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: #393725 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-13
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
Perhaps more than any other NHL player, Martin Brodeur takes cares of business - his own.
The Devils' three-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender severed ties with his agent, Gilles Lupien, in 1998 and has since negotiated his own deals, presumably including the one for his book: "Brodeur: Beyond the Crease."
Sprinkled throughout the 278 pages are details about salaries, contracts, the marketing of the league, his relationship with Devils front-office guru Lou Lamoriello and even his assessment of the Devils' new arena in Newark, due to open next season.
Brodeur writes that the new facility will have "two rinks, a gym, pool, luxury suites, basically everything we don't have now. You buy a ticket for $95 and still have to walk up 40 steps to get a drink."
Surely the Meadowlands execs will love to read that. But Brodeur, never shy on opinions, offers plenty of others.
Among them:
In the 1990 entry draft, Owen Nolan was selected first, then Petr Nedved, Keith Primeau, Mike Ricci and "some guy named Jagr. If the teams could do that draft all over, Jagr would have undoubtedly been the first pick and I'd like to think I would have gone a little higher [than 20th]."
On former Islander Ziggy Palffy: "Seems he had more breakaways against me than any other player. He often beat me with a low shot to the blocker. Once on a breakaway, I guessed right and stopped that shot. Then he put in the rebound."
On his technological savvy: During the lockout, he was contacted by the Russian teams Omsk and Ak Bars Kazan. So he checked out the cities on a Web site's live camera. His assessment: "They looked miserable." (Newsday, October 29, 2006)

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 10 seasons of 30 wins or more, and in 2006 he set a new mark for consecutive playoff starts by an NHL goalie.

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 competition; 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 Staley 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 world 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.

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. 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. Brodeur lives in New Jersey with his partner and four children (three boys, one girl, and two goalies).

Damien Cox is an award-winning sports columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper. He has covered hockey for over 18 years, including the NHL, three Winter Olympics, and other international hockey events. Cox has also worked extensively in radio and television and has been a frequent contributor to The Hockey News and ESPN.com, among other publications and media outlets. He is co-author of ’67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory and the End of an Empire. For three years he was co-host of Prime Time Sports, heard daily on the FAN590 in Toronto, and on the Rogers radio network across Canada. 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." Cox lives in Toronto with his wife Vicki and four children.

Customer Reviews

Great for Brodeur, Devils or NHL fans
A really great book about the hockey career of the best goalie ever to play in the NHL and perhaps the world. Along with introspective looks at the NHL over the last 17 years, this book goes into some very personal and trying times in Martin Brodeur's life, including his ugly and very public divorce and current relationship. A great read and a must have for Devils fans everywhere.

Book
Bought this for my son in law and he couldn't put it down, fast friendly service.

Thank you
Ellen

suprisingly good
A must read for any Devils or Brodeur fan. A good read for any hockey fan in general. Gives an interesting inside view of the team and league through the eyes of a player over the last few years.