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| Is this coming soon? |
NEW YORK —
Well,
MARTIN BRODEUR decided today was as good a day as any to tell ESPN’s
PIERRE LeBRUN that he was going to test the free-agent market. Click
here to read the story from
LeBRUN.
Among the interesting things Marty said:
• He is fairly certain Newark won’t be home for the 2014-15 season.
• He’d back up a goalie on a team with a good chance at winning a Cup.
• He’d accept being a no. 1 goalie on a team that might not be a contender.
This stinks. He is absolutely set on playing another season. And he is being very selfish here. What reason other than getting 700 wins does he really need to play a 22nd season? He has rings. He has records. But he’s short of that 700-win plateau.
I don’t like this one bit. In fact, if he would just hang it up, I bet we’re talking about no. 30 being raised to the rafters sometime in late 2014 or early 2015. Instead, we have this.
What is pretty clear is that if he does, in fact, play one more season, there are a few places he absolutely will not play. New York and Philadelphia are paramount among those.
First, neither has a need for an elder-statesman goalie.
Second, he hasn’t exactly hidden that he is not overly fond of either team or organization as a whole.
I could personally only stomach his going to one team — and that is the Montréal. Going there would likely fulfill a childhood dream of donning a Habs sweater. And it would also personally pay fine homage to his late father, Denis, who died last year.
But who knows? Is there really a market out there for a 42-year-old goalie in a no. 1 role? Is there a market out there for a 42-year-old, likely expensive backup? Is there a platoon scenario where he might fit?
I just don’t see it — but perhaps he does.
The bottom line here, however, is Marty would be best set to simply call it a career now — 700 wins isn’t that important, is it really? Wouldn’t it simply be better to realize the best days are gone, he’s accomplished more than any other goalie before him just about and would win himself a lot of points by retiring and moving on to the front office?
But what do I know? I’ve had skates on my feet four times is 39 years. Perhaps when you’ve been wearing them your entire life, it’s just different ...
We will certainly see soon, for sure — especially come July 1.
What’s your take? Comment here, on Facebook or on Google+. We’ll create a post of just comments if we get a few ...
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
