They were called the Mickey Mouse franchise by the Great One years ago. It is a phrase I personally know has haunted Gretz for quite some time now. Now that Mickey Mouse franchise has sipped from multiple Cups and last night, its goalie broke a record that never should have been broken to become the best of all time and there really isn't a debate.

When Sawchuk was pitching no-hitters shutouts were commonplace. This is in no way meant to diminish Terry's feat. Terry stared down the sharp shooters of his era, but it was an era where shutouts were frequent. The style of the game was vastly different.

Sawchuk's era was a war fought in revolutionary times in comparison to our nightly battles of today.

More to the point, Marty Brodeur faced far superior soldiers...faster and better equipped with all of the finest training and state-of-the-art weaponry.

Brodeur's Wars...

*The End of the Gretzky/Lemieux War: When Sawchuk entered the NHL in 1949-50 Ted Lindsay won the scoring title with 78 points. Maurice Richard had 43 goals. When Marty entered the NHL in 1990 Gretzky had 163 points, Brett Hull 86 Goals.

*The Lindros/LeClair Wars: Then came the years that were born out of Cam Neely. The Power Forward Era of linebackers crashing the net. Brodeur works on his stick handling to protect defenseman who are being preyed upon everytime the puck is dumped in.

The Crosby/Ovechkin Post Lockout Wars: Hey Marty, is that the best ya got??? Forget about your D-men holding up anyone at all, say goodbye to the 2-line pass and we'll even put you into this special designed cage nicknamed, "The Brodeur Trapezoid." Enter the evil super villians, MalkinMan, The Ovechkinator, and of course "Sid the Kid." What are you going to do now, Marty? (cue Batman music) Is this the end of our caped crusader?

Nope. Think Again.

In all seriousness, had Marty accomplished this feat as a lifetime member of the Maple Leafs, Bruins, Rangers or Canadiens last night's moment would have been praised easily on par with the Great One passing Gordie. Based on my earlier reasoning I enter this statement...

Brodeur passing Sawchuk is a greater accomplishment than Wayne passing Gordie. And should the unlikely occur and either record ever be broken it will be the Gretzky record that is the first to fall.

Do you recall how when Wayne broke the points ceiling many old-timers were sitting in the backround expounding, "Well Gordie did it when everyone played two-way hockey and games were 1-0/2-1."?

You really can't compare Goalies and Skaters in the NHL. That is very true.

Let me be clear. Wayne was the best hockey player that ever lived. Wayne Gretzky was a freak of the Hockey Gods, a gift that I am humbled to have witnessed, and a man that I do respect to no ends. To this day, no skater has yet earned the right to be compared to Wayne Gretzky.

What is fascinating to me is that players since Wayne can only be compared to "aspects of Gretzky."

Adam Oates and Peter Forsberg had "Gretzky-like passing ability," Ovechkin has a "Gretzky-like eye for the openings and the net," Crosby has "Gretzky-like vision," etc.

And one more. Quick tangent, but allow me this observation. There is a rookie in the NHL who is the first player that I have seen that has "Gretzky like Anticipation." Basically, the ability to be where the play is going like he is a magnet and the puck must get to him him or it will cease to exist. That player is John Tavares. It is astounding. Notice this next time you watch him live. He, like Gretzky did, makes up for his mediocre skating abilities with a sense that surely must be given to him from beyond. And he is the first I have seen it in since Wayne. Crosby has elements of it, but there is something different in Tavares. He would be on my Olympic team. I know it won't happen, but if I needed one goal to tie it, Tavares would be on my power play in front of the net.

Anyway...

I agreed with those hockey historians about Wayne's record based on the era Gordie played. I don't think it should be used to diminish Gretzky at all, however were you to utilize that logic to diminish what Wayne did, you sure as hell better use the same to laud Marty's moment in time.

Marty has one more trait which puts him into that "other-worldy" category. When people talk about Babe Ruth they sometimes say, "All those Homeruns, but did you know he was also a great pitcher?" With Wilt Chamberlain they say, "He scored 100 points in a game, but did you know he also led the NBA in assists one year?" With Marty it is, "He holds the unbreakable shutout record, but did you also know he was the best puck handling goalie of all time?"

There are many great aspects to this record, but knowing Marty there is probably only one result he would like to see come of it: Respect for the NJ Devils. Acceptance of the NJ Devils as one of the NHL's greatest franchises. In many ways, this record and his accomplishments I believe will bring as much if not more respect to this organization than the Stanley Cups. Lots of teams win a Cup, but the following sentence is now etched on a place where nothing else can be written:

Most Shutouts in NHL History. Martin Brodeur. NJ DEVILS.

Yes, while Marty is going to take this show to Vancouver for his country and his love and pride for Canada is absolutely a huge part of his soul, the greatest goalie of all-time is Marty Brodeur, and he will be the first to tell you that he is a NJ Devil.

Chris Johnston, a great reporter for the Canadian Press, said in his twitter today (follow him here) ..."Best part of seeing Brodeur break the shutout record was seeing how excited the other Devils were in the dressing room."

That says it all. Congrats to Marty and the Devils, from a Flyers fan who was raised to despise you.

Flyers Rumors

I am hearing several goalie names being thrown around today, and it is my sense that the Flyers are about to pull the trigger on a goalie move. I am hearing Biron, Ellis, and Manny Fernandez all as possibilities. This is purely my speculation, but I would not at all be surprised if one of those three is between the pipes for the Flyers when you watch the Winter Classic on New Year's Day.

Understand, that this is absolutely not a knock on, or even about Brian Boucher. He has played very admirably, and can't be faulted for much...if anything.

The simple fact remains. After you try changing the coach, the next best way to change team dynamic is in goal. A new goalie can give everyone a lift and can help a team play with a new confidence. A team with confidence in their goalie is a different team entirely. Scoring can return from nowhere. Ask the people of Ottawa.

Speaking of which...There are some around the Flyers that are definitely, though quietly, starting to resent the fact that Ray Emery played hurt for two weeks without telling anyone. It really in many ways has screwed this team up. I don't know any other way to put it.

Emery was phenomenal early. The Flyers were confident. His play slowly diminished once he got injured, and the team's confidence slowly followed suit. "If a player is injured he has to say something," one team exec said to me. Now Emery is recovering from surgery and who knows how worse or how much longer that recovery will take then if he had just spoken up and rested?