Born in Montreal, Made in Jersey | FEATURE

I thought I knew a bit about hockey, but New Jersey Devils coach Jacques Lemaire taught The Maven a lesson in the midst of the 1996-97 season.

At the time Mike Dunham - he had previously starred for the Devs' Albany River Rats AHL farm team - had graduated to the East Rutherford sextet and comfortably fit as Martin Brodeur's sidekick.

Better still, on this particular Saturday night, Dunham pitched a perfect shutout at home, which suited me just fine. That also happened to be the night that SportsChannel, the team's TV network, inaugurated its first post-game media schmooze with coach Lemaire.

Energetically feeling my oats, I opened with these words:

"Well, Jacques, that was some performance by Dunny." Then a pause: "Based on his performance tonight, I assume you'll start him in the next game, on Monday in Philadelphia."

"No," Lemaire snapped, "I will not!"

"Excuse me," I sort of pleaded, "how can you not start Dunham when he just had a shutout. That's perfect goaltending."

By this time, it was apparent that the coach wanted to put an end to this Fischler nonsense.

"I will tell you right now, why not Dunham," Jacques shot back with that Cheshire Cat grin spreading across his face. Then another pause: "MARTIN BRODEUR - THAT'S WHY!"

And so, it was Martin Brodeur against Philadelphia and so it was Marty Broduer who went into The Spectrum and beat the Flyers. The Maven learned a lesson he already had learned:

Brodeur rules! And that's that!

The win, of course, was the smallest of samples of a Brodeur career that sparkled on the ice as well as the record book. It was a career that was so spectacular that the abundance of kudos could fill a Union Pacific freight train 10 times over.

Those who have studied Brodeur from start - best rookie, 1993-94 to finish 2012-13 - overflow with praise. One such experienced critic is Chris Riley, a collegiate player at Providence, coach, host of the podcast "Inside The Game" and creator of "Asphalt Avengers Street Hockey."

Riley puts it this way: "Brodeur was a huge part of the team that Lou Lamoriello built. What separated Marty from other goalies was his mindset. He was never up nor down but stayed the same all the time. Watching him, you never knew if the Devils were winning or losing. And that mindset spread calm among his teammates.

"In the dressing room, he would tell the group: 'I will shut it down, nothing is getting past me. Get me some goals and I'll take care of my part.'"

New Jersey-born and bred Devils' teammate Jim Dowd verifies Riley's assessment:

"I'd be sitting in the room, sipping a Sprite and relaxing because I saw how Marty handled the pressure - not being affected by it - bringing calm to the chaos. Our goalie had that special quality. And, brother, could he ever play goal."

The stats and awards underline Dowd's points. Consider the following Brodeur accomplishments:

• 21 seasons as a Devil
• All-time NHL winner with 691 victories and only 397 losses
• 125 shutouts
• 1,266 games played
• Only player in NHL history with eight 40-win seasons
• Four Vezina Trophies
• Five Jennings Trophies
• 10 time All-Star
• Calder Memorial Trophy-winner

That helps explain why Brodeur will be inducted into the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame.

"What Marty meant to the team," says Devils radio play-by-play man Matt Loughlin, "is that every night that he was in goal, the Devils had a chance to win. That was an incredible feeling for his teammates to experience, as well as the fans.

"The other Devils knew that - because of Marty - they could take an extra chance because they had that guy back there who'd let them push it at times."

For his accomplishments, Brodeur will be inducted into Hall of Fame on Nov. 21. Marty already is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

Hockey authors such as Leo Scaglione, Jr. - now part of the MSG Networks production team - echo the high praise of critics throughout the hockey world for Brodeur's body of work.

"Marty was the ultimate competitor," says Scaglione, Jr. "What made him tick was winning. He also was the consummate team player. He took a lower contract price - far less than his market value - so the Devils could spend their money around to build a winner.

"His desire to score a goal also made him tick. It always was a thrill to see him fire the puck down the ice toward the enemy net. And when he scored that kind of goal - against his native Montreal Canadiens - he leaped so many feet into the air. It was an unforgettable sight."

Marty had the best mentor of all - his father Denis Brodeur who played for Canadian National teams - and who later became the Canadiens official photographer. "I'd bring Marty to the Habs’ practices and he'd be mingling with the stars," recalled Denis Brodeur. "He got the NHL 'feel' early in his hockey life."

Author George Falkowski, a multiple Emmy Award-winner at New Jersey's News 12 and now a college instructor, has one vivid memory of Brodeur.

