There is probably no player better placed to comment on the
recent NHL labour struggles than Martin Brodeur, as he has been involved in the
last three; that is not counting his involvement in the NHL strike in 1992.
Brodeur has now been part of, or involved in, four work
stoppages, so it is hard to believe how many games he has actually managed to
play in his career.
In the NHL standings, he actually holds the all-time win
total by a netminder (656), despite all of those interruptions that have
affected various seasons. By our calculations, it looks like the Devils goalie
has missed over 100 appearances due to NHL work stoppages.
Now that the league has cancelled the first couple of weeks
of the preseason, we await other games to be called off.
If there's still no agreement with regards to when the real
games in October are scheduled to start, the 40-year-old Brodeur says that he
will ponder his playing options. Eight years ago, when the NHL season was
cancelled, Brodeur didn’t jump to Europe to play in a league.
This time around, playing in a European league might be on
the cards and he has already advised agent, Pat Brisson, to be on the lookout,
as have many other players who look like they may be making a jump to the
European leagues until the situation is sorted out.
Despite having been through this situation before, the third
lockout of his career is proving no less frustrating and aggravating.
He did, however, see this lockout coming, like most people,
and that explains why he fought so hard for a two-year deal from the Devils,
enough that he even hit the open market for a few days before general manager,
Lou Lamoriello, relented.
A one-year deal would have risked seeing his career conclude
with the end of a yearlong lockout. He did not want to chance that, and neither did
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