Martin Broudeur’s St. Louis Blues Shutout Makes You Feel Old

The St. Louis Blues made some waves with a goalie acquisition in 2014. While it was short lived, the time between now and then feels ages ago.

One thing 2020 has done for St. Louis Blues fans, and the population in general, is make us all keenly aware of the passage of time. The year has drug on and on, even during the best of times.

So, it should come as no surprise that a certain anniversary feels like it was ages ago. Sure, the older you get, the more aware of time you become. Still, this one is so fresh in the memory that you do a double-take when you see how long ago it happened.

The Blues were going through some goaltender injury issues during their 2014-15 season. This forced them to acquire Martin Broduer as a free agent.

Broduer had spent his entire 21-year career with the New Jersey Devils to that point. However, Devils management wanted to move on and Broduer became a free agent.

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He would not sign with the Blues until November, when Brian Elliott got injured. While St. Louis had faith in Jake Allen, they were not ready to thrust him in with no safety net since it was his first, full professional season.

The Hall of Fame goaltender had some rust initially, allowing four goals in his first game with the Blues against Nashville. He found his form against familiar foes, picking up consecutive wins over the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders.

However, we saw Brodeur roll back the clock a bit on this date. He pitched a shutout against the Colorado Avalanche on December 29, 2014.

The Blues defense gave him plenty of help. They only allowed 16 shots against the entire game, which should come as no surprise since the team finished with the fourth fewest goals allowed that season.

Nevertheless, it was a good win for Brodeur and a solid way to get your last win. The shutout win over Colorado would be Brodeur’s final win in the NHL.

The shutout was his 125th of his career.  He also became the oldest Blues goalie to put up a goose egg and the fifth oldest in the NHL.

What makes this date so interesting, beyond being his final win, is how long ago it was. Six years is not a ton of time, but did it really feel that long ago to any of us that remember it?

Just ponder that for a second. That was over half a decade ago.

If you had a child born in the month of December of that season, your kid is now six years old and you’re wondering where your little baby went. They are in school right now, or would be if not for the current global situation.

People who were starting high school that year are either halfway through college now or have likely entered the work force. It’s not a crazy amount of time ago, but if you’d have asked when Brodeur was here to your average fan, they likely would not have thought that much time had passed.

His time here was brief – anyone who spent less time in a Blues uniform than Wayne Gretzky can say that. Brodeur only played seven games with the Blues, going 3-3-0 and picking up a non decision in a relief appearance.

Still, any time you have an all-time great put on your team’s sweater, it becomes memorable. Though they weren’t here long, nor at the same time, Blues fans can still say that Gretzky and Brodeur – two of the greatest ever at their positions – played on their team.

Gretzky really ages me since I was in middle-school when that happened. Brodeur was not so long ago, but still makes you feel like time has gone by in a flash. Congrats on that shutout six years ago, by the way.