Falkowski: "It was hours before Game 7 against Anaheim at the Meadowlands in the 2003 Cup Final. Tension was high and players were nervously waiting for the start, but not Marty. He was relaxedly doing an interview for a Canadian sports show. Lo and behold, he was laughing and smiling before one of the biggest games of his life.

"In my 40 years around hockey, I've never seen a starting goalie agree to do a pre-game interview let alone talk to the press at the morning skate. Before that Game 7 in 2003, I looked at Marty and said to myself, '’New Jersey is winning this game easy.’ And they did and it was Marty's third shutout of the series and - for New Jersey - a third Stanley Cup."

Such moments explain why - and how - this extraordinary athlete became the face of Devils hockey. Plus, he has adapted New Jersey as his permanent home.

"As a New Jersey native," adds Chris Riley, "I can't help admire how Marty has brought honor to the State. What a saga, he starts his career as a kid playing in his native Montreal and winds up as poster boy for hockey, our state. He's become a Garden Stater through and through."

Not to mention the Devils Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations as well as one who never stops giving back to the community, be it charities or helping kids learn the game.

You don't have to be told that Met Area media types have adored Brodeur's endless availability and insights into The Game. Veteran Associated Press hockey reporter Allan Kreda has watched Brodeur for two decades and offers this appraisal:

"Marty never took a night off," Kreda asserts. "For the entirety of his Devils' career - from his cameo as a teenager in 1991-92 until his last home game late in the 2013-14 campaign when he was almost 42.

"Brodeur always gave his team a chance to win because of his competitiveness and ability to lift his teammates. His records never will be broken."

Kreda was there on April 12, 2014, when Marty played his last game as a Devil and Brodeur was named the "First Star."

Here's a portion of Kreda's New York Times' story on April 13, 2014:

"Brodeur first heard the familiar 'Marty, Marty' chants when he denied Brad Marchand 12 minutes into the game. He heard the cascading sounds again early in the third when he made one of his hallmark glove saves. He also received a serenade at game's end from the sellout crowd of 16,592 after he was named first star."

The connection of affable Marty to his fan base was uniquely warm and remained so through his retirement and still exists since he became a franchise executive.

"My relationship with the fans means a lot to me," says Brodeur. "It was great through all the years. I especially was grateful for their showing appreciation of my career."

Appreciation, in turn, is what Marty has received from media types such as MSG Networks' Devils play-by-play man Don La Greca.

"Brodeur was a money goalie," says La Greca, who was a Devils fan long before he got into broadcasting. "He meant everything to me - and everything to the Devils."

Where Marty stands in the Pantheon of outstanding goaltenders will forever be a moot point. But those who know him best - the ones who played beside Brodeur have no doubts about it.

"As far as I'm concerned," asserts Mister Devil, Ken Daneyko, "Marty is the best goalie in the history of the game. And the numbers show that. Plus, he was consistent, durable and a leader. In the dressing room, if there was something that had to be said, Marty would say it.

"Add to that, he had a calmness to his game combined with the fact that it was just fun for him. It gave the rest of us confidence. We knew that we had a guy who had our backs; that nine times out of ten he'd bail us out."

The Maven followed Brodeur's career from his Day 1 as a big-leaguer right down to the finish. I have a catalogue of Marty saves in my head, not to mention the Stanley Cup victories in 1995 over Detroit, 2000 against Dallas and 2003 vs. Anaheim.

Without a doubt my personal favorite was the club's 1995 Stanley Cup challenge. At the time New Jersey ranked among the lowest of all the NHL teams competing. It also was a time of general concern over the possibility that the franchise might move to Nashville.

"We all were worried," said longtime fan Noam Kogen. "But watching Marty, I had the feeling that - on the ice - the team was in good hands. He also was effectively a third defenseman who got the puck out of his zone and out of danger, up the ice."

Although the Garden Staters had to open each of the four 1995 series on the road, they reached the Stanley Cup Final round against the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings

One, two, three - just like that - the Devils stunned the hockey world with wins. And now Game 4 would be played in front of a capacity crowd at the Meadowlands Arena.

The decibel count rose as the Devils built a late third period lead which Marty was determined to hold. Here's how he remembered that epic third period:

"The last 10 minutes to the last minute were like the longest nine minutes of my life. But from the last minute to zero was the greatest time I ever had. I didn't want the clock to run out. I looked in the stands and saw people crying, jumping up and down cheering."

Then, a pause:

"It was the best minute of my life!"