NHL

Brodeur wins possible finale as Devil

The fact is the speculation finally came from the source Tuesday night, as Martin Brodeur stoked the flames of the possibility of his own impending trade after his Devils pulled out an improbable 4-3 victory over the Red Wings at Prudential Center.

On the eve of Wednesday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, the 41-year-old netminder played just well enough to give his team a big win over an Eastern Conference foe directly above it in the race for one of the final playoff berths.

Brodeur didn’t get a ton of work as his name continued to be mentioned in trade rumors, but the 20 saves he made were sufficient not only for his second win (the team’s third) in the four games since the end of the Olympic break, but good enough to get him to publicly begin talking about playing again next season.

He admitted to having recent conversations with general manager Lou Lamoriello about waiving his no-trade clause, and the possibility of finding a home, whether it be in New Jersey or somewhere else, for more than just the final few months of this season.

“I had some good conversations with Lou about what I want to do for the rest of the year and maybe next year,” Brodeur said. “From there, it’s up to him to make the decision that he wants. He knows where I stand.

“These are private matters between me and him. It’s been a hard couple weeks and it’s been a hard last part of the season for me, not playing a lot. We’ll see what’s going to happen here.”

What happened on Tuesday morning was an erroneous report on the Daily News’ website that said a deal was in place to send Brodeur to the Wild, a deal that would have been inexplicably delayed because Brodeur wanted to play one more game in front of his home fans. As implausible as it sounds for both teams, it was a rumor brought to Brodeur before the morning skate, and one he immediately struck down.

“Lou limits as many distractions as he can for us,” said coach Pete DeBoer. “I’m sure someone got spanked for that.”

Yet that doesn’t mean it’s any less likely Brodeur can and will be traded before the deadline. His twin sons are in school in Minnesota, and he was born and raised just outside of Montreal, where his recently deceased father was the Canadiens team photographer. There seem to be obvious places where he would be comfortable going, and would waive his no-trade clause to do so.

“Again, I have the last word,” said Brodeur, whose team got the game-winner on a Stephen Gionta deflection with just 36.6 seconds remaining, getting the Devils to 27-23-13, one point behind the Red Wings before Friday’s second leg of this home-and-home, and two points behind the eighth-place Blue Jackets. “I haven’t given up any of my status right now, and I’m not going to give it up until I’m asked.”

Brodeur said he is open to the possibility of a contract extension, although it’s hard to see that happening in Newark, where 27-year-old Cory Schneider has established himself as the No. 1 goalie.

“I’m trying to kill myself to say to myself that I can still play this game,” said Brodeur, who hadn’t played in this building since Jan. 7, and had played just four games in the interim. “I just need the opportunity. So it’s kind of nice to be in between the pipes the last few games to prove that I still can compete at a high level and get some wins.”

This was win No. 684 of his career in game No. 1,250 for this franchise, and after it, Gionta went and got the puck, handing it over to the player Jaromir Jagr called “the face of this franchise.”

If Brodeur goes, the all-time leader in wins and shutouts knows where it has all happened, even if that’s not necessarily the same place where it will continue, and probably end.

“I care — this is who I am,” he said. “I’m a Devil and I’m always going to be a Devil regardless of what happens.”