The two legendary hockey goalies — and longtime rivals — Martin Brodeur and Mike Richter may no longer by competing on the ice, but they still managed to draw a crowd to the NHL Shop flagship in New York City Monday afternoon.
The former New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers players respectively signed autographs for fans and sat down with ESPN’s Michael Kay for a live show before heading to Madison Square Garden to see their former teams face off. (The Devils handily out-skated the Rangers 5 to 1.)
The evening was hosted by FE, a licensed National Hockey League owned by AW Chang Corp., to help introduce The Legends of the Game Collection, a limited-edition line of collectible reversible bomber jackets that pay tribute to some of the greatest players in the sport’s history, including Brodeur and Richter. Only 99 pieces of each jacket were made and they’re individually numbered. The jackets, which are reversible, include the player’s number, career stats, team logo and colors. They are made from 100 percent recycled digitally printed fabric, are water-repellent and antimicrobial. They retail for $498.
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WWD snagged a few minutes with the athletes during the event to talk about the bombers, their rivalry and whether NHL players have style.
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WWD: What do you think about having a bomber with your likeness and stats on it?
Mike Richter: It’s amazing. I actually ordered a Marty version — they ran out. But to be honest, we’re all fans of the game, and it’s just cool to see these novel things. I was across the street getting lunch prior to this and I saw a couple of people wearing jerseys. Hockey’s got the most passionate fans. So we really welcome this product — the creativity it brings is awesome.
Martin Brodeur: The design of it, the attention to details, the material, and having some of our stats inside of the jacket is cool for anybody that’s a fan of ours or a fan of hockey.
WWD: You were pretty big rivals during your playing days. Is it OK to have you both in the same room or is there going to be some trouble?
M.B.: Goalies are always buddies. We stand 200 feet apart from each other.
M.R.: Actually, Marty was always one of the nicest goalies in the league. Of course, we had a rivalry with New Jersey, but like anything, you get to meet the people after the fact. I’d always meet Marty at the blue line, say hi, and how’s it going? He’s just so easy to talk to. Some people are really uptight but Marty was just so easy to talk to. So I always really appreciated that.
M.B.: It’s funny. I think it’s more our fans that think we hate each other. But that’s the beauty of our game — we get to meet each other at different events, internationally, or at the All-Star Game, and we get to know each other. Some of us get to know each other’s families. Hockey is a big family and there’s a lot of respect for each other. And there’s the world of goaltending, which is really, really small.
M.R.: I loved playing against these guys and playing against Marty. I couldn’t believe the first year he came into [the league] and how good he was. Uh-oh, we’ve got problems now.
WWD: You were both on Stanley Cup-winning teams and I know each of the players gets to hang onto the Cup for a while. What did you do with the Cup when you had it?
M.R.: We won it in ’94 and that was back before they put a guard on it. It would go by age, so Mark Messier, our captain, got it first. You just live your day whether it’s watching a movie, having a bit to eat, playing in another game. And then one day, boom, they tell you: ‘Hey, take the Cup.’ I had no preparation whatsoever. I just went out to dinner with friends. I bought it up to a party up in Rye [N.Y.] where I grew up. But the funniest story is that I was literally coming out of my apartment on the Upper West Side and I had to hail a cab, and I‘m standing there with the Stanley Cup with all these people going by.
M.B.: When I got it, we had a Cup keeper. I brought it back to Montreal, where I grew up. We’re big fans of playing street hockey there, so I brought all my buddies together, put the Stanley Cup on the sidewalk, and we played for it. In New York, it might get overlooked because people are so busy, but in Canada, people stop you everywhere to look at it. I put the Cup in my car with the seat belt on it, and it almost caused accidents.
WWD: Trendsetting style among professional sports leagues has become much more prevalent in recent years, led by the NBA and its tunnel walks. You had Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers goalie known for his sartorial style, but do you see stye for the NHL as a whole improving?
M.R.: If you’re talking about the apparel and whatnot, I think hockey has been behind the times. But now, there are [starting to be some] guys who transcend our sport.
M.B.: Yeah, a lot of them are Europeans, but then you look at P.K. Subban and his hats. I think that’s good for the young fans that they can add personality outside of hockey. We all wear a helmet on the ice so that’s a way for them to be a little bit different. And I think it’s a great thing.
M.R.: I agree. I think the more visibility you can give the sport to understand the different personalities, the better off you are. These guys are wizards on the ice, and every year they just get better, but it’s cool to see the personalities. I think the league has done a good job sharing some of the personalities with the fans, which is exactly what you should do.