Martin Brodeur 691 career wins (franchise record)

Lore & Background

When the Devils selected Brodeur 117th overall in the 1990 NHL Draft, the organization was looking for a long-term solution to a goaltending problem that had plagued them since the franchise's 1982 arrival in New Jersey. What they got was something no one in the league had seen in that era: a goaltender who could carry a team through a full 80-plus-game schedule, year after year, decade after decade, while posting elite numbers. His 691 wins were not the product of a single heroic stretch but of an almost absurd consistency—seasons of 30, 40, 45 wins stacked on top of one another while his body absorbed the physical toll of 1,200-plus games.

The record lives in the context of the Devils' three Cup runs. In 1993, a young Brodeur helped a young team punch its ticket to the championship. In 2000, he was the calm center of a roster that included Scott Stevens, Brian Leetch, and Patrik Eliáš. In 2003, he captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Finals MVP, cementing the argument that the most important player on a winning team is the one who stops the shots. Between those triumphs, he collected three Vezina Trophies and, in 2004, became the first goaltender ever to win the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player.

When Brodeur eventually hung up his pads after the 2012–13 season with the New York Rangers, the 691-win mark sat alone at the top of the NHL's all-time goaltending list. It has not been seriously threatened since. For Devils fans, the number is less a statistic and more a monument—a two-decade argument that one man, standing in the crease in red, black, and white, could outlast an entire era.

In Their Own Story

The ice in the Prudential Center was already chipped and scarred by the third period. Brodeur crouched low, his stick planted, breath fogging in the cold air above the ice. The opposing winger wound up for a slap shot from the blue line, and the arena held its collective breath. The puck screamed toward the five-hole. Brodeur didn't flinch. His pad came up, his glove hand tracked the seam, and the leather kissed the inside of his glove and died. He exhaled, looked up at the 20,000 faces in the stands, and said nothing. He never said anything. Six hundred and ninety-one times, the answer was the same: the puck stays out. He skated back to the crease, set his stick, and waited for the next one. The crowd roared, but to him it was just another night in a long, long shift.

Reader's Guide

TEAM TROPHIES Stanley Cup – 1993, 2000, 2003 – Martin Brodeur (starting goalie) – Three championships in three different eras of the Devils' roster; the 2003 run earned him the Conn Smythe as Finals MVP, the only goalie to win that award while also holding the career wins record.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS Vezina Trophy – 1995, 1996, 2002 – Martin Brodeur – Three times named the NHL's top goaltender; the 1995–96 back-to-backs anchored the Devils' first Cup window. Hart Memorial Trophy – 2004 – Martin Brodeur – First goaltender in NHL history to win the league's MVP award, a testament to a season in which his 45-win campaign carried the Devils to the Cup. Conn Smythe Trophy – 2003 – Martin Brodeur – Stanley Cup Finals MVP; the performance that made the 2003 run the franchise's most complete.

FRANCHISE / LEAGUE RECORDS 691 career NHL wins – Martin Brodeur – All-time NHL record for a goaltender; the vast majority earned in the Devils' red, black, and white. No player in the sport has come close. 111 career shutouts – Martin Brodeur – All-time NHL record for a goaltender; a mark that underscores the quiet, unglamorous side of a career defined by preventing goals rather than scoring them. Career games played (Devils) – Martin Brodeur – 952 regular-season and playoff games for New Jersey, the most by any player in franchise history.

Did You Know?

• Martin Brodeur was the first goaltender in NHL history to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player, achieving the feat in the 2003–04 season.
• Despite being drafted 117th overall in 1990, Brodeur went on to accumulate more career wins than any other goaltender in the 125-year history of the NHL.
• Brodeur's 111 career shutouts remain the all-time NHL record for a goaltender, a mark that speaks to the other side of the 691-win ledger: the games where he didn't just win, he shut the door completely.
• The Devils retired Brodeur's #31 jersey, joining a small group of players whose numbers will never be worn again in the franchise's history.