The 2013-14 season was supposed to be Martin Brodeur’s swan song, a victory tour for a Hall of Fame-bound goaltender who backstopped his New Jersey Devils to three Stanley Cups and provided two decades' worth of exceptional goaltending.
In fiction, the end to Brodeur’s run would undoubtedly have ended that way. After some tough seasons, he would have rebounded to provide the Devils with strong play, challenging his replacement for every minute of ice time.
He would have been particularly exceptional during the NHL’s Stadium Series, showcasing the kind of play that typified his career for a national audience in that outdoor game. In the end, he would bow out gracefully, handing the reins over to a worthy successor in Cory Schneider.
This is not fiction, and in real life, Brodeur has done none of those things. What he has done is his best to put a layer of tarnish on an incredible career.
It starts with Brodeur’s play, which has conformed not to some contrived narrative but to a simple truism: Players get worse as they age. While the average save percentage of an ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Tarnished Legacy: Why 2013-14 Is a Sad End to Martin Brodeur’s Stellar Career
January 30th, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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