Early years Madden grew up in a public housing project, Parma Court, in Toronto. Madden is a graduate of the Victoria Village House League and has also played for a number of
minor league teams, including the Don Mills Flyers, Scarborough Bruins, Hillcrest Summits, and the Junior "C" Alliston Hornets, before moving up to the Junior "B"
Barrie Colts. During his second full season (1992–93) with the Colts, Madden set team records for assists (75) and points (124). Madden was selected in the 11th round, 173rd overall, in the 1992 OHL Priority Selection by the Niagara Falls Thunder after a 104-point season with the Barrie Colts Jr. B. (
OHA) team. Madden did not report to Niagara Falls, instead choosing to pursue an NCAA scholarship. After his second season in Barrie, when he scored 124 points in 43 games, he was still passed over in the
1993 NHL entry draft. However, of the 286 players
drafted that year, only 24 have played more career NHL games than the undrafted Madden (as of the end of the 2009–10 NHL season). Madden played college hockey for the
University of Michigan, playing in 160 games and scoring 80 goals and 100 assists for 180 points, with 123 penalty minutes. During his four-year career with the
Wolverines, Madden set the
NCAA record for most career
shorthanded goals (23) and was a member of the 1995–96
championship team. Over his career, Madden had thirty-two 2-point games, three 3-point games, one 4-point game and one 5-point game. For most of his time with the Devils, Madden was paired with left
wing player
Jay Pandolfo, prompting many Devils fans to refer to this ubiquitous duo as "Madolfo". The value of the Madden/Pandolfo partnership to the Devils was particularly notable after the
2004–05 NHL lockout. Despite the loss of defensive stalwarts
Scott Stevens (retirement),
Scott Niedermayer (free agency), and
Ken Daneyko (retirement), as well as a series of rule changes designed to increase offence, the Devils have remained one of the NHL's least
scored on and least penalized teams. On April 25, 2006, Madden completed his first career playoff
hat-trick in a 4–1 win over the New York Rangers; two of his goals were shorthanded, tying an NHL record. Madden was a member of the Devils'
1999–2000 and
2002–03 Stanley Cup champion clubs. After the retirement of long-time
captain Scott Stevens before the 2005–06 season, the Devils abandoned the use of the
captain's "C" and instead used four
alternate captains, drawing from a pool of Madden,
Brian Rafalski,
Colin White,
Scott Gomez,
Alexander Mogilny and
Patrik Eliáš. Madden continued to wear the alternate captain's "A", except for a short time in the 2007–08 season, in which the "A" was given to
Brian Gionta,
Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Eliáš (Eliáš, after having the captaincy taken away). Once
Jamie Langenbrunner, on December 5, 2007, was named captain, Madden once again was assigned the "A", along with defenseman
Colin White. Madden scored his 100th career goal (regular season) on April 1, 2006, against the
Philadelphia Flyers. Other career milestones included his 100th
assist (October 18, 2006, against the
Pittsburgh Penguins), 200th point (October 12, 2006, against the
Toronto Maple Leafs), and 500th game (November 17, 2006, against the
Ottawa Senators).
Chicago Blackhawks As an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2009, Madden signed a one-year contract with the
Chicago Blackhawks worth $2.75 million. He won his third Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks that year.
Minnesota Wild On August 6, 2010, Madden signed a one-year contract with the
Minnesota Wild. While Madden scored 12 goals and 25 points in 76 games for the
2010–11 campaign, the Wild finished 12th in the Western Conference and failed to qualify for the playoffs by 11 points.
Florida Panthers On January 4, 2012, Madden signed a one-year contract with the
Florida Panthers, joining former Blackhawks teammates
Kris Versteeg,
Jack Skille,
Brian Campbell and
Tomáš Kopecký and former Devils teammate
Scott Clemmensen. The
2011–12 season saw the Panthers clinched the playoff spot for the first time in twelve years, finishing third in the East. Madden, however, recorded no points during the
2012 playoffs as they lost the first round to his former team, the sixth-seeded
New Jersey Devils, in seven games, despite initially having a 3–2 series lead. Madden officially retired from the NHL on September 4, 2012. ==Post-retirement and coaching career==