Brodeur: Where Will He Fit, Where Should He Go?

So Marty Brodeur is the NHL's all-time leader in games played (1259), wins (688), losses (394), shutouts (124), you-name-it-he's-got it. He's also an free agent July 1st.

Now what about the teams he could go to? It's been narrowed down to about five or six teams by insiders. Can Marty go to any of them? Where will he fit best? Where would it not work?

Boston has recently joined in the fray. Following their loss to Montreal, my guess is the Bruins feel that Brodeur could spell Tuuka Rask for some short or long stretches. Hey, wait a minute! Didn't Tuuk just win the Vezina? Sure bet Rask took 'er home. So why would the Bruins want an aged veteran? Well, they did sign Niklas Svedberg to a one-year deal, but they lost Chad Johnson, who looked like one fine backup! Rask was not the reason the Bruins lost to the Habs last season, but he needs better insurance behind him. Read this one.

Svedberg played just one game for Boston and isn't ready to step-in. Brodeur could sure provide a step-in. Plus, Rask wouldn't have to feel any pressure if first place or game seven is around the corner. Brodeur is still a winner, you know: (19-14-6)

And the system Boston plays could make things a lot like they were in New Jersey for Marty. He could find the situation helpful. And with the Bruins a likely contender next season, Marty could go out in style. It would be a good fit, and Brodeur could see a lot of playing time to let Rask get some well-deserved rest.

Pittsburgh lost to the Rangers, and it wasn't their goalie's fault. Actually, I thought Marc-Andre Fleury played quite well. Two shutouts against New York! Why that's more blankings than Crosby had goals! Fleury doesn't have the ready backup yet. Jeff Zatkoff did look strong at times. He gave a credible performance, but I'm not sold yet, are you? The Pens always treat Fleury as the fall guy when the team losses. It's amazing how many times Pittsburgh just forgets about the play in their own end and poor Marc has to takes the heat. Brodeur coming in can sure be a help, as Marty could be a great mentor to Marc and young Jeff, but I'm not sure he'd want to play in a place where the defence is undisciplined.

Not that Marty couldn't help. Much like he could spell Rask for stretches, he could for Fleury. Fleury's confidence sometimes dips, but playing beside Brodeur could give him an inspiration. Who knows, maybe Sid and his mates will see The Higher Power in net and play better defence for him, and then do the same for Fleury? That would help this franchise!

Toronto has a good starter in Jonathan Bernier, but James Reimer is on the trading block and I don't think Drew MacIntyre is quite NHL-ready yet. So there is an opening. If Brodeur comes to TO and gets the Leafs back to the playoffs, why he'd be a hero! Not that it's going to be easy. One thing is for sure, the Leafs are the team he'd see the most action with if he signs. The Leafs have the Pens same problem but are also minus some offence as well. Marty would see a lot of 3-2, 4-3, and 5-4 games in the Leaf net. Can he still win them? Being out-shot, ala Bernier and Reimer all last season? Perhaps.

I'm not sure Toronto would want a goalie for one year, because regardless of how Marty does, where are the Buds a year from now? Back to square one (or maybe square zero) in the backup role. The Leafs need a long term answer there, not a short-term one.

Chicago is certainly an interesting fit for Marty. Just look at the legends that have played there. Gardner, Hall, Esposito, Belfour. Why not add another legend? Sounds good to me. But in reality, Corey Crawford has the number one job down and Antti Raanta is there in the second spot in the pipes. Where would that leave Marty? Really, no place for him to play. The Hawks challenge is going to be staying under the cap and staying younger. Could they sign Marty for little? Or fork out the dough and not play him? Seems like a waste of time to me. I mean, he could go there and help, no doubt.

But the Hawks don't seem like a good fit. And the fan in me doesn't want to see Brodeur spend all the time riding the pine. The Hawks, for those not old enough, played Tony-O a grand total of 18 games his last season (1983/84), which was an insult. You gotta let the Proud Old Man get his way, no matter what happens. Same thing with Brodeur. Gotta play him, use him, and make him part of the team. Looking at the Hawks right now, that's not going to happen.

Montreal would welcome the hometown kid with open arms. Only now, the kid is 42. But the Habs have some serious things to do first. With an unexpected great performance from Dustin Tokarski (one of the best postseason stories last year), this could be it for Peter Budaj, who was good as the backup to Carey Price. But I don't know if the Habs want to get older in nets, give up on two guys (not to mention kill their confidence by being sent down) and let Price know that they need a legend to back him up. Hey, didn't the guy just win a gold medal and play better than Brodeur ever did in the Olympics? Well, actually, Marty posted a .981 S% in 2002 and Price's was .972 in 2014. A pair of gold medallist, but Marty got another in 2010 for good measure.

