Brodeur recalls Sawchuk, who died 50 years ago

Martin Brodeur was five years and more than 30 shutouts from making NHL history, but his father knew.

Now, with a frame in his home and the NHL record book serving as reminders, the New Jersey Devils executive vice president of hockey operations is again thinking of Terry Sawchuk, the legendary goalie who died 50 years ago Sunday, on May 31, 1970.

Denis Brodeur, Martin's father, saw the large framed photo of Sawchuk, with the Detroit Red Wings, in a Montreal antique store in 2004. Inspired, he bought it and waited, biding his time to surprise his son.

On Dec. 7, 2009, Brodeur would catch Sawchuk atop the NHL's all-time list with his 103rd regular-season shutout, a 3-0 win against the Sabres in Buffalo. On Dec. 21, he moved into the top spot alone with No. 104, a 35-save, 4-0 win against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

It was almost fitting; Sawchuk's 103rd and final NHL shutout had come against the Penguins on Feb. 1, 1970, when he was in goal for the New York Rangers in a 6-0 victory at Madison Square Garden.

Brodeur retired in 2015 with 125 shutouts, an NHL record that figures to be safe for a long time. Nearest to him among active goalies is Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers, who's 16th with 64. That's three more than the 61 of Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who ranks 18th.

"Terry Sawchuk is an icon in our profession," Brodeur said Friday from his home in St. Louis. "For me to have my name attached to his at that time was a pretty surreal moment. Not many people thought that anybody was going to get near to his shutout record. When I got close to Terry and was able to surpass him, it was quite an achievement for me."

Denis Brodeur, who died in 2013, had a vision that his son was going to catch Sawchuk. An amateur goalie who played for Canada in the 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Olympics and for decades one of the country's finest sports photographers, his plan was to reframe the antique-store photo of Sawchuk to include a shot of Martin, once he reached 104 shutouts, placing the two goalies side by side with engraved plaques. Martin Brodeur only learned of this when he arrived at 103.

The cherished frame hangs today in Brodeur's home, not far from a replica Sawchuk mask and pucks from his 103rd and 104th shutouts.

Terry Sawchuk in a 1955 photo, pucks flying at him in all directions.

"My dad was obviously more of Terry's era than I was," said Brodeur, who was born not quite two years after Sawchuk's death. "He knew more about the legendary goalies that I only knew as icons. It seemed that every time I reached a milestone, with my dad being a photographer, he did something special like that for me."

Upon reaching No. 103, Brodeur received a congratulatory email from Gerry Sawchuk, the late goalie's brother. It said, in part: "Terry said (his) records were there to shoot at. You are well deserving. .. Stay true to your faith and yourself."

In an interview a week before Brodeur got to 104, Gerry Sawchuk said, "Marty has reached the pinnacle of success and he's about to go beyond. I think Terry would have greatly appreciated him."

Martin Brodeur and his father, Denis, on March 14, 2009 following the goalie's 551st regular-season win, tying him with Patrick Roy for No. 1 spot on the NHL's all-time list.

With each shutout, Brodeur was growing closer to a ghost. Sawchuk had succumbed to internal injuries at age 40, a month after a tussle with Rangers teammate Ron Stewart, having carved out a career that places him in every discussion about hockey's greatest goalies of all time.

Sawchuk was a member of four Stanley Cup champions, winning with the Red Wings in 1952, 1954 and 1955 and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1967. He won the Vezina Trophy four times, the 1950-51 Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie, and played in 11 NHL All-Star Games during a 21-season career from 1949-70 that saw him also play for the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings. He retired with 445 wins, a League record that stood for three decades until he was passed by Patrick Roy on Oct. 14, 2000; he ranks eighth today, with Brodeur at No. 1 with 691.

The Winnipeg native was a large goalie for his day, 195 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame. He would explode out of a deep crouch, peering through a forest of legs in front of him and relying much more on quick reflexes than playing the angles to make the first save.

Terry Sawchuk dives for a puck during a 1960 game at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame a year after his death, joined in the shrine by Brodeur in 2018, Sawchuk's brilliant career and often turbulent life has been chronicled in countless features, the 2019 film biopic "Goalie," and he's been the posthumous subject of at least three books.

He was emotionally and physically battered his entire career. Sawchuk was often shredded by fans, the media and even his own coaches and managers. Scarred by slashing skates, sticks and deflected pucks, he battled demons real and imagined and was in almost constant pain, most of his career played in thin, shabby equipment -- and without a mask.

The last eight games of his 971-game career were played with the Rangers, backing up Ed Giacomin. Sawchuk's final shutout was a 29-save effort that earned him a kiss on the forehead from second-year defenseman Brad Park.

Nearly four decades later, as he neared Sawchuk's shutout record, Brodeur sought to learn more about the phantom he was pursuing.
"For me, it's plenty holding the record with Terry," he said upon reaching 103. "I'm happy just to be there. I've always played hockey to win, not to get shutouts."

Terry Sawchuk turns away Dave Keon during a game in 1964.

In fact, Brodeur always seemed a little uncomfortable hearing his name spoken in the same breath as the legends he was passing on his way to goaltending's summit.

"It was humbling, being around all those names during my career," he said. "When I got close to any of their records, I knew I was achieving something special. They were impressive goaltenders, the way they played the game without masks for sometimes their entire careers. Their longevity was pretty amazing. It was surreal for me to be considered with those guys."

On the half-century anniversary of Sawchuk's death on Sunday, Brodeur will look at around his home and see reminders of a goaltending pioneer, the erstwhile shutout king with whom his name will forever be linked.

"I think Terry appreciated what he accomplished, and he understood that the game he played would be going a certain way," he said. "I'll feel the same way if anyone should get close to what I accomplished. We're in a game where we try to push the limits. Terry pushed it for us, and I pushed it for the goalies coming in behind me."

Photos: courtesy Martin Brodeur; HHoF Images; Getty Images