I definitely owe Marty more than I can ever mention in a post. I could probably dedicate an entire blog and fill it with 691 posts and STILL not do him justice. I have been a Devils fan since 1987 and in those nearly 30 years I have been a very very spoiled fan. 3 Cups, 2 other Cup final appearances and many many more playoff appearances. In the mid-late 90's when he was putting up his best numbers he was often overlooked because of the great tandem of D-men in front of him. It was almost like he was being punished for being on a good team. That didn't happen to Ken Dryden, but for some reason it happened to Marty. Still he never complained and kept putting up HOF numbers and finally in the 2000's he got his due. 2 Olympic gold medals and a HOF career. Now he is transitioning to stage two of his life and I suspect he will be just as successful there as he was on the ice. I look forward to his Devils return next year where he will likely join management in some capacity and I hope to see him as our GM some day (assuming it is a fit and something he wants).
In the meantime, here is a nice card my BFAM (Brother from another mother) Tom sent me a couple months back.
13-14 Artifacts Tundra Trios Brodeur/Elias/Kovalchuk
This card features three neat players. First is the GOAT Devil Marty, then our franchise leading scorer Patrik and finally what some may call our greatest mistake Ilya. This card is nearly perfect, I would love to have seen a white swatch and maybe a D-man instead of Kovy.
I give him mad props for understanding he really doesn't have the tools anymore to play in the league. The best thing is he learned quickly. It would be a shame for his career to be tainted with a really sub par season in St. Louis. Three games - just a blip and in future years no one will really talk about it when they go over his career.
ReplyDeleteGreat Brodeur card. I'm an Islanders fan, but Brodeur is my favorite hockey player. I collect him and have been writing about him all week. I'm going to miss the guy. The saves, the shutdown performances, seeing that number 30 on the ice. I hope he comes back to New Jersey and takes a job with the only organization he should be known for.
ReplyDeleteNice card!
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