Archive: In Exclusive 2005 Interview, Star Goalie Brodeur Spoke On 'Boring' Devils, State Of Game

Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur was one of the most dominant netminders in the history of the sport — and in this cover story from THN’s March 10, 2005, edition (Vol. 58, Issue 29), senior writer Mike Brophy sat down with Brodeur to discuss his career and the NHL in general.

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At the time of the interview, Brodeur had done it all, including winning a Stanley Cup as well as a gold medal at both the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. And Brodeur told Brophy individual honors meant little to him compared to his achievements as a teammate.

“When I became a goalie and when I came to New Jersey, everything was about winning,” Brodeur said. “That winning record is something I really care about, but I know it is far enough away that I am not going to worry about it. I’m going to keep on working and as I get closer I know it is something I will want to achieve, but it’s too far away to dwell on it. I have to stay healthy and I have to play with successful teams, so there are a lot of ‘ifs’ for me to get close to the records.”

Brodeur also spoke to Brophy about the mushrooming state of goalie equipment. He acknowledged the issue was important to many of the game’s gatekeepers, and he understood how the sport would evolve if restrictions weren’t placed on goalie gear.

“I’m older than most of the guys who use the big equipment and I told them, ‘You know, if we don’t smarten up about our equipment, this is what will happen, Brodeur said. “And I pointed to the bigger nets they had at the meeting. I asked them, ‘Would you rather play in these big nets, or play using your skill in the nets we have now?’

“I think we are entering an era where things are going to change the other way. We got big enough and people made a big deal about it. The guys are realizing the best thing that could happen would be for the NHL to include goalies when it comes to making equipment changes.

“We’ll be able to police ourselves because, as a goalie, I want to know the guy at the other end of the ice playing against me is not cheating. If we have that kind of accountability, it will make it such that fewer guys will try to cheat the system. If you don’t police the equipment, people will cheat. The NHL has to take care of it and break down those big guys.”

Vol. 58, No. 29, March 10, 2005

By Mike Brophy

If Canada is successful at the World Championship, there’s a very good chance it will be largely due to the play of goaltender Martin Brodeur.

The 32-year-old stopper was an integral part of Canada’s gold medal-winning World Cup team last fall and saved the day in Salt Lake City in 2002, helping his country bring home gold from the Winter Olympics.

Regarded by most as the best goalie in the world today, Brodeur took some time to talk with senior writer Mike Brophy about the April 30-May 15 World Championship in Austria, his hockey career — past, present and future — and the future of the NHL.

THE HOCKEY NEWS You have nothing left to prove. What is your motivation to play in the World Championship when so many of Canada’s other top players passed on the opportunity?

MARTIN BRODEUR It’s really for the love of the game. This year has been tough on everybody. I didn’t play anywhere all year and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to compete. I’m 32 years old, so I think it’s important for me to stay on top of my game and try to play at the highest level I can.

THN A lot of the top players indicated they couldn’t get in shape in time for the tournament. Why is it different for you?

MB I don’t think I’m in any better shape than the guys who didn’t come. For me, as a goalie, I think it is a little bit different. You don’t have to follow the pace the same as a forward or defenseman who have to hit and skate. It’s not something I felt would hurt me. I think I am in good enough shape to compete with the others at the tournament.

I respect the decision of those who chose not to come. Everybody has their own reasons. Truthfully, if I had a foil season under my belt, there’s no way I would’ve accepted to go with Team Canada to the World Championship. Not that it’s not fun to go, but after a full season, it’s not that easy to go for another month to play more hockey. For me, it was a case that I hadn’t played much hockey this year and I wanted to have competition.

THN The projection desk at The Hockey News suggests you are on pace to eclipse Patrick Roy in wins (Roy has 551, you have 403) early in the 2009-2010 season. In terms of shutouts you’re on pace to top Terry Sawchuk (he’s at 103, you’re at 75) later that same season. You’ll be 37 and in your 16th season (assuming there is NHL hockey next year). How important are these records to you?

MB Well, I think to just have a shot at them is important to me. Breaking them? I think the cards have been dealt differently to me than other goalies. I am going through my second work stoppage now, so it can be difficult to achieve these things. I’m going to try. When I became a goalie and when I came to New Jersey, everything was about winning. That winning record is something I really care about, but I know it is far enough away that I am not going to worry about it. I’m going to keep on working and as I get closer I know it is something I will want to achieve, but it’s too far away to dwell on it. I have to stay healthy and I have to play with successful teams, so there are a lot of‘ifs’ for me to get close to the records.

