Devils fans rejoice, for your longtime goalie Martin Brodeur has earned the cover of NHL 14, after winning the fan vote of over 22 million cast. It will be the first time for a goalie to grace a game of the NHL series cover since NHL 97, which featured John Vanbiesbrouck of the Florida Panthers.
During his 21 year career, all with the Devils, Brodeur has set a number of records, no doubt helping him earn consideration not only as a candidate for inclusion in the vote, but what helped him win the cover as well:
- is the youngest goaltender in the organization's history to reach the 300, 400 and 500 regular season win plateaus
- is the only goaltender to reach 600 regular season wins
- is the first goaltender to win 400 games playing every game for the same team
- holds the record for most minutes ever played by a goaltender
- holds the all time professional record for career shutouts at 105
- has the most career playoff shutouts at 24
In the end, the vote came down to Brodeur and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue jackets, who has his own impressive record. A .932 save percentage won him the Vezina trophy last season, but in the end, it was Brodeur who emerged victorious.
Brodeur seems a welcome fit for the cover, having played for the Devils since he entered the NHL more than two decades ago. This season marks the second of a two year contract Brodeur signed, and at the age of 41, most fans believe this season to be the Canuck's last. Always nice to go out with a bang...
NHL 14 will release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall, September 10th in the US, and Spetember 13th abroad. You can see Brodeur's cover reveal in the trailer below.