Last week, Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils became the NHL’s all-time winningest goaltender. Two days later, the New Jersey Court of Appeals ruled that Brodeur must pay his ex-wife Melanie DuBois $500,000 a year in alimony until 2020, when the former couple’s youngest child will graduate high school.

The Brodeur divorce case has now been appealed twice. In the first appeal, the court reversed the award of permanent alimony. The case then went back to the family court where DeBois requested alimony through 2024, when that child would presumably graduate from college. Brodeur sought to terminate alimony in 2012, when his current $5.2 million a year contract runs out and he turns 40. Brodeur believes he will likely retire at that time.

The court indicated that, while the duration of alimony in this case was longer than in typical divorce cases, it based its decision on the parties’ previous expectation that DuBois would be the primary caretaker of the children and that Brodeur could afford the alimony payments.

It also noted that nothing precluded Brodeur from filing a motion to modify or reduce alimony after his retirement if his income level drops.

Brodeur is almost certainly a future Hall-of-Famer. He and DuBois had a messy public divorce several years ago after seven years of marriage. DuBois had Brodeur served with divorce papers during the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. Brodeur allegedly had an affair with DuBois’ brother’s wife, Genevieve Nault.

Brodeur and Nault were married in 2008. I guess that makes Nault the aunt/step-mother of Brodeur’s kids?!