Let's start a pool of where Brodeur will end up

[Triumph]

I forget where I read it, but he apparently priced himself out of Pittsburgh. The Pens were supposedly interested, but Marty wanted starter money. They signed Griess instead for $1 mil. Marty wants to have his cake and it eat it too, and its pretty sad he's the only one who doesn't know that he's acting ridiculous.

 

I don't think anyone said he wanted starter money, just that that salary wasn't going to fly for him.  Pittsburgh has $7M in cap space with 3 RFAs left to sign (who will probably command $5M total) plus a 13th forward.  They don't have a ton of cap space.

[mfitz804]

Put Nabokov in front of our defense and he would easily have better numbers than Brodeur IMO.

Shouldn't our goalie be BEHIND the defense?

No wonder we missed the playoffs...

[Derek21]

Brodeur's Options Limited

 

 

Winnipeg Jets: Ironically, Winnipeg might offer Brodeur the best chance to play the most games, but the Jets don't fit the other criteria of being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. They will struggle to compete with the best teams in the Western Conference.

 

That said, Ondrej Pavelec remains the Jets' only signed NHL goalie. Winnipeg signed Michael Hutchinson, 24, who played three NHL games last season, to a two-year contract on Wednesday, but according to reports it's a two-way contract for 2014-15.

[Sharifijanov2099]

All depends on what his true aim is.  If it's a cup, then yeah, options are very limited.  Dunno why a team like Boston would want him, unless Julien really has sway there and loved him in NJ.  But the contract is like 1 mill and probably 10-12 starts.  If his true aim is to win 700 games, seems logical the more starts he can get the better the odds, even on a bad team.  Maybe a Jets.  But the cup shot is out and money might be a little bit more available.  But he certainly can't get A) money, B) starts, and C) cup shot.  1 of the 3 maybe, possibly 2, but not all 3.  And it still seems like anyone signing him is a longshot.  Maybe MTL offers a tryout for the hell of it.

[Devilsfan118]

Retirement.

 

One can only hope.

[Brick Pig]

Congratulations Marty! --you've alienated your own fans.

Speak for yourself. He hasn't alienated me. I think he should have retired at the end of the season, and I definitely don't want him back in a Devils uniform in the future. But my respect and admiration for the man is not diminished by the fact that he simply wants to continue to play. I don't like seeing him in his current situation, and I agree that he's put himself there by his own actions. But the thing that blinds him to the reality of his position - call it ego, competitiveness, drive, whatever term you want - is also the very thing that made him arguably the best there's ever been. His current predicament is not pretty, and I don't like it. But it doesn't discount his accomplishments to me. Edited July 6, 2014 by Brick Pig

[Neb00rs]

Speak for yourself. He hasn't alienated me. I think he should have retired at the end of the season, and I definitely don't want him back in a Devils uniform in the future. But my respect and admiration for the man is not diminished by the fact that he simply wants to continue to play. I don't like seeing him in his current situation, and I agree that he's put himself there by his own actions. But the thing that blinds him to the reality of his position - call it ego, competitiveness, drive, whatever term you want - is also the very thing that made him arguably the best there's ever been. His current predicament is not pretty, and I don't like it. But it doesn't discount his accomplishments to me.

 

Very good post.

[vadvlfan]

He'll go to Chicago in Oct. when Crawford goes down.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

..we agree that his Sv% should've been more like a .897 this season.. however, even WITH the benefit of the 4 game hot streak, he finished 47th in Sv% last year, among goalies who played at least 25 games or more! He's got 32 wins over the past 2 years, playing nearly 70 games. --for Christ sake, can't he see it's over?!

 

 

..oh believe me, he's already embarrassed himself in the court of public opinion. He's been embarrassing himself since he opened his mouth and began crying to the media in February. Reading njdevs & HF is down right comical when it comes to how the fans feel about Marty. Quite literally NO ONE wants him back here anymore. Congratulations Marty! --you've alienated your own fans.

 

I don't think he's alienated his own fans, and the main reason most Devils fans don't want him back is because they want to see Schneider (clearly the better player now) be the man, without dispute.  Marty is not Marty anymore and we all know it.

