Martin Brodeur on retirement: 'It was time; excited to start new chapter'
The St. Louis Bluesannounced that former goalie Martin Brodeur will stay with the team as a senior advisor to general manager Doug Armstrong.
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Brodeur, who signed with St. Louis as a free agent last month and made seven appearances while starter Brian Elliott was nursing an injury, held his retirement press conference on Thursday. He'd taken a brief leave of absence to ponder his future and whether he wanted to remain with the Blues as a seldom used third goalie.
“This is a great day for me. I’m excited to start a new chapter in my hockey career,” Brodeur said. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about. I just felt like I was in the way a little bit. But it was time to step back and my family came to the conclusion that this was the time to try something new. I'm leaving the game with a big smile on my face.”
Brodeur said he is ready for the next phase of his hockey career.
"I want to make sure I help the team. I'm here to help, I'm here to learn and I'm excited about it,” Brodeur said.
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Brodeur spent 21 seasons and won three Stanley Cups with the Devils, but barely mentioned them during his 20-minute press conference.
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. “He’s said it publicly and we’ve talked about it. What Marty has done, the type of personality he is and what his experience has been, it’s really a no-brainer. He’s a Devil.”
The 42-year-old future Hall of Famer last played on Jan. 2 before being granted his one-week leave of absence on Jan. 14.
Brodeur, who played in 10 NHL All-Star games, led the NHL in wins nine times and won the Vezina Trophy four times.
He finishes his 22-year career with a 691-397-176 record, a 2.24 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and 125 shutouts in 1,266 career appearances. He ranks first all time in games played by a goalie (1,266), saves (28,928), wins (his 691 are 140 more than any other netminder), shutouts (125) and playoff shutouts (24).
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