THN Would breaking one of the records be any more special than the other?

MB I don’t know. I think both of them are tremendous. I think the shutout record is the one you sit back at the start of your career and you see that number and it’s like, ‘Wow, that one is impossible.’ The same goes for the wins. Both of them have something different, but definitely winning for me is the big thing. It is something I take a lot of pride in. To lead the league in wins so many times (six times) is something I really care about. So maybe the wins record would be a little bit more important to me.

THN There are all kinds of proposals for changes to goalie equipment. Might it be more difficult to record shutouts in the future?

MB Maybe. But I don’t think my equipment will change. Not much, anyways. I’m not selfish about these things. If it’s going to be a better game because goalies have smaller equipment, then so be it.

THN How do you feel about missing a whole year when you are chasing two such significant records? Do you think it will hurt you?

MB I don’t see having one year off hurting me too much. If anything, it could add years at the back end of my career. If it were to go on for another season, I think that would be a different thing, but right now I’m comfortable with what has happened and I’m using this time as a rest for my mental game and as well as for my body. I’m in the middle of the prime of my career now, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise that this happened to me now.

THN When people talk about what is wrong with hockey, and how there is a lack of scoring, your team, the New Jersey Devils, always get mentioned. Does that bother you? After all, you have won three Stanley Cups.

MB That’s my answer to them. It’s all about winning and who finishes on top. Whether we are exciting or not, I think we get the job done and our fans are really excited when we win Stanley Cups. For the average fan who watches the game, it might be a little different. But to the fans who are big fans of Scott Stevens or Scott Niedermayer or myself, I don’t think we are that boring of a hockey club. We have guys like Patrik Elias and Scott Gomez who are good offensive players.

THN The Devils led the NHL in goals in 2000-01 and were second to Detroit in 1999-2000 and yet people still called you a boring, defensive team.

MB I think we have that reputation; we might as well run with it. The year Larry (Robinson) and Robbie (Ftorek) coached us, offensively we were unbelievable, but we were able always to combine good defensive hockey with our offense. That’s the way our team is structured, with good defense and myself.

THN When people talk about making changes to the game, they all seem to be directed at increasing scoring. You’re a goalie; you don’t have problems with this?

MB No, because everybody is going to be in the same boat. If it affected just me personally, then I would have a problem with it. If everyone is affected the same way, it’s fair for everybody.

I was with the GMs in Detroit and that’s one thing I told them, we don’t really care about changing our equipment and doing different things if you think it makes it fairer for the skaters to play against us, but there’s no way we’re the only problem here. You guys have to change other things, too. We’re ready to help you out, but there needs to be changes other than simply reducing the size of our equipment.

THN One of the suggestions is to limit the area where goalies can handle the puck, as they did in the American League this year. You are one of the best puck handling goalies of all-time, so we assume you are not for that change.

MB What bothers me is goalies have put in a lot of time mastering this skill. It’s a skill everybody works on. We want to keep it. You compare athletes in different sports and the restrictions are minor for a player who is trying to do something great.

Maybe handling the puck is great and maybe it’s not great, but if you watch games on the NHL Network, there are at least four or five goals scored each week because goalies tried to play the puck and made mistakes. How many goals are scored because a goalie made a nice play with the puck? Not really that many. I think if you encouraged goalies to play the puck, you’d probably get more goals.

It will be a big difference for me if I am restricted from handling the puck, which is a shame. We’re there to put on a show. Whenever I grab the puck in New Jersey and fire it at the empty net, it gets people excited. But you know what, I have scored one goal in 12 years, yet everybody thinks I’m going to score a goal every time I have the puck. I know it won’t happen, because the other team is cheating all the way back to their own blueline when I get the puck.

THN At what stage of your career did you discover that puck-handling would be a valuable asset?

MB When Ron Hextall started handling the puck, my dad (Montreal team photographer Denis Brodeur) came back from the Montreal Forum one night and said, ‘You should have seen that guy, he was like a third defenseman out there.’ I started watching the Flyers to see what my dad was talking about.

