The hockey media world has been abuzz this morning at the news that 40 year old goaltender Martin Brodeur has enlisted the services of agent Pat Brisson in advance of July 1st, which could be an indication that he is not willing to take a home town discount to continue playing in New Jersey for a 20th season and may be open to other options.
While it is assumed that the hiring of Brisson is a ploy to generate interest around the league only to exact a higher salary out of the fiscally strapped Devils, there is a slight chance that the future Hall of Famer would be open to a new challenge in the twilight of his career.
Teams like the Blackhawks or Sharks, who are a veteran netminder away from stepping back into front runner status could be interested, as could the Maple Leafs, who need to make the playoffs next season and have been unable to obtain disgruntled goalie Roberto Luongo from Vancouver. But as good of a fit as Brodeur might be in a ready-made scenario like Chicago or San Jose, his addition in Toronto has disaster written all over it.
On it’s face, an argument against Brodeur would seem to be hard to make……Olympic Gold Medal winner, three-time Stanley Cup winner, played well in New Jersey’s unexpected run to the Finals at the ripe old age of 40, but a skeptic would say that he has never played outside of a structured system that was not at least above average defensively.
In spite of Toronto’s change of direction under coach Randy Carlyle, it is likely that the Leafs are going to need their goaltending to steal games to make the post-season for the first time in eight years.
Playing at that level may not be within Brodeur’s capacity any longer.
The Vancouver situation could be coming to a head this weekend, as Cory Schneider was inked to a three year, $12 Million contract yesterday and Luongo’s $5+ Million contract on their books prevents GM Mike Gillis from spending $$$ on the necessary upgrading of their defense.
If Leafs GM Brian Burke is targeting Luongo, he could conceivable use Brodeur as a bluff option to force Gillis’ hand or he could simply play a waiting game throughout the summer, hoping that the Canucks blink first. Either way, it does not seem likely that Toronto will go down the “Plan B” road of signing a veteran backup like Scott Clemmensen or Johan Hedberg. They are either going to try to hit a home run or they will go with the young tandem of James Reimer and Ben Scrivens.
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According to Sportsnet, the Maple Leafs are making their presentation to defenseman Justin Schultz today in Mississauga. A decision is expected from Schultz’s camp on his destination before the beginning of the free agent frenzy at Noon on July 1.
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