 

I don't think most Devils fans will ever completely turn their backs on Marty...I think it's more of a case of them not wanting it to ever get embarrassing or ugly for him (though it's probably too late for that).  I think it's more sadness than anything else, that a guy who was clearly one of the best ever to play the game simply can't see that not only is he no longer what he was, but doesn't seem to realize that just about every other NHL team sees that he isn't what he was.  Marty can talk about being willing to wait all he wants, but the fact is a guy with his past and numbers would get scooped up very quickly if teams truly thought he had something left.  When you see the names that were signed before him, it really says a lot about how most GMs currently feel about him.

 

Anyway, any Devils fans currently ticked off at Marty for whatever their reasons will get past it relatively quickly I would think.  The good far outweighs the bad, and he's hardly the first athlete who didn't leave the game kicking and screaming. 

Edited July 6, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[devilsrule33]

I don't think he's alienated his own fans, and the main reason most Devils fans don't want him back is because they want to see Schneider (clearly the better player now) be the man, without dispute.  Marty is not Marty anymore and we all know it.

 

I don't think most Devils fans will ever completely turn their backs on Marty...I think it's more of a case of them not wanting it to ever get embarrassing or ugly for him (though it's probably too late for that).  I think it's more sadness than anything else, that a guy who was clearly one of the best ever to play the game simply can't see that not only is he no longer what he was, but doesn't seem to realize that just about every other NHL team sees that he isn't what he was.  Marty can talk about being willing to wait all he wants, but the fact is a guy with his past and numbers would get scooped up very quickly if teams truly thought he had something left.  When you see the names that were signed before him, it really says a lot about how most GMs currently feel about him.

 

Anyway, any Devils fans currently ticked off at Marty for whatever their reasons will get past it relatively quickly I would think.  The good far outweighs the bad, and he's hardly the first athlete who didn't leave the game kicking and screaming. 

 

The thing is...there were teams interested for some reason. Teams that thought he could give them 15-20 games and mentor a younger goalie who might need some assistance. What might be sad is he thinks he should play more than 20 games. He doesn't want to be a mentor but rather someone can contribute for a good team (oh ya, he only wants to play on a good team). And from what's been reported, he also wants to get paid nicely. So that's the sad part.

 

If he just wanted to keep playing some games, he'd be signed already. Just too many demands for a player of his skill. This was pretty much my beef with Marty all last season. I knew he was getting more than he would ever get anywhere else (most likely in $$, amount of games, the games he wanted, etc), and he still wanted out. He had it really good.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

The thing is...there were teams interested for some reason. Teams that thought he could give them 15-20 games and mentor a younger goalie who might need some assistance. What might be sad is he thinks he should play more than 20 games. He doesn't want to be a mentor but rather someone can contribute for a good team (oh ya, he only wants to play on a good team). And from what's been reported, he also wants to get paid nicely. So that's the sad part.

 

If he just wanted to keep playing some games, he'd be signed already. Just too many demands for a player of his skill. This was pretty much my beef with Marty all last season. I knew he was getting more than he would ever get anywhere else (most likely in $$, amount of games, the games he wanted, etc), and he still wanted out. He had it really good.

 

Oh I agree, I saw that there were some teams interested initially, but clearly not at a significant price, and what became clear was that Marty wasn't about to get the benefit of the doubt...it's like I said, the fact that GMs were willing to go with "lesser" names as quickly as they were said a lot.  Sadly Marty doesn't realize he's actually even lesser than the lesser names at this point.  No shame in that part of it...he's 42 and has played far more games than anyone else at his position...but the shame is that he seems to be completely oblivious to it. 

 

He really should take a good look at his contemporaries...Hasek got out when it was clear his skills were eroding, but before it ever got painful or embarrassing, and Roy left the game with his physical game still very much intact (though he admitted the emotional part had simply taken its toll).

 

Marty's past season, though clearly not good, is at least not completely awful on the eyes (above NHL-.500, sub-3.00 GAA, save% over .900) , but 2014-15 could be Kiprusoff-final year bad if Marty insists on playing.  I just hope he comes to his senses. 

