Martin Brodeur ready to explore for a new team
– We should add another goalie to the list of available free agent goalies this summer and not just a regular one to boot. In an interview with ESPN and TSN NHL Insider Pierre Lebrun, longtime New Jersey Devils is not ready to hang his goalie pads just yet and actually to move on in order to help another team in the pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Brodeur said “I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m definitely going to be available July 1.” Brodeur is indeed slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The 42 year-olds goalie who is leading all the goalies lifetime in the NHL for most wins declared this to Lebrun: “I want to play one more season and I want to see what’s out there.” “I’ve had a lot of good conversations with the Devils, but I’m not inclined at going back at this point,” Brodeur told LeBrun. “I just feel that with Schneids (Cory Schneider), the organization has to move on. Me being around might be tough a little bit for them. I don’t completely put [a return] out of the question, but I don’t want to mess up the cards for the Devils.”
The no. 1 position for Martin Brodeur basically disappeared when the Devils traded with the Vancouver Canucks to acquire promising elite goalie Cory Schneider in exchange for the Devils ninth spot in the NHL draft 2013. Since then the position became more and more Schneider’s and Brodeur was often relinquished to a backup role. He appeared in just 39 games for the Devils in 2013-14, sharing starter’s duties for the first time since taking over the New Jersey crease full-time in 1993-94.
Brodeur will always be a Devils no-matter where he ends up on July 1st. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where I go next, I’m always going to be a Devil. I’m always going to come back to the organization. But I want to play one more year. So I’ll see what’s out there.”
“I’ve got to see what the opportunities are. I’m not going to go somewhere where I don’t feel comfortable,” he said. “If I go somewhere as a No. 2 goalie, it’s going to be a team that has a really good chance to win a Stanley Cup. If I go for a No. 1 job, it’s going to depend on the situation. I think there are teams that can use me.”
Kesler wants a fresh start
With the arrival of Jim Benning as the new general manager, the priorities of the new GM has been to find a new head coach but also to ensure the roster is also analyzed for possible moves. One of them is the status of Ryan Kesler. Yesterday on NHL TSN Insider, Darren Dreger mentioned that Ryan Kesler hasn’t changed his mind. He wants a fresh start and to move on from Vancouver. He has met with Benning earlier this past week in order to see what his options are. It’s believed that Kesler still has six teams on his list that he’s willing to be traded to. And we think that Philadelphia and Anaheim are among those.
Pierre LeBrun on the same panel stated that the asking price for Kesler is high remains high. This is due for the fact that Kesler has two years remaining at a cap hit of 5 millions. The Canucks don’t just want futures here, they want a player that can help them now, preferably a center. On the same lines, Bob McKenzie declared that Ryan Kesler who’s on the marketplace right now is also bad news for the Ottawa Senators, who have been trying to trade Jason Spezza, preferably before the draft. With Kesler out there, that’s a centre that most teams will target before they go after Spezza.
