Martin Brodeur officially announces retirement

By Vinnie Criscenzo | Jan 29, 2015

Mar 11, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur (30) kisses the names of his children on the back of his mask before game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. The Devils defeated the Flyers, 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

Future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur has officially announced his retirement after 22 years in the NHL.

Well, my childhood is officially over.

Former New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues goaltender Martin Brodeur officially announced his retirement after 22 seasons in the NHL at a press conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The future Hall of Famer ends his career with 691 wins and 125 shutouts in 1,266 games played, most with New Jersey.

You may as well just rename the NHL goaltending record book after the man, because he owns just about every goaltending record known to man. He is the NHL leader in wins, shutouts, saves, minutes played by a goaltender, and most playoff shutouts, among many others. He is also the only goaltender in NHL history with eight 40-win seasons, eleven consecutive 35-wins seasons and twelve consecutive 30-win seasons.

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It seems like the only real notable record that eluded him was most playoff victories, which seems to be the only record Marty could not catch Patrick Roy, who still holds the record with 151 playoff wins. Brodeur is second with 113 wins.

To add to all his records, Martin Brodeur also has won quite a bit of hardware. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, 5 William M. Jennings Trophies as the goaltender with the least goals against in a season, 4 Vezina Trophies as the NHL’s best goaltender, 2 Olympic gold medals with Team Canada, and 3 Stanley Cup Championships. All these awards and achievements were during his 21-year career with the New Jersey Devils.

So, it was surprising to say the least when Brodeur decided to announce his retirement on Thursday in St. Louis, with the Blues’ logo behind him and Blues’ brass all behind him. Not only that, but there was little to no mention of the New Jersey Devils or general manager Lou Lamoriello in his retirement statement.

Brodeur will remain on with the Blues as a special advisor the general manager Doug Armstrong, so it does make some sense that he is making the announcement in St. Louis. Still, we saw Daniel Alfredsson go back and sign a one-day contract with the Ottawa Senators just to retire a Senator, so why wouldn’t Marty do that?

Marty did mention that Lou and himself have been in contact throughout this whole process, beginning with him signing with the Blues, and insists they are on the same page. However, it’s hard to believe that being on the same page would be retiring as a St. Louis Blue and not doing this announcement in New Jersey.

Lou has left the door open for Marty, saying that there is a position waiting for him whenever he is ready. Marty said that he will make that decision “when it is time.” The sound of that makes me believe it will be later rather than sooner.

There may still be some bad blood from Marty towards Lou for letting him go this past season after handing over the keys to Cory Schneider. If that’s the case, it seems very immature on Marty’s part, as the Devils had to commit to Schneider and had to move on from Marty eventually.

Marty may very well spend the rest of the season with the Blues, earn a great deal of experience in a management role, and return to the Devils next season and everyone will look back on this and laugh. Or, Marty will stay with the Blues for awhile and continue to spite Lou Lamoriello.

While Devils fans most likely aren’t too happy right now, you can’t help but celebrate the career of arguably the best goaltender to ever play in the NHL.

H/T to CBC Sports and NHL Network for the press conference coverage.

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