Devils Legend Names Top Two Goalies in NHL

A New Jersey Devils' legend heaped praises upon the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning's star goaltenders.

Oct 11, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) and defenseman Emil Lilleberg (78) celebrate their victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images / James Guillory-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers are two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and according to New Jersey Devils' legend Martin Brodeur it's largely due to goaltending. You'd be a fool to disagree with the Hall of Fame goalie's opinion, but it's also easy to recognize the elite talents in net both teams have. Now serving as the executive vice president of hockey operations for the Devils, he's once again crucial to the performance of the team's goalies.

For Brodeur, it's about more than recognizing the talent of the Lightning and Rangers' net minders. He wants the Devils' goalie, Jacob Markstrom, to reach that same level that Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin are at. And he believes that all three goaltenders share a hard-working attitude that separates them from the rest of the players at that position.

Brodeur recently spoke with NHL.com correspondent Mike Morreale to discuss all things about the Devils' this season. As per usual with Brodeur, he has a strong opinion about the state of goaltending in the NHL, but took time to highlight those three goalies.

"There's two guys I really like: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin," Brodeur said. "To me, these two guys are the top goalies in the League with the way they play, their attitude; they want to play a lot of games. They don't worry about their workload, they're just hockey players. They want to play and that's what I love about them. Markstrom is the same way if you don't tell him he's going to play every game, but these are things that I like about goalies. And these two are pretty good."

Brodeur is a hard figure to impress when it comes to stopping the puck. He holds the record for most wins by an NHL goaltender, and he did it largely by playing so many games. He appeared in 1,266 games, the most in NHL history also, and nearly 200 more than the second-winningest goalie in league history.

Today's goalies don't shoulder the same workload Brodeur did in the 1990's and early 2000's. Starters today average around 50-55 starts, whereas Brodeur routinely started 70 games per season, So while the game is much different in 2024, it's clear that just some of the NHL's current puck-stoppers have earned the respect and praise of Marty Brodeur.

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