Brodeur career timeline full of milestones, memories

There are plenty of superlatives to describe the career of Martin Brodeur, but one word that seems to stick out is longevity.

Brodeur was around professional hockey for parts of three decades and two centuries, leaving his footprint on the game again and again. His tour of the professional hockey world lasted 24 years in total, and here are some of the most important dates and moments from that journey.

June 16, 1990: The New Jersey Devils select Brodeur with the 20th pick in the NHL Draft, held at BC Place in Vancouver.

March 26, 1992: Brodeur makes 24 saves in his NHL debut and picks up his first victory, 4-2 against the Boston Bruins.

Oct. 20, 1993: In his seventh career appearance, Brodeur makes 17 saves to earn his first NHL shutout in a 4-0 win against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

April 19, 1994: Brodeur earns his first victory in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading the Devils past the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

June 16, 1994: Brodeur wins the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.

June 24, 1995: For the first time in franchise history, the Devils win the Stanley Cup, completing a four-game sweep of the Detroit Red Wings in the Final. Brodeur goes 16-4 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in the postseason.

April 1996: Brodeur makes his first international appearance for Canada, backing up Curtis Joseph; Canada wins a silver medal at the IIHF World Championship in Austria.

March 1, 1997: In his fourth full NHL season, Brodeur picks up career victory No. 100, a 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

April 17, 1997: Brodeur becomes the second goalie to score a playoff goal with an empty-netter in a Game 1 first-round win against the Montreal Canadiens. Brodeur later was credited with two regular-season goals, but this was the only one he scored by shooting the puck into the net.

March 24, 1998: Brodeur makes 23 saves in a 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers to earn his 40th victory of the season, the first time in his career he reached 40 wins in a single season.

April 14, 1999: With Dominik Hasek resting for the Sabres, Brodeur makes 29 saves in a 2-1 victory to earn his 200th career win.

June 10, 2000: Brodeur leads the Devils past the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to win his second championship and earn his 50th playoff victory, making 30 saves in the 2-1 double-overtime win.

March 21, 2001: In one of his lighter nights in net, Brodeur saves all 11 shots he faces in a 4-0 win against the New York Rangers for career shutout No. 50.

Dec. 15, 2001: Brodeur saves all 39 shots he faces in a 2-0 victory against the Ottawa Senators to pick up career win No. 300. Brodeur, not yet 30, becomes the youngest goaltender to reach the milestone.

Feb. 24, 2002: Despite losing its opening game of the tournament against Sweden, Brodeur and Canada win their next five games, including the gold-medal game against the United States, at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Brodeur appears in five of six games and makes 31 saves against the United States in the final to give Canada its first Olympic gold medal in 50 years.

June 9, 2003: Brodeur hoists the Stanley Cup for the third and final time after the Devils outlast the Mighty Ducks in the Final with a 3-0 victory in Game 7. Brodeur makes 24 saves, becoming the third goalie to record a shutout in a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final. He finishes with a record seven shutouts in a single postseason.

June 12, 2003: For the first time in his career, Brodeur is awarded the Vezina Trophy as the League's top goaltender. It would mark for the first of two consecutive and four out of five Vezina trophies Brodeur would win between 2003 and 2008.

March 23, 2004: With a 4-3 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers, Brodeur picks up his 400th career win. He becomes the first goaltender to reach that milestone with a single team.

April 5, 2007: Brodeur sets the single-season record for victories by a goalie, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 for win No. 48.

Nov. 17, 2007: Brodeur makes 26 saves in a 6-2 victory against the Flyers for his 500th career win.

March 1, 2009: With a 27-save performance, Brodeur picks up career shutout No. 100 in a 3-0 win against the Flyers. His 50 career wins against Philadelphia are his most against any single opponent.

March 17, 2009: In his first attempt at breaking the record, Brodeur defeats the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 to earn career victory No. 552, surpassing Patrick Roy on the all-time list as the NHL's winningest goaltender. Brodeur had tied Roy three nights earlier with a 3-1 win in Montreal.

Dec. 21, 2009: Two weeks after tying the all-time record against the Sabres, Brodeur makes 35 saves in a 4-0 win against the Penguins for career shutout No. 104, passing Terry Sawchuk for the most in League history.

April 6, 2010: Creating a club of his own, Brodeur becomes the first goalie to win 600 games, reaching the milestone with a 3-0 victory against the Atlanta Thrashers.

April 13, 2014: Brodeur plays his final game with the Devils, defeating the Boston Bruins 3-2. He extends his record for most wins by a goalie with a single franchise to 688.

Dec. 29, 2014: In his sixth game after signing with the St. Louis Blues, Brodeur earns his final win (691) and shutout (125) by making 16 saves in a 3-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche.

Jan. 2, 2015: Brodeur plays his final game in an NHL uniform as the Blues lose 4-3 to the Anaheim Ducks.

Jan. 29, 2015: Brodeur announces his retirement from professional hockey, accepting a front office position with the Blues as the senior advisor to general manager Doug Armstrong.

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