No, that's not going to create a rift. But Carey needs to ride the way of his confidence into next year. Don't forget, this guy played in 72 games back in 2010/11 and led the NHL with 38 wins that year. And he's been with the Canadians since 2007/08 and won the Calder Cup in the AHL with the Bulldogs. I'm not sure Brodeur would see much playing time. And again, is Montreal just going to shove Tokarski to the minors after all that playoff fun? No, that kid deserves a 20-30 game look-see this upcoming season. Good old shot-in-the-arm. There would be no place for Brodeur for that to happen!

Anywhere else? I've seem Tampa Bay mentioned. But Ben Bishop is proving to be one goalie that the Ottawa Senators should have kept. Anders Lindback is set to be a free agent, however. Marty might see a lot of playing time there, as Bishop is not quite a goalie that logs a lot of time and still has much to prove, at least come playoffs. Vancouver could be a good fit, with Luongo gone. But the Canucks are taking a look at a starter first, then perhaps a backup. Plus they have Eddie Lack there, and he was pretty good last year behind Luongo until Roberto's trade to Florida. Speaking of which, how about a nice time in the sun a little further south for Marty. Hmmm? You thinking?

References

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 30 Jun. 2014. <https://www.nhl.com>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 30 Jun. 2014.

Violence In Hockey: How To Try And Make Sense Of It!

Amazing that a Leafs / Habs game would get trumped by another game involving two Canadian teams.

I'm not going to bother going too much into it, but what you saw last night between Vancouver and Calgary may have been coming from a long ways away.

Vancouver was 23-11-6 on December 29. They beat Calgary that night for a 3-game winning streak. All was looking rosy. But then they proceeded to win one of their next nine games. Something had to be done.

The Flames were coming into last night's action with a total of 3 wins in their last 16 games. Something had to be done.

And I'm not about to get into a finger-pointing game here, because then you will not read the rest of the blog. Once someone's credibility has been lost, you don't read much more. But the point is, both teams had their 4th line out there. You actually don't have to be a hockey fan to know when the 4th line is out for both teams: all you have to do is be unable to identify all the players out there sans the goalies!

The truth is, though, both teams were ready to go at it because both teams were frustrated. See, a huge hockey fight is a welcome distraction from the rest of the game for both teams. The final score is not important any more. Rather, it's a sign of a team coming together and making a stand. Statement game. Bonding. What was the final score in that game, anyway? Anyone here know the final score in the game where Pat Quinn hit Bobby Orr and Forbes Kennedy took on the world?

At least, that's what you will hear. Do I agree with it? Yes and no, to be honest with you. Hockey is just so much more popular right now then when I was a kid. There was a Leaf game televised on Monday. Then Wednesday (on TSN, which was the only all-sports channel in Canada at the time) and finally, on Saturday on Hockey Night In Canada. It just isn't like that anymore.

LeafsTV, Sportsnet, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet West, TSN2, you name it. You can't get away from a hockey broadcast if you try. You're a team on a losing streak? It's all over the place! You're a hockey player? Great! You get reminded (read, "Shoved down your throat!") of it in the two or three days off. You get called names by your fan base. You've got to go out and do something.

This is where fighting comes in to play.

You just don't want to be missing the playoffs, or on the verge of it.

Toronto with that collapse against the Bruins last year. What have they become this year? If you count exhibition games, the Leafs have been involved in 55 fights so far this year (Jan 19th). Vancouver, trying to get back to the success they had in 2011, is 3rd with 51 fights. Ottawa, playing better now and trying to keep the ball rolling is 5th with 45. Even Calgary is 9th with 39. These teams are built tough!

But all of those teams I mentioned were either struggling or are struggling. But the theory of hockey is this: fighting is a building block in the game!

You may not win the game, but you showed heart. You cared. You've got grit. You won't let the opposition push you around. Even if, again, you lose the game, a coach will be happy with all that. At least, in theory.

And that's the other thing if you are a hockey coach. You've got to get the players to be better than they really are. Backcheck, forecheck, paycheck, right? Well, yes. But also, you need your players to be on the same page. Gotta stick up for a teammate. Gotta be ready to dish it out. That's what I've read. The theory of hockey violence, again.

So that is what happened last night. Oh, Tortorella? He has to be a bit peeved about his team's performances in recent games. Were they not blown out 9-1 by Anaheim on the 15h? He's mad that his team has been "mailing it in" the last little bit. So he, too, is making a statement.