Hockey fans soon have to face the harsh reality (not so much for fans Philadelphia and New York) that the career of the greatest goaltender the world has ever seen is about to come to an end.
Martin Brodeur has spent his entire career as a member of the New Jersey Devils. He is the Wayne Gretzky of goaltenders when it comes to records.
He is the all-time leader among NHL goaltenders in wins, shutouts, saves. He is the only goaltender to have ever reached 600 wins. He is the only goaltender to ever have 100 wins in two different stadiums. He has the most 30-win seasons of all time as well as the most 40-win seasons of all time.
Hell, he is even the all-time leader in goals scored by a goalie with three, one of which was the only game-winning goal ever scored by a goaltender.
What’s remarkable about Martin Brodeur is that even at 41 years old, he has shown little to no signs of regression even near the end of his career.
In the lockout-shortened 2013 season, Brodeur only played 29 of his team’s 48 games; however, he posted a very respectable 2.22 goals-against average: his best since 2008.
While his goals-against average was above 2.40 in 2009, 2011, and 2012 (a rare occurrence over his career), he has still proven that he can be a productive goaltender.
The only truly negative sign of regression is his save percentage, which has decreased for the most part over the past six years. His save percentage of .901 in 2013 was the lowest of his career.
Nevertheless, Brodeur is not a terrible option for your fantasy team if you need another goaltender in the later rounds, but there are several key obstacles stopping him from being an elite fantasy keeper.
First of all, Brodeur may not even get the majority of New Jersey’s starts in goal this year. Cory Schneider was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in a trade, and it became clear that he will be the goaltender of the future for the Devils once Brodeur requires.
It is unclear who will be tagged the number one guy come October, but it will definitely hurt Brodeur’s fantasy owners especially since Brodeur was splitting time with Johan Hedberg the past few seasons.
However, getting both Brodeur and Schneider may not be a bad idea as a safety net since one of the two will always be in goal.
Another problem with Brodeur (or Schneider in this case) is that the Devils are playing in a very high-scoring division. The Metropolitan Division is loaded with superstars, and the Devils could be a doormat for the other more talented teams.
Brodeur is the greatest goaltender of all time and nothing can change that, but take him at your own risk in your fantasy hockey draft.