Marty Brodeur Poised To Set NHL Record For Wins
18/03/2009 05:28
The question is no longer if, but when Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils will become the winningest goaltender in NHL history.
Brodeur, 36, equalled Hall of Famer Patrick Roy's record of 551 wins with a 3-1 victory at Montreal last Saturday night, and will aim to set the new standard when the Devils host the Chicago Blackhawks at the Prudential Center on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET).
"I will just put myself in a class of my own — for now," Brodeur told reporters Monday. "When people look at stats now, there are two names at 551.
"There will be one name at 552 when I get there. After that, it is 553 and I will just try to raise the bar as high as I can."
"It is all about winning," Brodeur continued. "I will say it again, 'It is not just about the goaltender, it is about the team.'
"The team, in 15 years we have won that many games and more, with other guys chipping in along the way. It is a lot of wins."
Brodeur acknowledged the advent of overtime and shootouts hastened his assault on the record set by Roy, who played his entire career in the pre-shootout era — when teams still settled for ties.
But that hasn't cheapened Brodeur's sense of accomplishment.
"You have to appreciate what you have just accomplished or what you are about to accomplish," he said. "That is part of doing some great things."
More from CBC Sports.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s hard enough to imagine that Martin Brodeur will set the record for most wins by an NHL goaltender at 552, which is just a mind-boggling number of wins for a goaltender. However, the next record that he has in his sites – that held by the immortal, legendary goaltender Terry Sawchuk – of 103 career shutouts, is a record all the pundits claimed would never be broken. Brodeur presently sits with 100 career shutouts.