[Neb00rs]

I don't think he's alienated his own fans, and the main reason most Devils fans don't want him back is because they want to see Schneider (clearly the better player now) be the man, without dispute.  Marty is not Marty anymore and we all know it.

 

I don't think most Devils fans will ever completely turn their backs on Marty...I think it's more of a case of them not wanting it to ever get embarrassing or ugly for him (though it's probably too late for that).  I think it's more sadness than anything else, that a guy who was clearly one of the best ever to play the game simply can't see that not only is he no longer what he was, but doesn't seem to realize that just about every other NHL team sees that he isn't what he was.  Marty can talk about being willing to wait all he wants, but the fact is a guy with his past and numbers would get scooped up very quickly if teams truly thought he had something left.  When you see the names that were signed before him, it really says a lot about how most GMs currently feel about him.

 

Anyway, any Devils fans currently ticked off at Marty for whatever their reasons will get past it relatively quickly I would think.  The good far outweighs the bad, and he's hardly the first athlete who didn't leave the game kicking and screaming. 

 

I do not believe history will look kindly on those fans that turned their back on Marty, attack him at every chance, and turn him into the villain. That said, I think where you stand is the reasonable point of view, one that we will look back on and say, "Yeah, that's how it was."

[Beezer34]

I'm not trying to split the atom here on what constitutes as: "majority" -vs- "minority" of the fanbase when it comes to Brodeur.. but you really can't judge someone's opinion one way or the other.

If Marty signs with the Pittsburgh Penguins and plays against the Devils next season, there will certainly be fans that will still applaud\cheer him. That is within their right; to remember all the good things he's done, and what he's meant to the franchise. Likewise: there will be butt-hurt fans that boo him aswell. Again.. completely fair. He was a larger-than-life athlete for the sport, and if Devil fans expected a little more decorum from him in the closing moments of his career.. that is a reasonable, legitimate request.

 

I try to see both sides of the coin on this one, and neither feelings are without merit. There's always emotion when dealing with a sports team.. and someone's passion for their team\player doesn't always need to be supportable or justifiable to their fellow fans.

[Devil Dan 56]

I do not believe history will look kindly on those fans that turned their back on Marty, attack him at every chance, and turn him into the villain. That said, I think where you stand is the reasonable point of view, one that we will look back on and say, "Yeah, that's how it was."

 

Being able to see he's done and wishing he'd come back down to reality doesn't necessarily mean people turned their back on him. Everyone loves what Marty has done over his career, but he let his ego get the better of him a little last season. I've always been one of Marty's biggest supporters here, but by the end of last season I was praying he'd just retire and get that "goodbye" game to finish the year. 

Edited July 7, 2014 by Devil Dan 56

[Neb00rs]

Being able to see he's done and wishing he'd come back down to reality doesn't necessarily mean people turned their back on him. Everyone loves what Marty has done over his career, but he let his ego get the better of him a little last season. I've always been one of Marty's biggest supporters here, but by the end of last season I was praying he'd just retire and get that "goodbye" game to finish the year. 

 

I agree with everything you just said. It's a small minority that has indeed 'turned their back' and look to create opportunities to insult or vilify him.

[DevsMan84]

I have never been really a Marty fan.  Ask my who my favorite top 20 Devils are and he probably wouldn't be on it.

 

Regardless I do have respect for all the years he put into the organization and if he leaves, no matter what team he ends up going to, I will not boo him.

[SS#4-Life]

I have never been really a Marty fan.  Ask my who my favorite top 20 Devils are and he probably wouldn't be on it.

 

Regardless I do have respect for all the years he put into the organization and if he leaves, no matter what team he ends up going to, I will not boo him.

ive been a marty worshiper since the cradle. having said that if marty signs with a team like phi or pitt, u can bet ur ass im booing. i am still holding out hope that he retires, but if he signs with a team in the division like isles or wash, i will be very upset. i grew up on marty, but im a devils fan 1st. and i can never support anyone trying to beat my team. after his career ends i can try to forgive. but i am saddened at how this is all unfolding. a lot of ppl have tried to make borque comparisons. this is nothing like borque. martys already won 3 cups. it didnt have 2 end like this

[Beezer34]

I've always been one of Marty's biggest supporters here, but by the end of last season I was praying he'd just retire and get that "goodbye" game to finish the year. 

