I probably would not have this many pictures of the New Jersey Devils if it wasn't for my column covering the New Jersey Devils in depth for Inside Hockey [1]. I would probably have about 500 pictures of Martin Brodeur, who is becoming one of the best goalies in the history of the NHL. He is just 29 wins shy of beating Patrick Roy's all-time NHL career wins.
I have a lot of respect for the goaltender. I didn't realize how incredible he was until I saw him make an unbelievable save in front of me during the Playoffs. He was outside of the crease and saw the puck coming his way. Like a slow-motion scene out of the Matrix, he flew like Superman across the crease and the next sound you could hear was a 'ping' from the blade of his skate. He made the most remarkable save with the blade of his skate.
I just remember everyone around me in complete silence having to re-run what we had just seen in the recesses of our minds. Did we really just see what we think we saw? A video replay proved that yes, we had indeed seen with our very own eyes the most incredible save of our lives. But don't think that save was the only amazing save Brodeur would ever make. I have seen the Canadian make some unbelievable moves with my very own eyes that just leaves my mouth glued to the floor.
So for those who say "Brodeur Sucks!" please consult your nearest computer and start Googling the net-minder to educate yourself on the man that is about to become the greatest NHL goaltender ever in the history of the NHL. Patrick Roy has held that title for many years, but Brodeur is beating or has beaten every single record that Roy holds.
If you ever get the opportunity to see Brodeur with your own eyes, go see him. This is a man that is history in the making.
If you were to ask me who my favorite rookie is this year, that would be the young David Clarkson. He is the Devils' bad boy and the lone man who gets into fights every single night. Even though the YoungStars player has his daily bouts on the ice, he is still putting up the goals. He notched his seventh career goal on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which tied up the game and sent the game into overtime.
The Devils have given many great players their first starts including: Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez and Petr Sykora. All three players have entered into the 500 and 600 clubs. Gomez, now a New York Ranger, recently entered into the 500 club on Friday night against the Devils. Three days later, Sykora entered into the 600 club against the Devils. Both players scored their first NHL point as a New Jersey Devil. Sykora, ironically, scored his first point against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is currently a Penguin and notched his 600th career point against his former club. If you ask Sykora, he can tell you exactly how he scored his first point his rookie year in the NHL off of a bad turnover from Mario Lemieux.
In their twenty-six years, the Devils have brought home three Stanley Cups, four conference championships, and seven division championships.
The Devils have a difficult time winning fans over since they are competing for the affection of fans who have a choice between the Devils, Rangers and Islanders in the Manhattan area. But as I've heard fans outside of Prudential Center say, as well as Devils' sportscasters, the fans that show up in Newark are mainly Rangers fans who can't afford tickets to see the Rangers play at Madison Square Garden. Now, that is not to say there are no real Devils' fans, there are, but they are hard to come by in Prudential Center. I ought to know because when I try to talk to fans about hockey, they only know about Rangers hockey, not Devils hockey.
Covering the Devils, I've learned more about Devils hockey directly from the Devils, not from the fans sitting next to me in Prudential Center. Strangely enough, I can discuss Devils hockey with Rangers fans in Madison Square Garden much more in depth than I could at Prudential Center. Ironic? I think so.
