Devils legend Martin Brodeur has left the St. Louis Blues organization to “pursue new opportunities” according to NHL.com.
Marty had been with St. Louis since 2015. He had left the Devils in 2014. He played the final seven games of his career with the Blues and then moved into their front office after officially retiring from the NHL on January 29, 2015.
He was named a senior advisor to GM Doug Armstrong following his retirement and then was promoted to assistant GM for 2015-16.
Bill Armstrong will succeed him as assistant GM.
Marty had this to say about his time in St. Louis: “I want to thank Tom Stillman, Doug Armstrong, Chris Zimmerman and the Blues organization for giving me the opportunity to continue my playing career and begin my career off the ice in hockey operations. I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career.”
Brodeur, who won three Stanley Cups, four Vezina Trophies and the Calder Trophy as a member of the Devils, as well as becoming the all-time NHL wins and shutouts leader, has been the subject of rumors to be returning to the Devils organization by TheAthletic.com. However, nothing has been confirmed and Brodeur has stated that he wanted to take some time to spend with his family as of now.
My best guess is that he will not end up with the Devils in any position. Marty is serious about working in hockey operations. He will likely end up being hired by a Canadian Hockey League team, cutting his teeth as a GM in the major junior ranks. He could even take a job with a NHL team and work with their AHL or ECHL affiliate. Most likely, a team is not going to hire him this close to the start of the season, but next offseason will have vacancies and Brodeur might just fit a team’s bill.
In my opinion, a return to the Devils at this time would be a lateral move from the Blues. The Devils already have a GM (a very good one too) and there is little opportunity for Marty in New Jersey right now. I could even see him taking a job with the Islanders to become Lou Lamoriello’s “apprentice” and take over there when Lou does decide to hang them up.
That being said, hopefully he does come back into the Devils fold down the line. It would simply have to make sense for Marty’s career and right now there is no room at the inn for him here.
Regardless of what he ends up doing, we all know that Marty will always be a Devil and that does not need to be confirmed by where he is employed. Good luck to Marty wherever he does end up.