Athlete Connection: Brady-Brodeur

For those of you that aren’t hockey fans, the L.A Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup finals this past week. It’s been a rough sporting season for me; both of my teams (Devils and Pats) lost in their respective championships and it looks like my baseball team (Phillies since I live in Scranton most of the year) won’t even make the postseason. Clearly not as rough of a season as, say, someone that lives in Cleveland, but still!

Throughout the NHL playoffs I began to realize the similarities between Devils’ goalie Martin Brodeur and Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady. Besides the fact that their last names are somewhat alike, they each have won 3 Championships with their team. They have appeared in 5 championships, with both of them losing this past season. Both Brady and Brodeur are widely regarded as the best active in their craft. One could make the argument that Brady is on his way to being the best quarterback of all time while Brodeur has, in some eyes, already cemented his place as the best goalie the NHL has ever seen, owning nearly every goalie record in the books.

On their teams, they are regarded with the utmost respect and are clearly the leaders of the locker room. Their opponents have to prepare diligently before the game because that’s the only way these two will be beaten. Teams must analyze the best way to put a puck past Brodeur and strategize of how to knock him off his game; a near impossible task. An NFL team preparing to face the Patriots must prepare not only their defense to pressure Brady, but also their offense to score more touchdowns than Brady’s almighty arm can throw.

Both are certainly headed for their respective halls of fame at the end of their careers. Listen to the analysts as they speak about Brodeur; they frequently call him “the future hall of famer, Marty Brodeur.” As for Brady, his “hall of fame resume” is often discussed. Brodeur has 4 Vezina trophies (best goaltender) while Brady has 2 MVP awards and 2 AP Offensive Player of the Year awards. The big difference between these two? Brodeur is a whopping 40 years old while Brady is 34. In 6 years, who knows what else Brady can accomplish? One thing is for certain, when both of these players retire, professional sports will never be the same again.