Martin Brodeur is among the best goalies the NHL has ever seen. After a 22-season career, the 42-year-old has decided to officially hang up his skates. Brodeur made the announcement at a news conference Thursday, when he also became part of the St. Louis Blues’ front office. He will drop the puck before the Blues’ game against the Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET).

Here are 10 reasons why the future Hall of Famer will be missed in the NHL:

691 wins

Brodeur is the all-time wins leader, and it’s a record that likely will never be broken. Hall of Famer Patrick Roy is second with 551 wins. Roberto Luongo (390), Evgeni Nabokov (353) and Henrik Lundqvist (332) are the closest active goalies.

74,438 minutes, 20 seconds

Brodeur has played more than 51 days of hockey (h/t Puck Daddy) in the NHL. He logged 70 or more games in 12 seasons and holds the record for 48 wins in a season. Times have changed in the NHL, and No. 1 goalies tend to get more time off, making this a feat that won’t be broken anytime soon.

Saves like this …

125 shutouts

Brodeur has 22 more shutouts than Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk. Luongo (68), Nabokov (59) and Lundqvist (55) are the closest among active netminders.

Brodeur rule

How many goalies have had rules created after them? Brodeur’s puck-handling prowess spurred the NHL to place a trapezoid behind the net, marking the area in which a goalie could play the puck.

Moments like this …

In a 2008 playoff series, former Rangers forward Sean Avery decided to face Brodeur and wave his hands and stick in front of the goalie as he screened him. It led to one of the oddest moments – Avery flailing away, Brodeur trying to see around him, then giving him a shove in the face … all capped off by an Avery goal in the same sequence. A day later, the NHL installed a rule to make this an unsportsmanlike penalty.

International career

His father, Denis, won a bronze medal for Canada in the 1956 Olympics.  Martin Brodeur won two golds during his career with Canada. He also gave up five goals in five games to lead Canada to a 2004 World Cup title.

Three goals

Brodeur was like an extra skater on the ice when he got the puck because of how well he could control and pass it. He holds the all-time lead among goalies with three goals. He scored against the Montreal Canadians in the 1997 playoffs and was credited with two others as the last player to touch the puck before an opponent put the puck into his own net.

Style

Brodeur is one of the last hybrid goalies. Most modern goalies now play on their knees in order to take away the lower part of the net, but Brodeur went down only when he needed to. He fused athleticism, aggressiveness and an uncanny ability to read the play into a unique approach.

He announced his son’s draft selection

Brodeur likely will be heavily involved in future drafts as general manager one day, but no moment will be more special than the one during the 2013 draft when he announced that his son, Anthony, was selected by the Devils in the final round.

Contributing: Kevin Allen, Hemal Jhaveri

Thanks to valas991 for the GIF

Your games tonight

Montreal at N.Y. Rangers, 7
Boston at N.Y. Islanders, 7
Winnipeg at Philadelphia, 7
Arizona at Toronto, 7:30
Dallas at Ottawa, 7:30
Columbus at Florida, 7:30
Nashville at St. Louis, 8
Minnesota at Calgary, 9
Buffalo at Edmonton, 9:30
Anaheim at San Jose, 10

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