A content creator posting as Nealer, a content creator and design council for EA Sports NHL games, asked his followers a simple question on Sunday: who is the most overrated NHL player of all time? He offered his own answer first, attaching a photo of Martin Brodeur in a New Jersey Devils sweater.
The club’s official account saw it, and didn’t feel the need to be diplomatic.
“Just when we thought we’d reached the limit of the dumbest thing posted, Nealer stepped up with all timer,” the Devils wrote. “Winning Dumbest Take of the Year before the season starts is pretty impressive.”
The post has since racked up close to 400,000 views, and the replies leaned heavily in one direction.
“What has he done besides 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezinas, some Jennings trophies and maybe like 1 or 2 Olympic gold medals?” one fan wrote.
“Canes fan here. That is the most wild take,” another added, while a third summed up the exchange in four words: “Devils admin dropping the gloves.”
What did Martin Brodeur win?
The sarcasm in that first reply isn’t far off the actual list. Brodeur retired as the NHL’s all-time leader in wins, games played and shutouts by a goaltender, won three Stanley Cups with New Jersey, took four Vezina Trophies, claimed the Calder in 1994 and won two Olympic gold medals with Canada. He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018. He also scored three goals, more than any goaltender in league history.
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In fairness to Nealer, the argument itself isn’t new. Brodeur has been a fixture in overrated debates for well over a decade, with The Hockey Writers running a piece under almost exactly that headline and Deadspin including him in a similar list. The case against him always runs along the same lines: that he played behind exceptional defensive Devils teams in a low-scoring era, and that Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek were the better goaltenders of their shared era.
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