What seemed an inevitability is now a reality.
Martin Brodeur, the legendary Devils goalie and three-time Stanley Cup winner, will be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame, it was announced Tuesday. Joining him in the class of 2018 is former Ranger Martin St. Louis, as well as commissioner Gary Bettman and Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player, in the builders category, plus women’s great Jayna Hefford and Russian international star Alexander Yakushev.
Brodeur retired in 2015 at the age of 43, his 22-year career ending with a brief stint with the Blues. He has been working in St. Louis’ front office the past three years.
Brodeur owns 12 Devils goaltending records and has the league records for the most wins (691) and most shutouts (125). He is one of only three goaltenders to play in more than 1,000 NHL games. He was a first-round pick (20th overall) in 1990 and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1993-94. In 2005-06, Brodeur’s terrific stick-handling skills even inspired a rule change, the league setting up the trapezoid behind the net where goalies can’t touch the puck.
On the international front, the Montreal native was also part of two gold medal-winning Canadian Olympic teams in 2002 and 2010.
“As a player you get to meet Hall of Fame members and now to have my name in the same sentence makes me speechless,” Brodeur said in a statement released by the NHL. “I was fortunate to play on great teams that allowed me to play with my own personality, which is so important to a goaltender.”
St. Louis was more of a unheralded story, the kid out of hardscrabble Laval, Quebec, undersized and undrafted after a great college career at the University of Vermont. He was signed by the Flames in 1998, then moved on to the Lightning in 2000. With Tampa Bay, under coach John Tortorella, St. Louis won the 2004 Stanley Cup and the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He was also a three-time recipient of the Lady Byng Award, given for “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.”
In 2013-14, St. Louis demanded a trade out of Tampa, and he was sent to the Rangers. That began an emotional run to the Stanley Cup final that included his mother, France, suddenly dying during the Rangers’ second-round series with the Penguins, which the Blueshirts rallied to win from a 3-1 series deficit. They eventually lost to the Kings in Game 5 of the final.
In his 17-year NHL career, St. Louis played 1,134 regular-season games and finished with 391 goals and 1,033 points. He was a five-time NHL All-Star, won a gold medal with Team Canada in 2014, and ended his career as only the sixth undrafted NHL player with 1,000 career points.
“Hockey is all about the people who have supported you over the years — both your teammates and your family,” St. Louis said. “I tried to be the best player I could be every day and am proud of all of my NHL memories.”
Bettman, meanwhile, was in charge of the league during three work stoppages — partial seasons in 1994-95 and 2012-13, plus the full canceled season of 2004-05. The commissioner since February 1993, Bettman said his induction was “not something I was focused on and I’m speechless and grateful to be included with this group. I’m particularly honored to be part of a class that includes Willie O’Ree.”
O’Ree was the first black player in the NHL, making his debut with the Bruins in 1958. He rejoined the league office in 1996, and has been very involved in community relations since.
Hefford was an international star for Canada, a member of seven IIHL gold medal teams and also won four gold medals at the Olympic Games. Yakushev came to light as part of the Russian team in the 1972 Summit Series and was elected to the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2003, having won Olympic gold medals in 1972 and 1976.
The induction ceremonies will be held Nov. 12 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.