Stuck on 688-career wins all with the New Jersey Devils, veteran goaltender Martin Brodeur's agent said Tuesday that his desire for 700 wins is the driving force behind him seeking a new team to play for in 2014-15, which is likely to be his final season.
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The Devils seemingly closed the door on their 20-year relationship with Brodeur when they gave Cory Schneider a seven-year contract extension to be the No.1 goalie earlier this month and signed Scott Clemmensen to a one-year deal incase rookie Keith Kinkaid isn't ready to spell Schneider as his No. 2.
Brodeur's agent said that the future Hall of Famer is hopeful for one more season in the league to give himself a chance at 700-career victories in the crease.
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"He's 12 wins away from 700 and those are things he wants to accomplish," Brodeur's agent Pat Brisson told Northjersey.com. "He'd like to play on a team that will have a chance to go far as well. Right now I don't have the perfect script. However, I'm OK with it because, based on experience, all teams are going for the Stanley Cup when camp opens and three weeks later they realize that there's missing pieces here and there."
Brodeur, a free agent, decided to move on from New Jersey after they made their moves because he wanted to play for a competitor and have a chance to be the No. 1 goalie somewhere else, but he recently revealed he wouldn't mind working as a backstop to Carey Price if the Montreal Canadiens make him an offer.
"If the Canadiens made me an offer, it goes without saying that I would listen to what they have to offer me," Brodeur said last week adding it's "Price's team", according to the QMI Agency.
Brisson said his client is definitely in shape and willing to help a team compete in any way possible in whatever role he receives as he chases win No. 700.
"Both physically and mentally Marty is ready to have another season," Brisson said. "Training camps are starting next week. There's no rush. However, once training camp opens and once the season opens in early October, there's going to be opportunities, I believe, for Marty."
Brodeur is a Montreal native, but he knows joining the Canadiens would put him in a competition with Dustin Tokarski and Peter Budaj for the No. 2 job behind Price.
The Canadiens skated to a 46-28-8 record with 100 points in 2013-14, good enough for third place in the realigned Atlantic Division. Montreal ended up going all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the New York Rangers in six games, reaching the quota of a competitor.
Brodeur backstopped the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, but the team has failed to make the playoffs in the following two seasons as a wave of change has gone through the franchise. Brodeur went 19-14-6 with a .901 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average last season in limited action thanks to the emergence of Schneider, who the team traded for at the 2013 NHL Draft.
Brodeur, 42, is the NHL's all-time leader in regular season wins (688), regular season shutouts (124) and playoff shutouts (24) and holds various other NHL records and Devils franchise marks.
In his career, Brodeur is 688-394-154 with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage
No matter what his role is and what team he lands with, Brisson believes that Brodeur feels fine with whatever may happen down the line.
"He's comfortable with the situation," Brisson said. "He's good with it and he's ready to explore and see what makes sense."
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