CHL graduate Martin Brodeur headlines Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018
The NHL’s all-time winningest goalie headlines the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame class, announced on Tuesday afternoon.
CHL graduate Martin Brodeur, who played for the QMJHL’s St. Hyacinthe Lasers from 1989-92 prior to being the 20th overall pick of the 1990 NHL Draft, will enter the Hall along with other prominent names in NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, former Tampa Bay Lightning star Martin St. Louis, Russian forward Alexander Yakushev, Canadian women’s star Jayna Hefford and the NHL’s first-ever black player Willie O’Ree who broke the league’s colour barrier in 1958.
Brodeur’s impressive resume features three Stanley Cup titles, all with New Jersey (1995, 2000, 2003), a Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year (1994), four Vezina Trophies as the league’s Goaltender of the Year (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008), five Jennings Trophies for sporting the NHL’s Lowest Goals-Against Average (1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2010) as well as a pair of Olympic Gold Medals (2002, 2010).
The 46-year-old Montreal native holds NHL records in career wins (691), shutouts (125), games played by a goaltender (1,266), saves (28,928) and minutes played (74,438). Interestingly, the talented puck-handler also sits tied for second among netminders with 47 career points including three goals and 44 assists.
Brodeur played a total of 20 seasons with New Jersey before a seven-game stint with the St. Louis Blues in 2014-15. He remains with the Blues franchise as the team’s assistant general manager, a position he has held since he announced his retirement following the 2014-15 campaign.
Brodeur’s number 30 was retired by the Devils in 2016, year before the team erected a statue of their all-time great goalie outside the Prudential Center in Newark.
A third round pick by St. Hyacinthe in 1989, Brodeur’s QMJHL career spanned three seasons and was headlined by QMJHL All-Rookie Team honours in 1989-90 and QMJHL Second Team All-Star recognition in 1991-92. He played to an overall record of 72-48-10 with a 3.54 goals-against average, an .885 save percentage and four shutouts over 142 regular season games. He was inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame in August 2015.
Like Martin, the next generation of Brodeurs has passed through the Canadian Hockey League. Eldest son Anthony played parts of two QMJHL seasons between the Gatineau Olympiques and Drummondville Voltigeurs from 2013-15. He was a seventh round pick by New Jersey in 2013 and currently plays U SPORTS Men’s Hockey at the University of Ottawa.
A year younger, Jeremy Brodeur played three seasons with the Oshawa Generals from 2014-17, winning an OHL championship and Mastercard Memorial Cup in the process. The younger Brodeur spent the 2017-18 season with the ECHL’s Allen Americans.
Of the five other 2018 inductees, Fredericton, New Brunswick’s Willie O’Ree is the lone name with CHL ties. He played one season with the OHA’s Kitchener Canucks in 1955-56, a year before the franchise relocated to Peterborough where they exist as the OHL’s Petes to this day.
For more on Brodeur’s remarkable career and the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2018, visit HHOF.com.