Canada-U.S. gold medal game should be great day for hockey, Brodeur says

NHL players are competing at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the first time they've been on this global stage for a best-on-best competition in 12 years. In order to provide an inside look at the Games experience, NHL.com has enlisted former Olympic players, coaches and those around the game to provide insight. Today, two-time Canadian gold medal-winning goalie Martin Brodeur, the NHL’s all-time leader in wins and shutouts, and now an executive with the New Jersey Devils.

Team Canada versus Team USA.

It’s a gold medal game that I think we all wanted to see. And it’s a rivalry that has been going on for three decades with an intensity that fuels adrenalin within fans and players alike.

I would know. Because I was fortunate enough to be part of it.

I know this much too: the best part for the winning team in the gold medal game Sunday won’t have anything to do with a goal, a save, a hit, anything that happens on the ice, as great as those moments might be.

No, the best part is standing with your teammates, locked arm in arm, listening to and singing along with your country’s national anthem, looking up at the flag, knowing you are Olympic champions.

I had the pleasure of experiencing that twice, in 2002 and 2010. Both were hard-fought victories against Team USA in gold medal games.

Of course, 2002 will always be special. I had the chance to be in goal for our 5-2 victory in Salt Lake City. Our fans began singing “O Canada” in the final minute, in a U.S. building, no less. And when the final horn sounded, I jumped up in the air in sheer jubilation, not just for myself, but for my family, my teammates, my country.

There’s a famous photo of me leaping up when the game ends. I still have it. My late father Denis was a well-known photographer, including documenting the Montreal Canadiens, so I grew up with an appreciation of photography.

Was it the highest I’ve ever jumped up in the air while wearing goalie equipment? To be honest, no. Two years earlier, in the 2000 Stanley Cup Final, Jason Arnott scored the Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 against the Dallas Stars in Dallas. It was my second Cup with the New Jersey Devils and, thanks to Arnie, it was pure euphoria. I think I jumped so high when he scored, it looks in the picture like my skates are at the level of the cross bar.

The 2002 title was the first gold medal Canada had won in 50 years of gold medal hockey. That was special for all of us. But to be honest, it’s not something we’d talked about in the dressing room prior to or during the tournament. Remember, social media wasn’t really a thing at that time. We were kind of in our own little bubble. And that was a good thing for us.

You have to understand, too, that this was only the second Olympic Games to feature NHL players. So none of us had grown up dreaming of playing in an Olympics because, well, it had never really been an available option. We all grew up dreaming of playing in the NHL. So being able to compete, and to win a gold medal, was a bonus for us. It was especially so for me, since my dad had helped Canada win bronze at the 1956 Olympic Games in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy. Every day I would come down for breakfast as a kid, I would see his medal on the wall.

Now I had my own. We all had our own. As a team.

Eight years later, it happened again.

This time, I witnessed the magic moment on the bench, not on the ice. I had played against Team USA in the round robin, a 5-3 loss. Roberto Luongo was in goal for the goal medal game, and I can’t say enough about how great he played not only that day, but in getting us to that point.

And I, like our entire country, jumped to my feet when Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal to give us a 3-2 win in overtime. Amazing.

I remember sitting in the dressing room prior to overtime watching how our guys were handling the pressure. There was no panic. They treated it as if there was a job to be done.

And then Sid did it.

He was pretty young at the time, but you could see he was going to be special. He already was. His composure was beyond his years.

It’s good to see he practiced Saturday after missing the semifinal against Finland on Friday with a lower body injury. Hopefully he can play. But even if he doesn’t, his mere presence will be a boost.

To me, there are a couple of keys that could help determine the outcome of this game.

First, stay out of the penalty box. Five-on-five, I don’t think there is going to be much room out there. Given the talent on both teams, putting either one on the power play will be a recipe for disaster.

Secondly, goaltending. Again, something I would know about. To me, hockey always comes down to goaltending.

On Canada’s side, I think Jordan Binnington once again has shown he’s ready for the big moments. He earned the faith of Team Canada management by the way he played in their run to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship a year ago and he hasn’t missed a beat this time around.

On the Team USA side, Connor Hellebuyck has been one of the NHL’s best goalies for the past four or five years. He’s a bigger guy that plays a conservative style and normally remains deep in his net. It’s a style that works for him, including in this tournament where he’s played very well.

Admittedly, when I watch these games, I still see them through the eyes of a goalie. Because I still work in the game and am around it all the time, that’s my perspective. So when I’m watching, I look for things like the angles goalies are playing, how would I have handled certain situations, how would I react, things like that.

I’ll tell you this like I have before: I’ll be more nervous watching the game than I would be playing in it. At least when you play, you can help control the outcome. Can’t do that watching on TV.

So we’re trying to help Canada however we can.

On Friday we watched the semifinal game against Team Finland at our home in St. Louis. My son Max decided we should put a Team Canada jersey on our dog Bruce for good luck. It worked. He watched the whole game that way. And Team Canada won 3-2.

Count on Bruce wearing that jersey again for the gold medal game.

From a U.S. standpoint, like from the World Championship to the World Juniors to women's hockey, this has always a heated rivalry. So whenever they have an opportunity to try to beat Canada, it's a big deal for them. So I'm looking forward to Sunday to see what kind of intensity there’ll be. Obviously they have a different vibe about them with the Tkachuk brothers trying to get in your grill all the time, and the discipline that Canada’s going to need not to be goaded by them.

So many storylines in this great rivalry.

There’s a huge buzz down here in the U.S. for the game. You can understand that. Not much talk here about Team Canada’s chances.

Except, of course, in our household.

For obvious reasons.

It should be a great day for hockey.