all-time great

there aren't too many bad things to be said about martin brodeur. ok, i know he had some issues in his personal life (my mother refers to him as "cheatin brodeur"), but let's keep it relevant, shall we? since he was brought up to the nhl, he's been both spectacular and solid. you could argue that he's changed the position -- his puckhandling skills are legendary and he's often effectively been a third defenseman and opening up the ice for his teammates. almost as impressive as his technical skills is his temperament -- unlike so many goalies, brodeur isn't easily rattled.

so here we are, 2 periods into what may be his 551st career win, which would tie him with the legendary patrick roy -- brodeur's childhood hero -- for all-time wins. even if it doesn't happen tonight, there is little doubt that brodeur will tie and soon surpass roy, earning more wins in few games played. and yet, there are few non-hockey fans who even recognize brodeur's name, let alone his face. it is perhaps a fatal flaw of the nhl that it fails to capitalize on the marketing potential that a player such as brodeur possesses, particularly since he plays in the new york-metropolitan area. the wall street journal, of all sources, published a piece comparing brodeur to derek jeter and concluded that brodeur is the more accomplished of the two.

regardless, there is little doubt that brodeur is an all-time great, and likely one of the top two or three goalies in the history of the nhl. he is the type of goalie who seems as though he'd be as comfortable in net in past decades as he is in today's nhl. since returning from his injury, he's been playing as sharp as he ever. he has one more vezina trophy than roy, sooner or later (hopefully sooner), he'll have more career wins ... perhaps this is the year he'll tie roy by getting his name engraved on his 4th stanley cup ....

UPDATE: brodeur did get his 551st on saturday night, in a 3-1 victory over the habs, who played the devils surprisingly well for a team that's been in a major free-fall lately. the devils' power play was not too effective. however, they got the job done -- here's hoping brodeur's record-breaking 552nd win comes on tuesday at home in jersey against the young and fun-to-watch incarnation of the chicago blackhawks ....