Marty Brodeur: Right Place, Right Time

As I was watching Marty Brodeur tie the NHL record for shutouts against the Sabres the other night, I got to thinking that much of what passes for ultimate success in sports often comes down to luck of the draw.

There is no questioning Brodeur's greatness nor his place in hockey's history, but, for argument's sake, what would Marty's legacy have been if he had not been drafted by New Jersey?  Say, he had been taken by the Sabres instead.

On the face of it, one could easliy assume that he would have no Stanley Cup rings since the Sabres won none with Dominic Hasek in goal who was (at least statistically) often far superior during the concurrent years they tended goal.

It could easily be argued that Marty would still be an all-star caibler goalie, but, I highly doubt that he would have set the league record for wins and be about to set the record for shutouts. 

Would he have been hailed as the best Canadian goalie and be the recepient of Olympic Gold and World Cup of Hockey gold?  This is probably the more likely of the championships he would have won since his talent should have been evident enough for the Canadian team management to recognize and picked to tend goal in these big international events.

Of course, the Sabres could have molded their teams to take advantage of Marty's talents from the beginning and the results would have been the same.  This scenario seems fairly far fetched since the Sabres management was unable to take this approach to fruition when they had Hasek in goal.

So, congratulations to Marty for all he has done in the league, but, always remember that talent isn't always enough to be the best.