:21.320 teams rarely play their starting goalies for 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:24.279 more than 55 or 60 games a year. So what does 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:27.190 this all mean for his final chapter? The twilight 00:16:27.190 --> 00:16:29.649 years of his career were an interesting transition. 00:16:29.950 --> 00:16:32.830 He stayed with the Devils for a long time, eventually 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:35.669 sharing the net with Cory Schneider as his own 00:16:35.669 --> 00:16:37.929 numbers naturally began to dip below the league 00:16:37.929 --> 00:16:41.149 average due to age. In the summer of 2014, after 00:16:41.149 --> 00:16:44.110 21 years in the New Jersey organization, he decided 00:16:44.110 --> 00:16:47.169 to test free agency. He ended up signing a tryout 00:16:47.169 --> 00:16:49.250 and then a one -year deal with the St. Louis 00:16:49.250 --> 00:16:52.159 Blues because their starter, Brian Elliott, was 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:54.440 injured. Seeing him in a blues jersey for those 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:56.879 few games was certainly a jarring visual for 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.179 hockey fans accustomed to seeing him in Devils 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:01.519 red and black. He only played seven games for 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:03.980 St. Louis before deciding to officially retire 00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:07.559 in early 2015. He immediately transitioned into 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:09.500 their front office as a special assistant to 00:17:09.500 --> 00:17:11.619 the general manager, though he eventually made 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:13.240 his way back home to the Devils organization 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:16.099 as an executive vice president of hockey operations. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:18.819 We also shouldn't overlook his international 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:21.640 play when evaluating his entire body of work. 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:25.599 While he didn't play in the 1998 Olympics, he 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:28.359 took over as the starter in the 2002 Salt Lake 00:17:28.359 --> 00:17:31.619 City Games and led Team Canada to a gold medal, 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:34.339 ending a 50 -year gold medal drought for the 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.000 country. He won another gold medal with Canada 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.200 in 2010 in Vancouver, sharing duties with Roberto 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.509 Luongo under immense pressure on home soil. Two 00:17:43.509 --> 00:17:45.670 Olympic goals to go with three Stanley Cups, 00:17:45.750 --> 00:17:48.470 four Vizina trophies as the league's top goalie, 00:17:48.470 --> 00:17:51.410 and five Jennings trophies for fewest goals against. 00:17:51.789 --> 00:17:54.109 This raises an important question, though. With 00:17:54.109 --> 00:17:56.869 a resume overloaded with hardware and all -time 00:17:56.869 --> 00:18:00.089 volume records, is Martin Berdour the undisputed 00:18:00.089 --> 00:18:01.950 greatest goaltender of all time? That is the 00:18:01.950 --> 00:18:04.009 ultimate debate in hockey circles, isn't it? 00:18:04.250 --> 00:18:07.089 It is, and the sources show a real split in how 00:18:07.089 --> 00:18:10.369 his legacy is analyzed by historians versus modern 00:18:10.369 --> 00:18:13.529 statisticians. On one side, you have traditional 00:18:13.529 --> 00:18:16.589 writers like Steve Politti, who point to Brodeur's 00:18:16.589 --> 00:18:19.630 sheer longevity, his durability, and his massive 00:18:19.630 --> 00:18:23.130 win totals to declare him the absolute best ever. 00:18:23.349 --> 00:18:25.369 Makes sense. Politti notes that Brodeur played 00:18:25.369 --> 00:18:29.190 70 or more games in 12 different seasons. Patrick 00:18:29.190 --> 00:18:31.750 Roy never did that once. The argument is that 00:18:31.750 --> 00:18:34.509 availability and volume over two decades is the 00:18:34.509 --> 00:18:37.190 ultimate metric of greatness. But the modern 00:18:37.190 --> 00:18:38.950 analytics community has a very different read 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:40.990 on those numbers. They do. A deep statistical 00:18:40.990 --> 00:18:43.630 analysis by Chris Boyle actually placed Broder 00:18:43.630 --> 00:18:46.329 eighth on the all -time list, which sounds blasphemous 00:18:46.329 --> 00:18:48.650 to some fans. Eighth? Yeah, Boyle's argument 00:18:48.650 --> 00:18:51.329 hinges on context. He argues that Berger's incredible 00:18:51.329 --> 00:18:53.950 teammates, specifically Hall of Fame defensemen 00:18:53.950 --> 00:18:56.210 like Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermeyer, combined 00:18:56.210 --> 00:18:58.890 with that stifling trap defense, artificially 00:18:58.890 --> 00:19:02.019 inflated his numbers. Ah, I see. Analytics suggest 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:04.799 that goaltenders like Dominic Hasek or Patrick 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.859 Roy faced far more high -danger unblocked shot 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:10.799 attempts than Brodeur ever did. The argument 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.680 is that when you adjust for the team systems 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:15.380 in front of them, Hasek and Roy had superior 00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:18.779 individual statistics in their peak seasons because 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:21.039 they had a much higher degree of difficulty per 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.359 shot. It's a classic system versus individual 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.480 brilliance debate. Does a goalie get penalized 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:28.480 historically because his team played perfect 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:31.119 defense? Or do we acknowledge that his puck handling 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.579 is what made that perfect defense possible in 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:36.220 the first place? That's the crux of it. But what 00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:39.220 the sources make abundantly clear is this. Whether 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:41.359 you side with the traditionalists and rank Martin 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:43.400 Brodeur first, or you side with the analytics 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:46.019 and rank him eighth all time, his impact on how 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:48.079 the game of hockey is played remains completely 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:51.599 unmatched. Neither Hasek nor Roy forced the league 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:54.059 to rewrite the rules of engagement. That is the 00:19:54.059 --> 00:19:56.480 perfect way to summarize it. Martin Brodeur was 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.559 far more than just a guy standing in front of 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:01.680 a net blocking shots. He was a strategic mastermind. 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:04.859 He functioned as a third defenseman. And his 00:20:04.859 --> 00:20:07.599 specific set of skills was so thoroughly dominant 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:10.720 that he forced the NHL to change its literal 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:14.240 rulebook, painting lines on the ice just to contain 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:16.480 him. And that leaves us with a really fascinating 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:18.759 thought to ponder regarding the future of the 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:21.200 sport. Today, goaltenders are placed in highly 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:24.019 specialized, rigid development academies starting 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:26.220 at age five, where they are drilled endlessly 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:28.740 in a mathematically optimized, blocking -first 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:31.680 style. With the system now so standardized and 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:33.859 heavily coached from such a young age, will the 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:36.039 sport ever allow for another unconventional, 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:38.660 rule -breaking innovator like Brodeur to emerge? 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.720 Or has the path to the NHL become too rigid for 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:43.819 that kind of singular creativity to survive? 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:46.079 A great question to chew on. Thank you for joining 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:48.519 us for this deep dive. Keep asking questions. 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:50.380 Keep challenging the rules and we'll catch you 00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:50.799 next time.