Martin Brodeur -- who turned 40 on May 6 -- is set to join an elite club of goalies this season.
The New Jersey Devils netminder will become just one of a handful to play past the age of 40 since the lockout, and one of a smaller handful to be the starter.
Let’s take a look at the history...
Ed Belfour, Toronto/Florida
Belfour turned 40 a few months prior to the first post-lockout season, and it didn’t go very well (his 2005-06 numbers: 22-22-4, .892 save percentage, .329 GAA.) Those were way off the numbers he posted pre-lockout (in 2003-04, he had 10 shutouts) and suddenly, Belfour looked to be Exhibit A of Veteran Players That Couldn’t Adapt To The New NHL.
But in a weird twist, he signed in Florida the next season and -- at age 41 -- improved.
He played 58 games in 2006-07 and went 27-17-10 with a .902 save percentage and 2.77 GAA...yet the Panthers decided to cut him loose after the year. It would be his final season in the NHL.
Dominik Hasek, Ottawa/Detroit
Hasek played three years after the lockout with his most impressive campaign coming in 2006-07. Hasek went 38-11-6 with a .913 save percentage, 2.05 GAA and eight shutouts -- and turned 42 midway through the season.
What’s truly remarkable about 2006-07 is Hasek played in 18 games that postseason, pushing his overall total on the year to 74. Seventy four games for a 42-year-old is, like, a lot (some quality PHT analysis right there.)
In a related story, Hasek now wants to come back to the NHL -- at age 47.
Dwayne Roloson, Tampa Bay/New York Islanders
Roloson’s exploits in his first year with the Lightning -- four shutouts in 34 regular season games, backstopping Tampa to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals -- were diminished by last year’s disastrous campaign. But they shouldn’t be.
What Roloson accomplished after turning 40 is wildly impressive. In 2009-10, he posted a winning record (23-18-7) on a losing Islanders team (34-37-11). A year later, he made 71 appearances (20 with NYI, 34 with TB, 17 in the playoffs).
Others...
Curtis Joseph kicked around Calgary and Toronto after turning 40, but served strictly in a backup role.
Sean Burke turned 40 midway through his last and only year with the Kings (2006-07), splitting time with Mathieu Garon and Dan Cloutier.
Of note, Nikolai Khabibulin turns 40 on Jan. 13 and could very well be the starter in Edmonton at that time.
Related:
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