Richard Brodeur

Richard "King Richard", "Kermit" Brodeur^[1] (born September 15, 1952), is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was one of a select group of goaltenders to play in every season of the seven-year existence of the World Hockey Association, doing so with the Quebec Nordiques. Brodeur was the starting goaltender for each of Quebec's runs to the Avco Cup Final, where they lost in 1975 and won in 1977. He moved over to the National Hockey League in 1979, playing just two games before being moved to the Central Hockey League. He then was moved over to the Vancouver Canucks in 1980, where he played the next eight seasons and led the team to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1982. He closed out his career with six games behind the net with the Hartford Whalers in 1987 and play with their American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton in 1988.

Richard Brodeur
Born	(1952-09-15) September 15, 1952 (age 72) Longueuil, Quebec, Canada
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Quebec Nordiques New York Islanders Vancouver Canucks Hartford Whalers
NHL draft	97th overall, 1972 New York Islanders
Playing career	1972–1988

Early life

Brodeur was born in Longueuil, Quebec and grew up in Montreal, Quebec.

Playing career

Brodeur was selected in the 1972 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, but chose instead to play in the World Hockey Association with the Quebec Nordiques, for whom he played for seven seasons. The 1975–76 season was his best; he played 69 games and won 44 of them. In 1976–77, he helped his team win the Avco World Trophy.

When the WHA folded following the 1978–79 season, he was protected as one of the Nordiques' priority selections, then was traded to the Islanders for Göran Högosta.^[2] However, he only played two games for them as he was the third goalie behind Billy Smith and Chico Resch, and was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 1980. In his second season with the Canucks, he guided the team during their playoff run to the finals, which they lost to Brodeur's old team, the Islanders.

Brodeur was selected to play in the 1983 All-Star Game, but couldn't play due to an ear injury suffered in Toronto three days earlier. He remained with the Canucks for almost eight seasons, then was traded near the end of the 1987–88 NHL season to the Hartford Whalers, where he ended his NHL career. He was the last active NHL player from the WHA's inaugural season, and the last to have played in all seven seasons of the WHA's existence.

After his retirement, he founded his own hockey school in the Vancouver area. He also briefly worked as an analyst on Quebec Nordiques French TV telecasts.

He has been noted as the goaltender on whom Wayne Gretzky scored the most goals, with 29.^[3]

Awards

• Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy, MVP Memorial Cup (Cornwall Royals) 1972 (Inaugural Winner).
• Terry Sawchuk Trophy (CHL) - 1979-1980
• Named to the NHL All-Star Game - 1983
• Cyclone Taylor Award (Vancouver Canucks) - 1981, 1982, 1985
• Molson Cup (Most Canucks three-star selections) - 1980–81, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86
• World Hockey Association Hall of Fame - 2010 - Inaugural Inductee

^[4]

Personal life

Brodeur is an artist, using oil on canvas, and has had several shows at Diskin Galleries in Vancouver.^[5]

Career statistics

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1970–71	Verdun Maple Leafs	QJHL		6	1	4	1	360	47	0	7.83	.813		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Cornwall Royals	QJHL		35	—	—	—	2100	144	0	4.11	.879		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Cornwall Royals	QMJHL		58	—	—	—	3481	170	5	2.93	.914		16	12	3	1	960	44	0	2.75	.922
1971–72	Cornwall Royals	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		3	2	1	—	179	4	1	1.34	—
1972–73	Quebec Nordiques	WHA		24	5	14	2	1288	102	0	4.75	.861		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Quebec Nordiques	WHA		30	15	12	1	1607	89	1	3.32	.901		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Maine Nordiques	NAHL		16	10	5	1	927	47	0	3.04	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Quebec Nordiques	WHA		51	29	21	0	2938	188	0	3.90	.892		15	8	7	—	906	48	1	3.18	.913
1975–76	Quebec Nordiques	WHA		69	44	21	2	3967	244	2	3.69	.890		5	1	4	—	299	22	0	4.41	—
1976–77	Quebec Nordiques	WHA		53	29	18	2	2906	167	2	3.45	.880		17	12	5	—	1007	55	1	3.28	.882
1977–78	Quebec Nordiques	WHA		36	18	15	2	1962	121	0	3.70	.892		11	5	5	—	622	38	1	3.67	—
1978–79	Quebec Nordiques	WHA		42	25	13	3	2433	126	3	3.11	.901		3	0	2	—	114	14	0	7.37	—
1979–80	New York Islanders	NHL		2	1	0	0	80	6	0	4.50	.829		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1979–80	Indianapolis Checkers	CHL		46	22	19	5	2722	131	4	2.88	—		6	3	3	—	357	12	1	2.02	—
1980–81	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		52	17	18	16	3024	177	0	3.51	.884		3	0	3	—	185	13	0	4.22	.852
1981–82	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		52	20	18	12	3010	168	2	3.35	.891		17	11	6	—	1089	49	0	2.70	.917
1982–83	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		58	21	26	8	3291	208	0	3.79	.873		3	0	3	—	193	13	0	4.04	.849
1983–84	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		36	10	21	5	2110	141	1	4.01	.868		4	1	3	—	222	12	1	3.24	.896
1984–85	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		51	16	27	6	2930	228	0	4.67	.855		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Fredericton Express	AHL		4	3	0	1	249	13	0	3.13	.898		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		64	19	32	8	3541	240	2	4.07	.861		2	0	2	—	120	12	0	6.00	.848
1986–87	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		53	20	25	5	2972	178	1	3.59	.872		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		11	3	6	2	668	49	0	4.40	.859		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Fredericton Express	AHL		2	0	1	0	99	8	0	4.85	.862		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Hartford Whalers	NHL		6	4	2	0	339	15	0	2.65	.894		4	1	3	—	199	12	0	3.62	.862
1988–89	Binghamton Whalers	AHL		6	1	2	0	222	21	0	5.68	.824		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
WHA totals				305	165	114	12	17,101	1037	8	3.64	.889		51	26	23	—	2948	177	3	3.60	—
NHL totals				385	131	175	62	21,966	1410	6	3.85	.872		33	13	30	—	2008	111	1	3.32	.894

"Brodeur's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-09-28.