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St. Louis Blues Rumors: Is Martin Brodeur Leaving?

ByKate Cimini|

Martin Brodeur, a New Jersey Devils goaltender for 23 years, stepped back from an on-ice role with the St. Louis Blues in January after signing a 1-year contract with them and playing seven games and winning three in regulation. He posted his very last shutout with the Blues, bringing him to a career total of 125 and giving him the highest number of combined shutouts, both regular season and post season, in the league’s history.

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He has an additional 18 NHL titles. Don’t believe me? Check out his website.

After retiring he took on a management role with the St. Louis Blues organization, but even during the press conference in which he was officially named Assistant General Manager, Brodeur did not commit to sticking around St. Louis past the end of the season.

He said,

"For me it’s all about learning. I’ve been on the players’ side for so long and I know that side pretty well. The management part is something I’m going to learn. For my first year outside of hockey [the challenge is] to see if I’m going to flourish and really like this.I’m going to stay here through the end of the season. There’s no commitment one way or the other that I’ll go back to New Jersey or stay in St. Louis."

Fans were more or less expecting this announcement, and it seems that it will be coming soon. From Andy Strickland of CBS Sports Radio and host of the Big 550 KTRS comes an inkling that Brodeur is on his way out, likely by mutual decision.

Blues GM Doug Armstrong commented on the situation to Strickland, saying,

Brodeur’s daughter still lives in New Jersey, and considering that he spent more than two decades in the state, it makes sense that Brodeur looked at this as an opportunity to a) give himself some closure to his on-ice career and b) launch his new career in management. Multiple reports out of New Jersey have cited Brodeur’s positive relationship with Devils GM Lou Lamoriello, and the possibility of a job with his first organization has been speculated on.

Brodeur was noncommittal earlier in the season during an interview with ESPN’s Katie Strang, saying,

"I’m here and I have the opportunity to do something really nice for my future here and I took it, but at the end of the day my home is in New Jersey. I played all my life in New Jersey and that organization I care a lot about. The timing of it is in the unknown. It might be later on. It might be right away. I’m doing this for this year and I’ll sit down with probably St. Louis and New Jersey [afterward] and see where everybody is at and then where I’m at."

Today’s tweets certainly indicate that Brodeur has made up his mind. While Blues fans will hate to lose him, at least St. Louis will always be remembered as the team that gave him a chance to win one last record. If (and likely when) Brodeur does move on, NHL.com writer Lou Korak had the right idea after the playoffs.

Next: Blues Rumors: Changes Coming To Team

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