When the trade deadline got close, there was a growing sense that Martin Brodeur would be traded. The leaks and rumors were downright hysterical. Sadly, the reality was possible that a hockey icon could be on a different team around 3 pm ET on Wednesday. It is time to take you back to what it was like on Tuesday and contrast it to what happened after, on Thursday.
First, we present Tuesday, then what occurred Thursday, then finally the fantasy fallout from Brodeur’s non-trade. Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 4th
Tuesday is a very big night as Martin Brodeur will start for the second time in three games as the Detroit Red Wings come into town to face the New Jersey Devils. It will be an even more surreal time because the chance still exists that Brodeur is gone sometime on Wednesday. Whatever happens, the certain first ballot hall of fame player will have earned this chance. It really does appear like he just wants to have more of a chance to play.
His skills have eroded throughout the year to the point where now, you just never know what you are going to get in the 41-year-old from Montreal. Let’s fast forward to Thursday.
Thursday, March 6th
The intention of this post was to leave the reader guessing. I apologize for that but with the high volume of bogus rumors and even “leaked trades”, it became necessary to wait for the deadline to pass. It was also beneficial to let a day pass so cooler heads might prevail.
Again, Brodeur has had to come to grips that Cory Schneider is just the better goaltender. The case can be made that every NHL starter is better than Brodeur, even most backups. When your 5-on-5 save percentage is around .900 and not improving much, there’s your sign.
Stats Time
The Martin Brodeur you see after the deadline will be better only because he could not play much worse than he did before the deadline. The month’s rest did him a world of good but may not put a dent into some of his numbers. Some of these are so bad you may have to cover your child’s eyes.
- The last four years, Brodeur’s GSAA has been -7 or worse, (-10.54 now).
- His 5-on-5 save percentage is right about .900 (only four goalies are worse).
- He faces 24.83 shots per game which is among the top 5 easiest shot loads per game.
- No one really even considered Brodeur at the deadline (even Devan Dubnyk was traded).
Those are the sobering facts. Basically there are a half dozen back-to-backs left in the New Jersey Devils schedule the rest of the way. Realistically, Brodeur is going to see at least four starts from those. Add in the potential of New Jersey being out of contention at some point and the possibility exists that he sees a few more token starts.
Fantasy Hockey Spin:
The reality that the first ballot “Hall Of Fame” goalie faces is grim and more grim if you own him on your fantasy hockey team. Expect maybe 5-8 starts at best and prepare for the worst. If you can get a goals against around 2.35 to 2.45, consider that a victory but I would explore the waiver wire first and foremost. Nobody even wants to trade for Martin Brodeur. That is strange yet true.
