Around the NHL: Brodeur says goodbye, Mike Richards and more

It was the end of an era yesterday as longtime Devils goalie Martin Brodeur officially announced his retirement. Brodeur spent 21 seasons in New Jersey. He won three Stanley Cups, four Vezina trophies, and five Jennings trophies. He is the all time NHL leader in wins and shutouts. He will assume a role as a special assistant to Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.

Brodeur won three Stanley Cups. The first in a four game sweep of Detroit in 1995. The second cup was a six game series against defending champion Dallas in 2000. The third and final cup came in a seven game series against the Ducks in which Brodeur became just the third goalie to record a shutout in game seven of the finals.

He won his first of four Vezina trophies in the 2002-03 season. He won his 500th game in November of 2007 with a 6-2 win over the Flyers. Brodeur's 100th shutout also came in a 3-0 win over the Flyers.

In March of 2009 he broke Patrick Roy's record with his 552nd win by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks. In December of the same year he set the shutout mark with number 104 in 4-0 victory against the Penguins. 

Brodeur would win his last game for the Devils in April of 2013 beating the Boston Bruins by a score of 3-2. His final win was fittingly a 3-0 shutout against Colorado in January 2014 as a member of the Blues. His final game was January 2nd of this year, a 4-3 loss to Anaheim. 

Brodeur's final numbers were 691-397-105 with 125 shutouts, a 2.24 goals against average and a .912 save percentage in the regular season. His playoff record was 113-91 with a 2.02 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and three Stanley Cup championships.

Mike Richards

Former Flyers captain Mike Richards was waived by the Los Angeles Kings earlier this week. Richards had just 15 points, five goals and ten assists, in 47 games for LA this season. Richards cleared waivers and was assigned to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. 

Richards had a very promising start to his career. He was named captain of the Flyers at the start of 2008-09 season. He would lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals following the 2009-10 season, losing to the Blackhawks in six games.

He was traded to the Kings before the start of the 2011-2012 season. There are many reports as to why the Flyers traded their captain. The common theory is the hard partying lifestyle the young Richards lived.

He seemed to get out the gates well in Los Angeles. He was a major factor in the Kings winning their first Stanley Cup following the 2011-2012 season. The Kings would go on to win their second cup last season, however Richards' role was less this time around.

There were rumors he was a possible buyout candidate following last year's cup run. GM Dean Lombardi reportedly visited Richards in the off season and decided to give him another season. It turned out to only be half of a season. Lombardi has not ruled the possibility of recalling him as the playoffs approach but for now Richards has to find his game.

Playoff Push

Now that the All Star game has come and gone, we have hit a critical point in the season. As teams position themselves for the final push to the postseason, a few questions will be answered. Can the youthful teams like Calgary and Winnipeg hold onto their current playoff spots or will the defending champs make another late season run to get in.

Calgary currently holds the final playoff spot out west with LA just one point back and Dallas four. The Flames have been a pleasant surprise this season. Their blend of exciting youth and veteran leadership has propelled them into playoff contention. 

The question remains to be answered if they have the staying power to finish it off and return to the postseason. Meanwhile in Winnipeg, the Jets are a just two and four points behind Chicago and St. Louis respectively for one of the automatic spots. 

The Jets have to be pleased with the play of rookie goaltender Michael Hutchinson. The 24 yr old has played brilliantly when called upon. He is making his case to unseat Ondrej Pavelec as the team's starter.

It should be a great finish to the season regardless. As teams like LA have proven, all you need is to get in and anything can happen.

League Leaders through 1/29/15

Goals – Ovechkin (29)

Assists – Voracek (41)

Points – Voracek (58)

Plus/Minus – Kucherov (+28)

Wins – Rinne (29)

Shutouts – Fleury (6)

Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074