The 20th Anniversary Of Martin Brodeur Legitimizing The New Jersey Devils Franchise

The face of the New Jersey Devils changed forever 20 years ago to the day. During the 1990 NHL Entry Draft on June 16 of that very year, the Devils completed a swap of draft picks with the Calgary Flames that included first rounders. The Devils sent their 11th overall selection over to the Flames, who used the pick to selected the top ranked goaltender in the draft, Trevor Kidd. The Devils, in turn, received the 22nd overall selection. And they grabbed the No. 2 ranked goaltender - Martin Brodeur.

"It was an interesting day because I was ranked a lot [lower] than the first round,” Brodeur recalled. “I was somewhere around the 30th pick and back then there was only 21 picks [in each round], so I didn’t really expect to get drafted until the second round. When I got the call of being drafted by the Devils, I was in shock more than anything. I didn’t have a clue where New Jersey was, but it was just nice to be taken in the first round and nice to know where my future would be, which organization I was going to be a part of.”

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary since the Devils solidified themselves as a legitimate franchise in the NHL with the selection of Brodeur, the team's official Web site has an interesting write-up looking back at this very special moment for the future Hall of Famer.

New Jersey had minimal success before Brodeur came along. They were re-located to East Rutherford back in 1982 from Colorado and only made the playoffs twice between then and 1990. A conference finals appearance in 1988 was the team's highest achievement.

Brodeur brought the team to much greater heights. He wasn't given the starting nod right away. He remained with his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team, St-Hyacinthe for the next two seasons and suited up for in the AHL for Utica during the 1992-93 campaign. He emerged on the scene for the Devils during the 1993-94 season, and would proceed to backstop them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals where they were ousted in seven games by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers.

Failure turned to immediate success the next season for the Devils, however. And the success of making it all the way to the conference finals as a rookie was of benefit to Brodeur. New Jersey went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1995, defeating the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in the finals via a sweep. That championship transformed the Devils from a "Mickey Mouse" franchise to one of the most frustrating defensive squads in the league. They would go on to capture two more Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003 with the same shutdown philosophy and Brodeur getting the job done in between the pipes.

As far as individual accomplishments are concerned, the 38-year old Brodeur has plenty. On top the three Cups he has won as a member of the Devils, he also possess two Olympic gold medals, the Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year in 1993-94 and four Vezina Trophies. Brodeur's owns several NHL all-time records, as well, having recently taken ownership in wins (602) and shutouts (110).

Meanwhile, the top ranked goaltender in the 1990 Draft, Kidd would play from 1992 through 2006 for the Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He played 387 career NHL games (almost 700 fewer than Brodeur) and never topped more than 22 wins in any particular season (while Brodeur has a record nine campaigns with 40 or more wins.)

For as fond a moment as this is to look back on, though, it should also serve as a kick in the butt to the Devils and general manager Lou Lamoriello. Brodeur has just a few more seasons left on his career and there is nobody in the organization capable of carrying the load in net once he retires. Perhaps it would be a good move for the 20th anniversary of Brodeur's selection to also be the moment that the Devils look hard for his replacement.