Behind the Net has a brilliant piece on just how incredible Brodeur’s accomplishment is.Sawchuk got himself most of the way to the record by 1956: he racked up 65 shutouts in his first six full seasons, and had to hang around for another 14 years to pick up the next 37 (he had one in his 1949-50 call-up). Brodeur, on the other hand, made his debut when shutouts were at an all-time low; it wasn’t until his fourth season, 1995-96, that league-wide offense had dropped sufficiently low for him to start racking up shutouts. At age 26, he still trailed Sawchuk by 30, but from ages 27-35, he had 65 shutouts to Sawchuk’s 31.
Perspective on Brodeur Tying the Shutout Record
NHL.com delves into a profile on the man that Brodeur is chasing. Sawchuk racked up many of his shutouts early on his career, while Brodeur has been able to consistently put up shutouts throughout his long and illustrious career.
For those who followed Hank Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs, it was surprising to learn that Aaron had been ahead of Ruth at every stage of his career. With Brodeur and Sawchuk, it’s just the opposite. Sawchuk had 56 of his 103 shutouts in his first five full seasons. He never had another double-digit shutout season from 1956-70, while playing with Boston, Toronto, the expansion Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers.
Brodeur continues to get better and better which is amazing when you think about just how much the game has changed since the lockout. So many changes made to the game have been designed to open up the game and increase scoring, yet Brodeur continues to put up shutouts and numbers that will take a very long time for any goalie to eclipse, if ever.
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