NHL Legend Martin Brodeur Signs with the Blues

Update (Dec. 3, 10:30 a.m.): The Blues signed Martin Brodeur yesterday, making it official by posting a 22-second video of his name being stitched on a Blues jersey:

It's a weird day in hockey when Martin Brodeur is no longer a New Jersey Devil.

Original Story:

A hockey player who hasn’t skated all season getting some time with a team’s practice squad usually isn’t news. But it is when that player is goalie Martin Brodeur and the team is not called the New Jersey Devils.

On Friday, the NHL’s all-time leader in wins, shutouts, and games played hit the ice with the St. Louis Blues to take some practice reps. Up to that point, Brodeur played every minute in the NHL — which began in 1993 — with New Jersey.

Last season was Brodeur’s21st in the league. It was also the last of his contract (and, many thought, of his career), and the Devils decided to go younger by promoting Corey Schneider from backup to starter. The decision didn’t sit well with Brodeur, who vowed he would play during the 2014 season with another team.

At the start of the year, Brodeur found himself on the sidelines. But after Blues starter Brian Elliot went out with a lower-body injury, the team called on Brodeur for a tryout. When the announcement was made last week, it felt like a newsflash from an alternate reality — that’s how synonymous Brodeur and the Devils are to most fans.

But it was real. It happened. And the Blues were there to document one of the only times in NHL history that hockey fans paid this much attention to a light workout.




Photo: St. Louis Blues via Twitter