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Goaltending is not the REAL issue right now

November 5, 2008, 1:22 PM ET [ Comments]
Sam Woo
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
As the story unfolded yesterday afternoon, the realization that the New Jersey Devils would be without their franchise goaltender (and possibly the best goaltender in the history of the game) Martin Brodeur for 3 to 4 months due to a torn bicep tendon began to sink in throughout the day. Brodeur, 36, has played at least 67 games a season since the 1995-96 season has only played less than 70 games once during that stretch. During this time, he has led all goaltenders in wins during a season eight times, in games played five times, in shutouts four times, in Goals Against Average once and in saves once. All of this brings the question to the forefront of Devils fans’ minds: What next?

The Devils will look to Kevin Weekes to help carry the load and position the Devils to remain in playoff contention while Brodeur recovers from his injury. Brodeur’s injury has added to a long list of injuries that the Devils have endured this season, with Andy Greene, Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik all missing significant amounts of time with injuries as well as Jamie Langenbrunner and Paul Martin both missing some action recently. With this string of recent injuries, the pressure will fall squarely on Weekes’s shoulders to hold down the fort until Brodeur returns. The big question is, however, can he do just that?

Weekes has worked with Devils goalie coach, Jacques Caron, since the beginning of training camp and has been well rested because of Brodeur’s workload as the starting goaltender. Add to this the fact that this is exactly the situation that Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello brought him to New Jersey for and that he has the experience of taking his team to the Stanley Cup finals when he helped bring the Carolina Hurricanes there in 2002. All of these things are pointing to the fact that Weekes is more than capable of helping the New Jersey Devils position themselves of making the playoffs and trading for a starting goaltender should not necessarily be a priority at this point in time.

Before Brodeur’s injury, I mentioned in my previous blog that the Devils need some help on the blueline and suggested that a move to acquire a Robyn Regehr-type defenseman to shut down their opposition’s top lines might be a prudent move for the organization. It would compliment Paul Martin and bring more depth to the Devils’ blueline; a necessity for any team trying to make the playoffs. With the amount of injuries in the past few weeks, both Lamoriello and Head Coach Brent Sutter must look for ways to help build a strong defense around Weekes that would limit their opposition’s chances. Should the Devils revert back to their old reliable trapping defensive system rather than Sutter’s aggressive two man forecheck?

If the Devils revert back to the trap, this would alleviate the workload on Weekes a significant amount and keep him fresher over the next few months. He hasn’t seen a normal workload since prior to the lockout and the Devils defense currently are not as fast with Martin (day to day) and Greene (four to six weeks) out of the lineup. It is also important to remember that Weekes is a streaky goaltender and, if the Devils want to have success for the next few months, they need to make sure his efforts are not wasted as they were in last Monday’s 2-0 loss against Buffalo at home.

The Devils do not have the luxury of a Martin Brodeur every night for the first time since the early 1990’s, but they do have a goaltender that is well liked and respected in the locker room. He has proved in the past that he can get the job done and has looked solid in the limited action that he has seen so far this season. In time, the Devils will start getting some of their key players back into the lineup but in the meantime need to rely on their younger players, such as Petr Vrana and Nicklas Bergfors, to produce. Sutter knows how to coach and knows how to coach young players especially well, but he needs to get his defense to do a better job with their breakout passes and to do a better job at limiting opposing forwards’ chances in order to give Weekes a chance to have success. If the Devils can do this and are able to remain in playoff contention, this injury could be a blessing in disguise as they will be a stronger team when a well-rested Brodeur comes back for the stretch run to the playoffs.



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