It was a strange morning for Martin Brodeur on Tuesday, as he came off the ice at the Prudential Center and joked a team employee had to act as his security guard, fending off the roaming media ready to pounce.
Brodeur doesn’t speak to reporters on the mornings of his starts, and start he did later against the visiting Red Wings. Yet the reason the assembled media was a much larger contingent than normal, and the reason reporters were so eager to catch a glimpse of the future Hall of Fame goaltender, was because it could very well have been his final start as a member of the Devils.
The day started with Brodeur named in an erroneous story on the Daily News’ website saying he was being shipped to the Wild, yet only after his no-trade clause allowed him one last start for the only NHL team he has ever known. Of course, that was way too sentimental to be true for Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello, nor would it make sense for the Wild to risk Brodeur getting hurt before the trade was completed.
The report was shot down many times over, first by Minnesota obtaining another veteran goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov, in a deal with the Oilers, and then with Lamoriello himself going off to NJ.com, saying, in part, “People are out of their minds spreading rumors. It’s unbelievable to even hear these types of things.”
Truth is, the 41-year-old Brodeur still could be traded before Wednesday’s 3 p.m. deadline, as the Wild were not the only team to inquire about his availability. Lamoriello has the luxury of a new clear-cut No. 1 goaltender in Cory Schneider, whom he obtained from the Canucks for the ninth pick in last year’s draft.
And yet Brodeur was still getting his second start in four games since the Olympic break, his first a 6-1 drubbing of the Islanders at the Coliseum Saturday afternoon. It’s a situation that might be awkward at times for coach Pete DeBoer, but one he has found a way to deal with.
“I just look at the hockey,” DeBoer said of the decision to go with Brodeur against the Red Wings. “I met with Marty, I met with [Schneider], I’ve told everyone, I’m making hockey decisions based on winning the next game the rest of the season. That’s always been the case. I can’t do it any other way.
“I’m not looking at next year, or contracts. We don’t do that with any of our players. Marty came out of the break, got us a big win on the Island, looked sharp, and he deserves another start.”
Brodeur is making $4.5 million this season and is a pending unrestricted free agent, with the all-time leader in wins and shutouts yet to decide if he is planning on playing next season. That leaves DeBoer and his staff to try and focus on leading a team that was three points out of the final wild-card playoff spot on Tuesday morning.
“I don’t know about strange; it’s challenging, obviously,” DeBoer said. “But our goalies have made it easy on me considering the circumstance because of their professionalism. That’s the best way I can put it.