Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur spent 21 of his 22 NHL seasons as a New Jersey Devil. This 2014 feature profiled Brodeur in his final season with New Jersey.
Few goalies have had the impact of New Jersey Devils netminding icon Martin Brodeur in the modern–day NHL.
In this feature from The Hockey News’ March 3, 2014 edition (Vol. 67, Issue 17), contributor Rich Chere spotlighted Brodeur in his final season as a member of the Devils.
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Known worldwide as a workhorse netminder, Brodeur began to see his playing time cut down in his later years with the Devils. Injuries limited him to just 29 games in the 2012-13 campaign, and one year later, he appeared in 39 games. That lack of action spurred Brodeur to tell Chere he’d be open to waiving his no-trade clause to a team that would use him more often.
“I definitely would like to play more,” Brodeur said. “I’m not looking for (a trade). I want to make sure this (Devils) team gets on a playoff run.”
Brodeur would spend his final season – the 2014-15 campaign – with the St. Louis Blues. But he appeared in only seven games as a Blue before announcing his retirement in January 2015. He’d had a taste of life after his on-ice days ended as his career wound down, and Brodeur told Chere he wasn’t especially fond of that time in his career.
“Sometimes on days off I’m like, ‘This is going to be retirement. It’s not fun,’ ” Brodeur said. “They’re going to have to teach me (how to be a backup goalie). And it’s hard to teach an old dog, I guess.”
MARTIN BRODEUR: SHOULD HE STAY OR GO?
Vol. 67, No. 17, March 3, 2014
By Rich Chere
It seems unthinkable. Would the Devils actually trade Martin Brodeur, the face of the franchise for two decades and the goaltender on all three of their Stanley Cup championship teams? More to the point, would the NHL’s all-time winningest goalie be willing to waive his no-trade clause if approached by GM Lou Lamoriello? “I’m open to anything,” Brodeur says. “I just want to play. So if there is a chance somewhere else, a better situation for me, I’d take it.”
In the final year of his contract, Brodeur, 41, has been outwardly unhappy seeing his playing time diminish. He was coach Pete DeBoer’s sentimental choice to start the Devils’ game against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium Jan. 26. Yet Cory Schneider emerged as the team’s clear-cut No. 1 by starting 10 of the Devils’ 13 games between Jan. 9 and Feb. 3
For that reason, Brodeur says he won't be surprised if the Devils seek to trade him. “No, not at all,” he says, “It’s within the team’s right to try and make themselves better. The fact is, I have the luxury to decide what I want to do. I hope if he (Lamoriello) is able to help the team, he’ll ask, regardless of what it is. It’s definitely something that is possible.
“I don't know what I’d think if it were to happen. I don’t know how I’d feel, but I definitely would like to play more. I’m not looking for that. I want to make sure this team gets on a playoff run.”
Brodeur has no plans to ask for a trade, but hasn’t ruled it out if he winds up a fixture on the bench. Lamoriello says he cannot picture Brodeur on another team, but the goalie has said he’s leaning towards coming back next season and he indicates it might not be with the Devils. “My heart is in (returning for another season),” Brodeur says. “My body could be another story. We’ll see. I’m done after this year with my contract depending on what’s going to happen in the next few months. If I feel good body-wise, I’ll see what is the best scenario for me, if it’s back in New Jersey or somewhere else.”
It’s difficult to assess how much Brodeur has left when he’s dealing with the unfamiliar chore of playing infrequently, which he believes contributed to his bad day at Yankee Stadium. He allowed six goals on 21 shots in difficult conditions before Schneider replaced him for the third period. “Backup goalies – who are used to playing every 15 or 14 days, 10 or eight days between starts – are used to it,” Brodeur says. “With me, it’s definitely hard to get in the rhythm. When you don’t play in eight days and then have to play in 15-degree weather outside, it makes it a little harder.”