 

Fans wanted a Ken Daneyko ending for Brodeur. They saw premier athlete's like: Ray Lewis, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Reggie Miller, etc. all play HOF careers for only one franchise, and they wanted the same for Marty. Now that it looks like that won't happen, you're getting a whole spectrum of emotions from people.. in the end, they have every right to feel however they want about it. No one can tell you; "you shouldn't feel that way" --and this divorce mimics what happened in Green Bay with Favre a few years ago. (with Schneider playing the role of Aaron Rodgers) There were many fans that remained supportive of Favre when he left for the Jets. That didn't make them bad Packers fans, it just showcased their passion for their all-time favorite player.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

ive been a marty worshiper since the cradle. having said that if marty signs with a team like phi or pitt, u can bet ur ass im booing. i am still holding out hope that he retires, but if he signs with a team in the division like isles or wash, i will be very upset. i grew up on marty, but im a devils fan 1st. and i can never support anyone trying to beat my team. after his career ends i can try to forgive. but i am saddened at how this is all unfolding. a lot of ppl have tried to make borque comparisons. this is nothing like borque. martys already won 3 cups. it didnt have 2 end like this

 

Look at the bright side...it's not like what Montreal fans had to endure with Patrick Roy...watching him play at the top of his game for many more years with the Avs, and win two Cups with them.  Why boo Marty?  Most fans here don't want him back anyway, and if someone is dumb enough to sign him if he can find a team willing to take a shot at him, it's his right to go for it (no matter how much I think he should just call it quits).  Chances are, if someone does take a chance on him, he plays maybe 30 games tops (probably not even that many unless someone gets hurt...that's best-case scenario for Marty, not so much for his new team), and maybe wins his 700th game.  It could also get really ugly, and based on what I've seen the last two seasons, I think that's a pretty likely scenario...his mostly .885-ish save% of last season was masked by a 10-game out of nowhere hot streak that I think represented the very last drop of Marty-like play left in his tank.  I don't see a similar streak happening this season that will prop up his numbers in a similar fashion. 

 

Like Beez alludes to, fans can do what they want, and raw emotions aren't always rooted in logic or acceptance, but I don't just understand why anyone would boo him.  He's not leaving in his prime.  There's no unfinished business.  He's given you all of his best years.  Only the blindest of Marty's fanboys think he's still got anything left, and that's the only reason anyone should really be terribly upset about his signing with another team...because they feel that Marty can still help the Devils.  The only time his contract negotiations were a hassle was back in '95, and that had more to do with his agent than him.  I thought some of his quotes came off badly last season, and he hasn't always come off as a team player at other times (seeming to blame everyone else), but overall, he's basically done his job and often done it consistently well and for an incredibly long period of time, with not much fuss until recently.  Look at it this way...if we get seven years or so of great play from Cory, we'll be thrilled.  We got a little more than twice that from Marty ('94-'10, 16 seasons), and like I've pointed out, '11 and '12 had their good moments...'13 and '14, not so much.   

 

I hear what you're saying, I wish it was ending more gracefully too, but I also wish people weren't giving so much weight to what's happening now in relation to everything that came before.  But it is what it is.       

[Devil Dan 56]

Fans wanted a Ken Daneyko ending for Brodeur. They saw premier athlete's like: Ray Lewis, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Reggie Miller, etc. all play HOF careers for only one franchise, and they wanted the same for Marty. Now that it looks like that won't happen, you're getting a whole spectrum of emotions from people.. in the end, they have every right to feel however they want about it. No one can tell you; "you shouldn't feel that way" --and this divorce mimics what happened in Green Bay with Favre a few years ago. (with Schneider playing the role of Aaron Rodgers) There were many fans that remained supportive of Favre when he left for the Jets. That didn't make them bad Packers fans, it just showcased their passion for their all-time favorite player.

 

Oh, I'm not saying anyone is a good or bad fan. I was just trying to differentiate between what is bashing and what's just people being honest with what Marty is now. I wish he had the fairytale ending too.

 

I wish him the best of he finds a team to sign him, and I'll definitely not boo him when he comes through.

