MONTREAL — The Farewell Homecoming can wait. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said he intends more working visits to his native city following tonight’s game against the Canadiens.
Still, even though the body and spirit are willing, a long lockout next season could mean tonight becomes Brodeur’s last game in Montreal.
The 39-year-old goaltender said he doesn’t know if fans around the NHL will care when he hangs them up, although he felt it was important for him to attend Wayne Gretzky’s farewell game.
“People in different situations, like Gretz, did it. For me, it’s never crossed my mind,” Brodeur said. “Wayne Gretzky is hockey in my era. It was important to be there.”
But for himself, Brodeur said, he has no idea.
“I don’t know what people are going to feel about these things,” he said.
Brodeur surely will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and will retire with the NHL records for victories (645), shutouts (117) and games (1,170). Even Rangers fans acknowledge his greatness. If he takes a Farewell Lap, it will be a celebration.
But not yet.
“I don’t have the feeling that I’m not going to play next year. It’s not like I’m going there all nostalgic,” Brodeur said. “It could be, possibly, the last. I hope not. We’ll see.”
Brodeur admitted the thought of a last lap around the league had crossed him mind, particularly when he opened 5-7 and struggled through a shoulder injury.
“I was thinking about it the last game I played [in Montreal on Dec. 17],” he said. “It could have been that one.
“I don’t have that attitude right now, that it’s going to be the last one.”
Brodeur said his epiphany came during the Devils’ road trip through Western Canada in January.
“I was thinking about it going to Calgary and Edmonton. Now I don’t feel like that,” Brodeur said.
When he returned from that trip, Brodeur told The Post he was leaning towards playing next season, although he had been decidedly ambivalent previously.
Now he’s 15-6-2 in 23 games and 6-1 in his last seven. The Devils are 21-8-3 in 32 games and challenging for a home-ice playoff berth.
“It’s both me and the way I feel, the enthusiasm and fun we’re having together. I’m enjoying this,” Brodeur said. “It could be terminated for me at the end of the season, so I’m enjoying every moment.”
Brodeur stands 20-12-1 in Montreal during the regular season according to Elias Sports Bureau, and 42-18-5 combined against the Canadiens, with nine shutouts.
How many more victories he adds to those figures may depend on forces beyond his control.
* Coach Pete DeBoer said Travis Zajac has yet to resume skating after aggravating his surgically repaired Achilles tendon in December. DeBoer said he spoke to Zajac and was encouraged he will start his comeback again shortly.