Habster:
The NJ Devils have started the season better than expected with a 6-3-2 record but with the announcement of Martin Brodeur requiring major elbow surgery, the Devils chances of making the playoffs just took a big hit.
The Devils will, for the time being, put the saddle on backup Kevin Weekes and ride him as far as they can. He played really well last night against the Sabres (making 28 saves on 30 shots) and kept them in the game which was dominated by the Sabres.
With that being said, Kevin Weekes is no Marty Brodeur (no brainer, right!!) and if he can’t hold the fort until Marty’s return which is highly probable, then expect Big Lou to send emails to his fellow GMs for a possible upgrade (see: Some Goaltending News from Spector).
Unfortunately, the Devils’ prospect pool beyond the NHL roster is not the deepest in the NHL and they are weakest in the goaltending department with only Jeff Frazee waiting in the wings (and nowhere near NHL ready). Beyond that, it’s career backup/waterboy Scott Clemmensen who has played a grand total of 25 NHL games since the 2001-02 season as Brodeur’s backup…..enough said!!!
The Devils will finally understand what life will be like without Marty. It’s great to have a future Hall of Famer (Martin Brodeur) who will hold almost every NHL goaltending record when he finally hangs up his skates, but it’s times like these that makes you wonder why Lamoriello has never developed or traded for a solid backup to take some of the workload off Brodeur hands. Granted, Brodeur has handled the heavy workload well over most of his career and almost demands it….he’s a one man show and likes it that way.
The concern for the seemingly ageless Brodeur is that the workload is finally catching up to him at the age of 36 regardless of the great statistics. It’s crazy to think he has played 10 straight seasons of 70 games or more. His game or skills haven’t necessarily dropped off but the last two seasons he has tired and looked ordinary in the playoffs which is where he has thrived in the past.
It’s also safe to say that the present Devils’ defense isn’t even as good as the Devils teams with Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko (99-00) and Brian Rafalski (99-00) who won Stanley Cups in 1994-95 and 1999-00.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how Lamoriello deals with life without Marty as he hasn’t had to deal with it before!!!!
