It seems like only yesterday that Martin Brodeur was a 21-year-old rookie backstopping the upstart Devils to the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. But Brodeur, now 34 years old and in his 13th season, has evolved into one of the elder statesmen of the NHL’s goaltending fraternity. Although he toils in relative obscurity for the fan-starved Devils, Brodeur will without question go down as one of the finest goaltenders in league history.

Earlier in his career, Brodeur’s success was chalked up to good fortune. He was fortunate to play in a system that significantly reduced the number of quality scoring chances he faced. He was fortunate to play behind Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer, two of the NHL’s finest defensemen. He was fortunate to play for an excellent hockey team year after year, its roster carefully assembled by master tactician Lou Lamoriello. He was fortunate to play for the Devils in New Jersey, where there was never a danger of the press driving him to distraction.

But in the post-lockout NHL, it has become apparent that it has in fact been the Devils who have been the fortunate ones all along.

Stevens and Niedermayer are long gone, and so are many of the other players perceived to be so crucial to the Devils’ success. Upon Niedermayer’s exit, Lamoriello made what were likely the biggest blunders of his 20-year reign, signing over-the-hill Russians Alexander Mogilny and Vladimir Malakhov to contracts that have handcuffed the Devils for the past two years. This season, the Devils are icing what is without question their most inexperienced lineup since Brodeur took over the starting job during the 1994 playoffs.

And yet, the team keeps on winning. In his last 16 games dating back to December 1, Brodeur has compiled an eye-popping 13–3 record. During that stretch, he has given up only 31 goals (under two goals a game) and has posted four shutouts. Put simply, as the Devils’ dynasty has been stripped down to its core, it has become abundantly clear that its core is Brodeur.

Currently the league’s leader with 25 wins and seven shutouts, Brodeur also has the NHL’s second-best goals-against average (2.07) and third-best save percentage (.927). That he’s accomplishing this while playing for a team on which journeyman Brad Lukowich and unheralded prospect Johnny Oduya are logging big minutes on the blue line is very impressive. But that Brodeur is as dominant as he’s been — and has carried this team to the top of the Atlantic Division — is exceptional.

On Sunday, Brodeur backstopped the Devils to a 3–0 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal, making 28 saves to earn his 87th career shutout. That puts him just seven behind second-place George Hainsworth (94) and 16 behind the NHL’s all-time leader, Terry Sawchuk (103). And with 471 career victories, Brodeur (second all-time) is only 80 behind Patrick Roy.

Next season, the Devils will move into the Prudential Center which is under-construction in Newark, hopeful that easy public transportation access will help them increase their fan base. But the real selling point for the Devils right now is Brodeur. He has consistently accepted a salary lower than market value to give Lamoriello financial flexibility, and he has delivered an All-Star caliber performance in virtually every one of his 13 NHL seasons. Under contract with the Devils until the 2011-12 season, Brodeur will help christen the Prudential Center by rewriting the NHL record books.

Already one of the top 10 goaltenders in league history by any measure, Brodeur has improbably gotten better with each passing season. It took until 2003 before he won his first Vezina Trophy, and this season, he is making a strong case for why he deserves to win the Hart Trophy (league MVP) for the very first time. The Devils don’t have a single player averaging a point a game or better, and only five regulars have positive plus/minus ratings. Dating back to November 4, Brodeur has given up more than three goals only once, when he surrendered four goals to the Atlanta Thrashers on December 23.

But one of Brodeur’s many impressive statistics might also be the Devils’ biggest cause for concern. Just over the halfway mark, he has started an improbable 40 of the team’s first 42 games and is between the pipes approximately 95% of the time. He averaged well over 70 games played over the previous 10 seasons, also backstopping the Devils to two Stanley Cup victories (in three appearances) and Team Canada to gold medal victories in the Olympics and the World Cup. This season, he is on pace to set a personal high with 78 starts. And perhaps the biggest challenge head coach Claude Julien will face in his first season behind the Devils’ bench will be finding a way to rest the seemingly tireless Brodeur in the second half.

Unfortunately, back-up Scott Clemmensen hasn’t played particularly well during his rare opportunities. His last appearance came on December 14 against the Boston Bruins, when he gave up two goals in the first 1:25. And though he did settle down as the game progressed, stopping 40 of 44 shots in the Devils’ defeat, Clemmensen’s performance clearly didn’t inspire Julien’s confidence.

But even if the Devils have to absorb some losses while playing Clemmensen, it’s apparent that this team — which would likely be sub-.500 without Brodeur — will go nowhere in the playoffs if he’s not in tip-top shape. While it’s true that home-ice advantage has been crucial for the Devils this season — they’ve gone 14–3–3 in games at Continental Airlines Arena and 11–10–1 in road games — Brodeur represents their biggest advantage of all. And like it or not, he needs some well-deserved rest.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.