Every new season brings with it a list of approaching milestones, special marks deserving of recognition from the hockey community.
But the marks Martin Brodeur is approaching in 2008-09 are almost surreal causes for celebration. Consider what's within reach:
* With his 14th win this season, Brodeur will surpass Hall of Famer Patrick Roy as the NHL's all-time winningest goalie with 552.
* Eight shutouts will see Brodeur break the all-time shutout mark of 103, currently held by another Hall of Famer. Terry Sawchuk.
Brodeur, whose carefree approach to the game belies that of the stereotypical goalie, does admit that he thinks about surpassing these lofty milestones.
"Yeah, I think about it," Brodeur said. "I think that's going to be one of the things that I'll be really excited about. You know, winning the most games is what it's all about. When you're playing hockey, you play to win. For a goalie, it's a beautiful thing because when you win everybody's happy around you. So it's not a selfish thing. It's like, well, you scored 500 goals or whatever. For a goalie, it's all about wins.
"And so when I will hit that record, if I do, it's going to be quite an accomplishment. But I've been playing a lot of years, playing a lot of hockey, a lot of games, to be able to get close to Patrick. And I think it's to his credit for him to be able to push that record so high. And it will be definitely a tough one to reach."
The hockey gods would have to come up with quite the conspiracy to deny Brodeur, whose career has been built around durability and winning. Brodeur has played in 70 or more games in 11 of the past dozen seasons. During the same span, Brodeur has won 40-plus games seven times. Since 1995-96, Brodeur has averaged 40.8 wins.
"I think it's going to be a great accomplishment," Brodeur said of surpassing Roy. "I think you don't play hockey for individual things. I think when you play hockey it's all about Stanley Cups, about winning championships and that's what drives you to have that feeling. It's a team sport. So when you do win together, you know it's a fun feeling when you help each other out through a long battle. And that's, really, for me, it's what hockey's all about. ... It will be an unbelievable number, actually, but it stays there. I'm not looking to win only 552 games. There will be a lot more to win if I want to continue playing in the NHL.
"It's been a great ride," Brodeur said of a career that has produced three Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal. "Playing for one organization, being so successful as a team, as an organization, and what, every year, we try to accomplish. ... Last year was our 11th straight time in the playoffs. We only missed the playoffs, since I've been there, once. That's what you play hockey for. We have a chance to win every day.
"And for me it's all the great people I met through this organization -- (Doug) Gilmour, (Alex) Mogilny, (Slava) Fetisov, Scott Stevens, and Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko, and I'm missing tons of other guys. ... You don't forget these things. My family is in New Jersey. My kids were all born in New Jersey. They all play hockey. The kids are in school in New Jersey, they're Americans. And for me just to have that kind of life coming in from Saint Leonard outside of Montreal, now for me I'm like an American. So it's awesome. And at the same time, I was able to keep all the ties to Canada with playing in the last three Olympics and some World Championships and the World Cup. So the best of both worlds. And my career has been unbelievable."
But the marks Martin Brodeur is approaching in 2008-09 are almost surreal causes for celebration. Consider what's within reach:
* With his 14th win this season, Brodeur will surpass Hall of Famer Patrick Roy as the NHL's all-time winningest goalie with 552.
* Eight shutouts will see Brodeur break the all-time shutout mark of 103, currently held by another Hall of Famer. Terry Sawchuk.
Brodeur, whose carefree approach to the game belies that of the stereotypical goalie, does admit that he thinks about surpassing these lofty milestones.
"Yeah, I think about it," Brodeur said. "I think that's going to be one of the things that I'll be really excited about. You know, winning the most games is what it's all about. When you're playing hockey, you play to win. For a goalie, it's a beautiful thing because when you win everybody's happy around you. So it's not a selfish thing. It's like, well, you scored 500 goals or whatever. For a goalie, it's all about wins.
"And so when I will hit that record, if I do, it's going to be quite an accomplishment. But I've been playing a lot of years, playing a lot of hockey, a lot of games, to be able to get close to Patrick. And I think it's to his credit for him to be able to push that record so high. And it will be definitely a tough one to reach."
The hockey gods would have to come up with quite the conspiracy to deny Brodeur, whose career has been built around durability and winning. Brodeur has played in 70 or more games in 11 of the past dozen seasons. During the same span, Brodeur has won 40-plus games seven times. Since 1995-96, Brodeur has averaged 40.8 wins.
"I think it's going to be a great accomplishment," Brodeur said of surpassing Roy. "I think you don't play hockey for individual things. I think when you play hockey it's all about Stanley Cups, about winning championships and that's what drives you to have that feeling. It's a team sport. So when you do win together, you know it's a fun feeling when you help each other out through a long battle. And that's, really, for me, it's what hockey's all about. ... It will be an unbelievable number, actually, but it stays there. I'm not looking to win only 552 games. There will be a lot more to win if I want to continue playing in the NHL.
"It's been a great ride," Brodeur said of a career that has produced three Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal. "Playing for one organization, being so successful as a team, as an organization, and what, every year, we try to accomplish. ... Last year was our 11th straight time in the playoffs. We only missed the playoffs, since I've been there, once. That's what you play hockey for. We have a chance to win every day.
"And for me it's all the great people I met through this organization -- (Doug) Gilmour, (Alex) Mogilny, (Slava) Fetisov, Scott Stevens, and Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko, and I'm missing tons of other guys. ... You don't forget these things. My family is in New Jersey. My kids were all born in New Jersey. They all play hockey. The kids are in school in New Jersey, they're Americans. And for me just to have that kind of life coming in from Saint Leonard outside of Montreal, now for me I'm like an American. So it's awesome. And at the same time, I was able to keep all the ties to Canada with playing in the last three Olympics and some World Championships and the World Cup. So the best of both worlds. And my career has been unbelievable."
