Product Description

Martin Brodeur is a giant in the world of hockey. He is the number–one goalie in the game today, and one of the greatest goaltenders of the modern age. He has been netminder for the New Jersey Devils for 13 years, leading them to three Stanley Cup victories and winning numerous individual awards in the process, including two Vezina trophies. A three–time Olympian for Canada, Brodeur was part of the gold–medal winning team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was in goal when Team Canada captured the 2004 World Cup and has been a part of every major Canadian team since he broke into the NHL in 1992. He is rated as the fourth most popular and recognizable hockey player of all time (after Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, and Mario Lemieux).

In Brodeur: Beyond the Crease, the game′s best netminder takes a candid, personal look at his career, his sport, the business of hockey, the evolution of the sport, and his journey to the apex of the modern game. It is one man′s detailed, unique view of the kaleidoscope of intrigue and competitive chaos that defines today′s NHL, a rare opportunity to understand the sport through the eyes of one of the game′s most insightful athletes at the height of his abilities.

Brodeur: Beyond the Crease traces Brodeur′s career, revealing how he became the best, from minor hockey through junior to the NHL and Team Canada. It examines his rich national and personal hockey heritage, and the pivotal role his father and others played in his career, as well as his thoughts and insights on: being part of the effort that turned the New Jersey Devils around from being what Wayne Gretzky called "a Mickey Mouse organization" into one of the game′s most powerful and successful franchises; being in the crease in 2002 when Canada ended a 50–year gold medal drought at the Olympics; being a Canadian and a Quebecer playing and living in the US; life as a husband and father of four, his love of motorcycles, and the lifestyle of the modern athlete; pursuing greatness and sporting records; the best goalies he’s ever seen and the best NHL shooters; how he prepares for game day; what it′s like to be the wealthiest man ever to play his position, and what it was like to watch $8 million in salary fly out the window during the NHL lockout of 2004–2005.

In association with award–winning sports journalist Damien Cox, the top goalie in the game takes us inside the game and beyond, to reveal the man behind the mask.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #333804 in Books
• Published on: 2009-11-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From the Inside Flap
Martin Brodeur is a giant in the world of hockey. Every time he steps on the ice as the goaltender of the New Jersey Devils, he either sets a new record or edges ever closer to some of the most prestigious netminding records in the history of the sport. Since the day in March 1992 when he was summoned from junior hockey to make his NHL debut, he has been about winning and defining how the position is played.

A three–time Stanley Cup champion, he is the only goalie in NHL history with over 10 seasons of 30 wins or more; in 2006 he set a new mark for the most consecutive playoff starts by an NHL goalie; and in the 2006–07 season he has more wins than any goaltender in history.

The numbers speak for themselves, but what they cannot express is that Martin Brodeur is at the very heart and soul of the Devils, and one of the team′s greatest leaders. On the world stage, Brodeur traced his father′s steps to the Olympics and, when Canada finally ended a 50–year gold medal drought at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, it was Brodeur who stood tall in the crease.

In Brodeur: Beyond the Crease, the game′s best netminder takes a candid, personal look at his career, his sport and his journey to the apex of the modern game. He shares the rich hockey heritage of his family, and reveals what it′s like to be a goalie in the "new" NHL that emerged from the nearly disastrous lockout of 2004–05. He talks about being an integral part of the evolution of the New Jersey Devils, once mocked as "a Mickey Mouse organization, " into one of the game′s most successful franchises, and about his unique relationship with Lou Lamoriello, the architect of the Devils′ championship teams.

Brodeur also traces the highs and lows of Olympic competitions; how he prepares for game day; the best NHL shooters he′s ever faced and what it was like to score a goal himself in a Stanley Cup playoff game. He reveals his thoughts and insights on being a Canadian and a Quebecer playing and living in the US; life as a father of four under the harsh spotlight of celebrity; his love of motorcycles and why, in the complicated and high–stakes would of pro sports dominated by accountants and agents, he chooses to stand alone and represent himself at contract time.

Brodeur: Beyond the Crease is a rare opportunity to understand the sport of hockey through the eyes of one of the game′s most insightful athletes at the height of his abilities. With award–winning sports journalist Damien Cox, the top goalie in hockey takes us inside the game and  beyond.

From the Back Cover
 

About the Author
Martin Brodeur is one of the most successful and decorated goalies in the National Hockey League and in international hockey, and among the greatest goalies of the modern era. Since exploding on the NHL scene out of the east end of Montreal in 1992, he has led the New Jersey Devils to three Stanley Cup victories (1995, 200, 2003) and captured numerous individual awards in the process, including three Vezina trophies as the NHL′s top goaltender. A three–time Olympian for Canada, Brodeur was a key part of the gold–medal–winning team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was also in goal when team Canada captured the 2004 World Cup. Brodeur lives in New Jersey with his partner Genevieve and four children.

Damien Cox is an award–winning sports columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada′s largest newspaper. He has covered the NHL and international hockey since 1989 and has worked extensively in radio and television. He is the author of The Spin, a daily sports blog that appears on The Star′s web site, Waymoresports.com, and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He appears weekly on TSN′s The Reporters and regularly as an analyst on TSN NHL broadcasts. Cox has been named three times to The Hockey News′ "100 People of Power and Influence in Hockey." He is co–author of ′67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory and the End of an Empire.Cox ices in Toronto with his wife Vicki and four children.

Customer Reviews

An insight to Hockey and being an Athlete
I love the NHL. And I love Ice Hockey, in particular, Goaltenders. However, living in the Uk, my access to it is pretty limited. So I bought this book hoping for an insight to the NHL and professional goaltending and got both those things and so much more.

The book, like many auto-biographies, mixes past emotional expereinces with professional ones, but while some auto biographies can become self indulgent and overly defensive, Brodeurs is an honest and direct insight into his life and the world of hockey.

While the book describes his beginnings as an NHL goalie and discusses some of the finer details of the position (such as how the rule changes affected goalies in general) he never loses sight of the fact that one of the thigns that make biographies intersting is that you get opinions of people with direct close experience of key issues.

Brodeur is in no way shy of expressing his opinions on things such as Bertruzzi's infamous hit and the team selection at the Devils. If you enjoy an entertaining but well written insight into professional sports then this book is probably for you, regardless of whether or not you know anythign about ice hockey. If you love ice Hockey then it comes doubly reccomended. Of particular interest is the section where Brodeur discusses his wages and the restructuring of the pay in the NHL. The professional footballers here could learn a thing or two about integrity in those paragraphs alone.

Good, but I wanted more
I bought this book on the strength of the 1st NHL autobiography I read - Brett Hull's.
If I'm honest, I was a little disappointed. I'm a huge fan of the Devils and Brodeur, but I did want a little bit more out of this.
I find it particularly interesting and enjoyable to read of his family's commitment to the Olympics and international competition. His perspective on the new NHL is good to read also, but I wanted to read more about his growing up in competitive hockey, breaking into the NHL, etc.
If you're a fan then get this book, because you will learn something new from it. Just don't expect it to be a comprehensive account of everything you'd want to know about him.