After 22 years, Martin Brodeur is finally moving beyond the crease.
Ok, a little self-promotion there. Brodeur and I co-wrote a book on his life and life in hockey back in 2006 with that title, "Beyond the Crease." Then, he was 34 years old with three Stanley Cup rings and an Olympic gold medal and all the accolades a professional hockey goaltender could want.
"It was easier to get to No. 1 than it will be staying there," he said then. "I don’t want to look back in 10 years and regret anything."
Nine years later, it’s hard to believe it’s over. Already. Now, almost certainly, Brodeur will eventually join the growing list of former NHL superstars from the 1990s who, instead of moving away from the game and living on their accumulated millions while playing golf every day, are taking on pivotal and pressure-packed roles with franchises.
Steve Yzerman. Trevor Linden. Luc Robitaille. Joe Sakic. Patrick Roy. Cam Neely. Brendan Shanahan. Ron Francis.
And soon, Brodeur.
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But as it ends for even the best of the best, playing the game itself ended for Brodeur today (although one does wonder if Brian Elliott or Jake Allen were to go down with a season-ending injury tomorrow, could Brodeur come back?)
Brodeur, now 42, insisted he is leaving with no regrets.
"I’m leaving the game with a big smile on my face. I don’t think if I’d done it last year that would have been the case," he said.
Well, one regret, perhaps. He was stopped at 691 career regular season victories.
"It would have been nice to have been at 700. It’s all these lockouts. I got killed (by them)," said Brodeur, who sat through three NHL lockouts, probably missing well over 100 starts.
It was strange indeed to see bluenotes behind Brodeur today during his press conference, rather than the red-and-black of the New Jersey Devils. He played just seven games for St. Louis before realizing he was the odd man out, so that organization’s claim on him, it seems, is fleeting at best. Presenting him as a Blues alumnus seemed almost silly.
In the book, he described himself as a "company man" for all his years of service with the Devils after being drafted 20th overall in 1990. An entire chapter was devoted to his relationship with Devils boss Lou Lamoriello,
"For me in particular, there has long been the sense, that while I work for Lou, we work together, and the benefits have been extraordinary for both of us," he said in the chapter entitled "Me and Lou." "Somehow, despite being so different in so many ways, we clicked somewhere along the line."
Which is why you have to believe Brodeur will be back with the Devils next season in a management capacity.
Just not right now.
"For anybody to think Lou and I aren’t on the same page now, you’re wrong," he said today, saying he has talked with Lamoriello all season, including last week when he was contemplating the final days of his playing career.
"He agreed with me this was the best opportunity. Something he couldn’t give me at this time."
The Devils, having fired Peter DeBoer as head coach earlier this year, are a team in flux right now. Lamoriello is behind the bench again, seemingly deciding whether he wants to entrust the future of the team to Adam Oates or Scott Stevens.
Now’s not a good time to bring in another voice. And definitely not the ideal time to have another former Devil come in and join the cacophony of voices trying to both help the Devils play better now and chart a long-term course.
But understand this; Lamoriello fully expects Brodeur to be back with New Jersey, possibly as early as next season, in a yet-to-be-determined role. If there’s any bad blood from Brodeur’s point of view about his departure from the Devils, he’s never said anything about it, and it would be shocking news to Lamoriello.
In St. Louis, Brodeur will be around the team as a senior advisor to the general manager, travel with the team and be a daily presence with a team that values his championship pedigree even if he can’t beat out either Brian Elliott or Jake Allen for a job. The Blues already have Bernie Federko, Brett Hull and Al MacInnis around, and all were at the press conference today.
But a team that has never won a Cup and hasn’t put together a run at the Cup despite having some outstanding regular seasons in the past 20 years clearly believes Brodeur can help add something intangible to the mixture.
And he’d love to win another Cup – he came close three years ago – which the Devils won’t be able to do this season.
As a player, even he acknowledged he recognized he was no longer useful to Ken Hitchcock’s squad. Being a healthy scratch was awful.
"At one point, I felt in the way a little bit," he said. "I’m really competitive…and it was hard to stay on the sidelines. That’s why I decided to take my retirement."
Make no mistake about it – Brodeur still believes he can play. That extraordinary level of quiet, unbreakable confidence, arguably the most I’ve encountered in a pro athlete outside of Roger Federer, served him incredibly well over 22 seasons.
It didn’t matter if he was the best ever, or whether he was noticed enough in the relative anonymity of the Meadowlands in the way he would have been noticed in Toronto, Montreal, New York or Philadelphia.
He believed, and believes, he’s the best ever.
And that belief took him a long, long way.
He’s the last of the self-made goalies, and now has to find his own way through the multiple possibilities of hockey management and see what fits. He has no commitment to the Blues beyond this season.
Joe Nieuwendyk was a GM in Dallas, but is finding life easier working in a lesser role for Carolina these days. Doug Gilmour tried a few different jobs with the Maple Leafs, but ended up going back and running the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.
It’s not a one size fits all business, particularly for the marquee names, and Brodeur always approached his craft by thinking what worked for others wouldn’t necessarily work for him. He needed to use his imagination to become the winningest goalie in NHL history, and he’ll need his imagination now.
"It’s a great day for me. I’m excited to start a new chapter in my hockey career," he said. "For me, it’s all about learning now. I’ve been on the player side for so long. The management part is something I’m going to learn."
St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong was able to sell Brodeur on staying in St. Louis for now, and his connection to Brodeur is significant from their days together with the Canadian Olympic program. Ditto for Hitchcock. Armstrong can undoubtedly be more flexible with various arrangements than Lamoriello, who is legendary for running a tight operation.
But Brodeur’s home remains in New Jersey, even as his older boys, one (Jeremy) a goalie with the Oshawa Generals, one (Anthony) a netminder with Drummondville in the Quebec league, try to find their futures in the game at different junior outposts.
Leaving the Devils wasn’t easy, and it can’t have been easy for Lamoriello to have to tell the only goalie he’s ever won with that he wasn’t good enough anymore.
So maybe the break is good for both men. But bet on Brodeur being a Devil again, and don’t bet against him doing just as well in management as the other superstars he played against.
He’s had superior training on how to run an organization. He’s had an excellent teacher.
And he loves the company.
