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Posted October 2, 2000, 5 p.m. e.s.t.

Do you remember smoking your first cigar? Most cigar connoisseurs may lack the dramatic tale of rapture surrounding a first-ever smoke, but not National Hockey League goalie Martin Brodeur. He smoked his first cigar right after backstopping the New Jersey Devils in their sweep of the Detroit Red Wings to win the 1995 Stanley Cup -- his first cigar celebrating his first championship. Not a smoke he'll soon forget.

"I have no idea what it was," he reflected.

All right, it was an exciting and frantic moment in the fledgling career of the Devils premier goaltender, a Stanley Cup victory that established young Marty Brodeur as one of the top netminders in the NHL. So what if he can't recall much about that inaugural cigar? He's been enjoying them ever since.

"When I had my first cigar in 1995, I thought, 'This is the mark of a true champion,'" Brodeur recently explained in an interview. "Y'know, that satisfaction that you accomplished something; that's how you feel when you have a cigar in your hand. And that's something that's always stayed with me."

Brodeur's Devils earned another championship this past June in a memorable series against the defending Cup champion Dallas Stars. The exhausting adversity of wresting hockey's top trophy from 1999's formidable victors could not be seen on the goalie's gleaming face, however, as he clamped a cigar in his grin and bear-hugged the Cup in his locker-room stall. There he sat after the decisive Game 6 of the 2000 Finals -- with his red road jersey off and his thick goalie pads still on -- as photographers snapped his picture.

"I just stayed there," said Brodeur (who even has a French accent to his chuckle). "I smoked three cigars in a row. When one got too small to smoke anymore, I turned it around and used [the stub] to light up a new one. Three in a row in my stall, I never moved from there. I don't know what time we finally finished, but it was almost three o'clock when I finally got undressed. Everybody was gone. I had my pads, a bottle of Champagne, a can of beer and a cigar in my hand."

This spring's championship was the second for Brodeur in just seven full seasons as an NHL goalie, and admittedly, the tougher to obtain, but he has vivid memories of the first title -- unlike his first cigar.

"I walked into the press conference in '95 with my first cigar and answered all the questions the whole time [puffing away]." (Although none of the reporters asked Brodeur if he kept any cigars hidden inside the nearly 50 pounds of goalie equipment he wears, he did admit during this interview that his equipment was "good for keeping humidity when I get my good sweat going.") Ever since that moment at the podium after the 1995 Finals, Brodeur has enjoyed the finer qualities of premium cigars, hanging out with friends who also smoke cigars, such as veteran Devils defenseman, Ken Daneyko. He also joined the Grand Havana Room in New York City.

"It's gotta be about two and a half years now that I'm a member there," Brodeur said. "We came in as four guys together -- two of my friends that work in New York and the other who's from Virginia but works a lot in New York. Those guys use the Grand Havana Room more for business, to meet and greet people, but when we all hang out, it's usually our meeting spot before we go out to dinner or just to hang out."

Brodeur's cigars of choice are Arturo Fuente's Don Carlos series. He also treats himself to Cubans when returning to Canada, yet he remains wary of the counterfeits that sully the industry's finest. "I've smoked a fake," he said, "and you can see the difference. It burns faster and it's not sharp. I don't smoke [Cubans] too much, so when I do, I want to smoke a good one."

On that Cup-clinching night in Dallas, just three months ago, Brodeur wasn't fussing about any lack of quality with the cigar he was puffing on. The satisfaction of his accomplishment was all he cared about, as well as knowing he didn't have to get up and play hockey the next day. During the offseason, Brodeur spends his time in Canada to ensure that his three young children retain their French-Canadian roots. He tries not to play golf because he doesn't want to spend too much time away from his kids (although he will light up a cigar when he does hit the links). But this past summer, after winning the Cup, he had a second goal to fulfill.

In a publicized event, Brodeur returned to his hometown of Montreal on July 20 with Lord Stanley's trophy at his side. He went back to his block for the rematch. You see, five years ago, when Brodeur first brought the Cup to his hometown, he played a four-on-four pickup street hockey game with his childhood chums, and the prize was the Stanley Cup. The only thing he didn't anticipate was losing the Cup -- which he did.

"For the last five years, they've had their say," said Brodeur. "So when reporters asked me what I was going to do with the Cup this summer, I said I needed to get revenge. People don't understand. When I lost the game [and the Cup] in 1995, we had TV crews and sportswriters here, so when my buddies beat me, it was their day of fame."

Maybe Marty needed to be back in nets?

"No, no. I had enough pucks thrown at my head. It was my time to score on them," he said. He shot. He scored. He won. "And the Cup was mine again."

--Mark Weissenberger

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