5 Damn Good Reasons Why... Brodeur Is Greater Than Roy

5) The Eyeball Test

Would you rather watch a goalie do this:

Or this:

Checkmate.

4) Roy quit.

I can't emphasize this enough. Roy QUIT on Montreal. Q-U-I-T. He skated off the ice, spat a few profanities, and never wore the crest again*.

It is a fundamental moral value of sports, regardless of place and circumstance, that you don't quit. Never ever. You don't quit on your teammates, your fans, your self. Even when you just got drilled for 9 goals in the worst game of your life, you suck it up and punch a few water coolers and get at it again tomorrow. Quitting is unforgivable, and Habs fans sully the dignity of their franchise when they insist that they don't care.

* until they kissed his ass enough to come back and celebrate himself for an evening.

3) Brodeur didn't beat his wife, he just screwed her sister.

Would you rather be Chris Brown or Hugh Hefner? Double checkmate.

2) He did it better, faster.

Numbers don't lie.

Brodeur has been in the NHL for 15 years, playing a total of 986 games. He has won 56% of his games, with a GAA of 2.20, a save% of .914 and 100 shutouts.
Roy was in the NHL for 19 years, playing a total of 1029 games. He won 54% of his games, with a GAA of 2.54, a save% of .910 and only 66 shutouts.

Brodeur played 70 or more games in 11 different seasons. Roy never hit that mark.
Brodeur won 40 games in 7 different seasons, including 48 in 06-07. Roy only hit 40 a single time.
Brodeur's performance was better than Roy's in 12 of their 15 shared seasons.

And most importantly, Brodeur didn't get to order a trade to a Cup-contending team. His numbers are all consistent with the ups and downs of his franchise.

1) If you ain't first, you're last.

There is only one way for an athlete to cement his legacy: he either does something first, or he does it the most.

Can you name the guys who will come after Roy on the career wins list? Of course you can't, because you don't care. Nobody does. When Brodeur wins his next game, Roy will forever be consigned to the ranks of Curtis Joseph, Chris Osgood, and Sean Burke as "guys who are in the top 20". Only one guy gets to be on top, and that's the one who's going to be a true legend.