When I played midget AAA, we were more specialized in hockey and I started practicing shooting heavy pucks, learning the ability to shoot the puck. After that, it was a matter of making the right decisions that brought me to a different level compared to other goalies.

It’s something that you have or you don’t. It’s how you see the play. Hextall was the key factor in me playing the puck.

THN You’ve been outspoken about big goalie equipment. You’ve made no bones about the fact you think some goalies have bulked up too much. Have any of those goalies ever said anything to you?

MB No. I think everybody understands. When we were in that meeting in Detroit there were 12 goalies and some of them have big equipment.

I’m older than most of the guys who use the big equipment and I told them, ‘You know, if we don’t smarten up about our equipment, this is what will happen.’ And I pointed to the bigger nets they had at the meeting. I asked them, ‘Would you rather play in these big nets, or play using your skill in the nets we have now?’

I think we are entering an era where things are going to change the other way. We got big enough and people made a big deal about it. The guys are realizing the best thing that could happen would be for the NHL to include goalies when it comes to making equipment changes.

We’ll be able to police ourselves because, as a goalie, I want to know the guy at the other end of the ice playing against me is not cheating. If we have that kind of accountability, it will make it such that fewer guys will try to cheat the system. If you don’t police the equipment, people will cheat. The NHL has to take care of it and break down those big guys.

THN What is the difference between a Stanley Cup playoff run and a short tournament such as the Olympics or the World Championship, on and off the ice?

MB It is a big difference. When you play for your national team, for your country, you have to adjust to playing with new people. You have to build a new family. After that, you go through three Game 7s in a row.

It’s the opposite when you are playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s long and when you get a chance to put a team out, you have to do it so it won’t haunt you down the road. It’s more of a marathon than a sprint. You have to minimize the energy you are putting out.

In New Jersey, we live in the hotel for two months during the playoffs. You face the media every day and there’s the travel. At these tournaments you generally stay in the same spot and you’re not as accessible as you are in the NHL for fans and reporters.

THN You always seem to enjoy every hockey experience to its maximum, as if you have a full understanding that someday it will all be over and you are trying to take as much from each experience as you can.

MB I am very appreciative of what I’ve been given. That window was opening by the day when I was 25, but now I’m 31 and the window is closing. For me, playing hockey is not something that is hard on me physically. I do it because I enjoy it. That is a reason why I wanted to play in the Worlds. If we don’t go to the Olympics next year, who knows when the next time we’ll have this kind of opportunity.

THN What did you do to fill your days this winter?

MB I coached my sons, which was a lot of fun, and I went on the IMG tour, which was 20 days in Europe in December. Most of my winter was spent in New Jersey coaching the kids. I have two little goalies out of my three boys. I have respect for all the dads whose sons are goalies.

THN Maybe one day they will challenge your records.

MB I hope so.

THN Did you ever expect you would have the whole year off, that the season would be canceled?

MB You know what, I hate to say it, but yes. For three years we had been hearing about this thing. It’s not something that jumped at us like in 1994. That was probably bad for the negotiating, because everybody was willing to sacrifice one year on both sides. The owners put a fund together and the players did a similar thing. It was like, what was the use of negotiating? I think it was a bad approach for both sides. We were both comfortable to miss one season, but how have we hurt the game?

Lately there have been more talks, but I’m scared to be optimistic. I don’t want to be disappointed again. I think it’s time for people to come to their senses and make the right decisions for the game of hockey. Business is a huge part of the game, but there will be no more business if there’s no more sport.

THN Have you always been a goalie?

MB I played forward until I was seven.

THN Were you a goal-scorer?

MB Oh yeah.

THN A lot of goalies, when they retire, play out whenever they play pick-up hockey. What about you?

MB Definitely out. There’s no way I’ll be a goalie. It’s my turn to shoot at guys’ heads.

THN You have always been media friendly and one who promotes the game. When the NHL returns, do you think it is important that players do everything possible to help rebuild the game?

MB I think it’s time for the sport to rely on the superstars in the game, and not just the logo on the front of the jersey.

To promote the game to the American people, who are really a star-struck kind of fan, the NHL has to be the same as the NFL and baseball players. They have to market some of their players in a different way than they have in the past.

I think everybody has to be working together and when the players and the league work together, I think we will make this business the way it used to be. If they don’t do that, I think the NHL will stay at the bottom of the food chain.

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