Martin Brodeur is the Most Important player to his team in all of Sports

Can you hear that? That sound you hear is Devils fans everywhere screaming in agony. Now, we don't talk a lot of hockey here on TSF but today I really wanted to chime in on the significance of the Martin Brodeur injury for the Devils and for all of hockey.

Let me start off by telling you that the injury to Martin Brodeur putting him out 3-4 months is HUGE. If you know anything about hockey you know this. Let me follow this up by telling you that it is a lot BIGGER than you realize.

Where am I going with this? Well as I was watching ESPN somebody made a comment that they thought Martin Brodeur was the most important player to his team in sports. Yes, not just hockey but all of sports. At first I thought what most of you are probably thinking. That that is a outrageous statement. But is it? The more I thought about it the more I agreed.

What position in all of sports can be more important to its team other than a Goalie to a hockey team? Certainly no position in Basketball. You could almost argue a dominant starting pitcher or closer but they play once every 5 games or one out of every nine innings! The best argument is probably for a dominant QB in football. But I'm going to go out and say that this injury to Brodeur is way worse than the Pats losing Brady. I am telling you the goalie to a hockey team is the most important player to its team in all of sports. And when you're a dominant and historically great goalie like Martin Brodeur (I'm calling him the greatest ever) how can you not be considered the most important player it your team in all of sports.

Still not a believer? Here are some stats:

- He has played in 89.3 percent of the Devils' games (931 out of 1,043) since the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season.

- He currently has 12 consecutive 30-win seasons

- Brodeur has won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender four times, including last season, when he posted a 44-27 record and a 2.17 goals-against average.

- His seven seasons with 40 or more wins are an NHL record, and his 2.20 career GAA is the lowest in the NHL's modern era.

- He set a single-season record for wins (48) in 2006-07, breaking Bernie Parent's mark of 47.

- He needs just seven wins to tie Patrick Roy's record of 551

- In his 15-year tenure, he has led the team to three Stanley Cup championships and has taken them to the playoffs all but once.

- He holds more than thirty Devils franchise records.

- a four-time Jennings Trophy winner, a ten-time NHL All Star, and one of only two NHL goaltenders to have scored goals in the regular season and the playoffs.

- He will retire as sure-fire hall of famer

- Is widely considered to best to ever play Goalie in the NHL.

If anyone has any really strong arguments against this I would love to hear them because the stats and logic have me convinced that Martin Brodeur is the Most Important player TO HIS TEAM in all of sports.