[ATLL765]

Only time booing a player is acceptable is when they leave in their prime via FA for big money instead of playing for us. Niedermayer doesn't count because playing with his brother was clearly important to him and it's not like he left to get bigger money, he left for personal reasons. Guys like Gomez, Parise, etc. Booing them is acceptable because while they gave us something, it wasn't enough. Parise didn't win us sh!t and Gomez was a grade A douche leaving for giant $$ across the river. Guys who leave when we never offered them a chance to stay or were clearly going to get way more money from another team a la Clarkson, I can't really get mad at. Clarkson dug his grave by leaving us for big money so that's punishment enough, lol.

If you're booing Marty, I don't know what's wrong with you because the guy played his whole career to date here, gave us everything he had and brought us 3 cups.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Only time booing a player is acceptable is when they leave in their prime via FA for big money instead of playing for us. Niedermayer doesn't count because playing with his brother was clearly important to him and it's not like he left to get bigger money, he left for personal reasons. Guys like Gomez, Parise, etc. Booing them is acceptable because while they gave us something, it wasn't enough. Parise didn't win us sh!t and Gomez was a grade A douche leaving for giant $$ across the river. Guys who leave when we never offered them a chance to stay or were clearly going to get way more money from another team a la Clarkson, I can't really get mad at. Clarkson dug his grave by leaving us for big money so that's punishment enough, lol.

If you're booing Marty, I don't know what's wrong with you because the guy played his whole career to date here, gave us everything he had and brought us 3 cups.

 

I'll always have my theories on Gomer.  I can definitely understand why Devils fans would boo him (duh), but at the same time, I think he's a not-too-bright guy was almost borderline manipulated by Sather and bought into the whole "the Devils don't know how to use you, you'll be a 100-point guy easily over here" rhetoric way too easily.  One of those situations where if he had it to do over again, he probably would've stayed here.  I've said it before, but I think the Devils were the one franchise who knew how to deal with Gomer's inner doofus better than anyone else. 

 

I can't ever get too crazy about UFAs exercising their UFA rights (what's the point of being an UFA then, if they're just expected to stick around), and they don't have to give me valid reasons for why they're choosing to leave.  That being said, I've definitely booed some guys when they came back...Gomer first and foremost.  Sure, it's your right to leave, but that doesn't mean I have to like it...especially if you go sign with the sworn enemy. 

[RizzMB30]

I'll always have my theories on Gomer.  I can definitely understand why Devils fans would boo him (duh), but at the same time, I think he's a not-too-bright guy was almost borderline manipulated by Sather and bought into the whole "the Devils don't know how to use you, you'll be a 100-point guy easily over here" rhetoric way too easily.  One of those situations where if he had it to do over again, he probably would've stayed here.  I've said it before, but I think the Devils were the one franchise who knew how to deal with Gomer's inner doofus better than anyone else. 

 

I can't ever get too crazy about UFAs exercising their UFA rights (what's the point of being an UFA then, if they're just expected to stick around), and they don't have to give me valid reasons for why they're choosing to leave.  That being said, I've definitely booed some guys when they came back...Gomer first and foremost.  Sure, it's your right to leave, but that doesn't mean I have to like it...especially if you go sign with the sworn enemy. 

Who else do you guys think is in on Carter?  Obviously we are one, but I'd be pretty bummed if Carter left for NYR or Philly

[DJ Eco]

I'm looking on the bright side of things. We all want to talk about ego and whatever, but I still see something admirable in that my favorite athlete of all time is still having so much fun and passion to continue to want to play the game. I can feel that way AND not want him on the Devils this year (for all the factors we've come to realize) and not feel bad about it. I'll be overjoyed if he can get a deal somewhere that offers him what he's looking for. Simple as that.

[DJ Eco]

Who else do you guys think is in on Carter?  Obviously we are one, but I'd be pretty bummed if Carter left for NYR or Philly

 

That would be a bummer. Carter seemed like one of the few players the past few years who consistently seemed to ooze either hatred for the Rangers, or at least loved playing in that type of rivalry. But yeah, it's 2014, no time for being naive.

 

We'll see how it plays out...