We love to talk about New Jersey Devils great and Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. The Devils current Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations is still in the general lexicon of NHL fans. The conversation of "greatest of all time" has to go through Brodeur, who owns more records as a goaltender than almost any player in any sport.
Since he owns these records, and the fact he's still popular among hockey fans, we still see Brodeur mentioned on trivia shows, especially ones that have hockey as a connector. However, the most popular trivia how in the history of United States television used Brodeur as a clue on Monday night.
We love to hear this type of news, as it could help connect new fans to the Devils. It's a small mention, but every place we can connect people to the history of the Devils is a positive. However, Devils fans were trying to figure out one aspect of the clue.
😈 @Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/bG75VA3Z3U
— Martin Brodeur (@MartinBrodeur) November 12, 2024
So... where did "Satan's Wallpaper" come from? What does that even mean? Did someone just think of another word for "Devil" and add something that is known for full coverage? Can wallpaper survive the depths of Hell? Is Brodeur supposed to be some designer piece of Satan's house? This is definitely an odd nickname.
It's also new to many Devils fans. Brodeur had one known nickname. The chant "Marty" can be heard at the Continental Airlines Arena, and later the Prudential Center. However, Satan's Wallpaper feels like it would stick out. So, we needed to find the origin of this nickname.
Most people are pointing to this 2016 Rolling Stone article, where they mentioned the nickname. However, a 2012 Bleacher Report article ranking athlete nicknames has Brodeur and this ominous moniker on the list. It actually ranked as the eighth-best nickname of all time! Meanwhile, MSG Networks used "Satan's Wallpaper" when Brodeur was inducted into the Hall in 2018.
.@MartinBrodeur's first ever shut out came on October 20, 1993. Is this why he got the nickname Satan's Wallpaper? Does anyone call him that though? #RookieWeek pic.twitter.com/feJVD8SH7m
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) June 22, 2018
The earliest mention for this nickname is another Bleacher Report article, this time from 2009. We're still looking for official origins of the name, but we did see some social media chatter tagging the nickname all the way back to 1997. Who knew?!