When he was playing more often, Brodeur said he was having fun. The highlight of his season so far came Jan. 14 in his hometown of Montreal when he stopped 29 of 30 shots in a 4-1 victory over the Canadiens and was named first star. Brodeur received a rousing ovation from the Montreal fans.
There was, of course, speculation it was Brodeur’s final game in Montreal. He was noticeably moved when members of the local media and several Canadiens players said the Bell Centre isn’t the same since Brodeur’s father, Denis, the longtime team photographer for the Habs, passed away Sept. 26. “Montreal, especially the Montreal Canadiens, have always been a big part of my family,” Brodeur says. “I never played for them and probably will never play for them. But it’s a big part of me growing up and the career of my dad. So it’s definitely appreciated what people think about it.”
But there won’t be any sentimental starts for Brodeur down the stretch. DeBoer, at risk of missing the playoffs in two of his three seasons as Devils coach, will ride the hot goalie. “I don’t think there is any doubt we’re in the home stretch here and the final sprint,” DeBoer says. “My lineup decisions are going to be based solely on who gives us the best chance to win a game that night.”
And that, DeBoer says, is Schneider, acquired in a June 30 trade with the Vancouver Canucks for the Devils’ 2013 first-round pick: “He’s hot right now. That doesn’t change our belief system in Marty Brodeur or what he’s done. This has nothing to do with history. It’s what he (Brodeur) has done for us and for me over the two-and-a-half years I’ve been here. I’m very aware of how good he’s capable of playing and what he’s able to do, so they’re tough decisions.”
Lamoriello is hesitant to lose the insurance Brodeur affords the Devils in the event something happens to Schneider. “Sometimes you need both guys in case something happens to one or the other,” Schneider says. “I saw it in Vancouver. They were real reluctant to deal either one of us (Schneider or Roberto Luongo), especially when you want to try and make a deep run in the playoffs. Injuries happen and a bad stretch here or there can happen. It’s always nice to be able to turn to another guy who can get the job done.”
But, as Brodeur points out: “It could be another backup goalie that has experience coming in, too. Who knows? There are deals to be made. Who knows what is available?”
It always comes back to the fact Brodeur must approve a trade. He wouldn’t change teams to sit behind another No. 1 goalie. And he wants a club with a shot to win the Cup. His chances of choosing the ideal situation will be a lot stronger in the off-season, when he is an unrestricted free agent.
If, of course, he wants to play another season. When the Devils visited Colorado in mid-January, Brodeur appeared on the bench to watch the end of the Avalanche’s morning skate. Avalanche coach Patrick Roy spotted the man who broke his goaltending records and skated over for what turned out to be a lengthy private chat.
Roy believes Brodeur would make a good coach when he hangs up his goalie pads. However, while Brodeur has said he might be interested in being a GM some day, coaching doesn’t appeal to him. “Nope,” Brodeur says. “I’m sure I could do it. I don’t know if I’d want to. (Roy) coached six years in junior hockey. I don’t know if I’m ready for those long bus rides. It’s a passion being a coach. It’s not in everybody.
“He owned that (junior) team long before he retired, so I’m sure he had a lot of things invested in it. Me, I have no association with anybody, so coaching wouldn’t be something that really attracts me.”
Brodeur has refused to view this season as a farewell tour. A few opponents have asked him for sticks, but he hasn’t wanted any added attention from other teams. He also hasn’t adopted a backup goalie’s mentality. “I don’t know what it is,” he says. “They’re going to have to teach me. And it’s hard to teach an old dog, I guess.”
It’s unlikely Brodeur announces this is his final season before the playoffs arrive. He wants to go out on his own terms and has spoken to many players who admit they missed the game when they called it quits. “Sometimes on days off I’m like, ‘This is going to be retirement. It’s not fun,’ ” he says.
With Brodeur’s consent, a trade might be fun, but it would be an awkward new experience, too. “I’ve never faced it,” he says, “but this year I might.”
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