You’ve read the headline already and you’re ready to read this post and say, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
New York Post hockey man Larry Brooks posits an intriguing thought on a way to get the Devils to set their future up for the better. Brooks says that if the Devils can follow the mold the Flyers set when they dealt Peter Forsberg to Nashville a few years back, they can be better prepared to continue being a force in the Eastern Conference.
The thought is intriguing. The Flyers were able to get quite the haul from Nashville for the oft-injured former superstar helped set the future for them now by giving them Scottie Upshall (now in Phoenix), Ryan Parent (now in Vancouver) and a first round pick. The Flyers later traded that first round pick back to Nashville for Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. Those two players have been instrumental in the Flyers rise to success last season and again this year. So why wouldn’t the Devils try to do the same thing? Brooks’ theory is fun food for thought at least.
Lamoriello doesn’t quite have that ace. What he has on his team are nine players with no-trade clauses who would have to be massaged in order to be moved — impending free agents Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott are worthy — and what he has is Martin Brodeur.
Understand, the only way a Brodeur trade becomes a part of the conversation is if the all-time goaltender himself initiates the conversation with Lamoriello.
If that were to happen, if Brodeur, 38 and on the penultimate season of his contract, were to tell Lamoriello that he’d be OK with a trade to a blue-chip contender in need of a blue-chip goaltender, oh, and let’s just say he names Washington, then Lamoriello might well have his Forsberg and the Devils might well have John Carlson or Karl Alzner — or Mike Green? — plus a young forward along with a critically needed No. 1.
Now we don’t believe that Brodeur will ever be dealt and like what Brooks says, the only way it would happen is if Brodeur says he wants to get off the ship. Of course, if any team came to Lamoriello with an offer he just couldn’t refuse, we’re sure that he’d have a sit down discussion with Brodeur to get his thoughts on things and find a way to work things out. Of course, what team is going to have the chutzpah to call Lou Lamoriello to find out what it would take to land the team’s signature player and goaltender? There’s not many who would dare try it, if anyone at all.
The elephant in the room here is that the Devils don’t appear to have much of a future plan set for when Martin Brodeur is ready to retire. The Devils did draft a couple of goaltenders in the 2010 draft, but there’s not one that stands out as a future franchise goalie which is just what they’d need to have. Landing one in free agency will be made difficult thanks to the salary cap and the need to get Zach Parise signed long term as well as the burden of the Ilya Kovalchuk contract. There doesn’t appear to be a plan as of yet for life after Marty and it’s got to be something the Devils front office starts looking into and soon. Brodeur has just this season and next season left on his contract which will take him to age 40.
Time is ticking to get things going, but if you’re thinking that Brodeur will be the first domino to fall, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
