Dreger: Brodeur softens team stance, agent is getting calls

Darren Dreger was on NHL Live on the NHL Network on Thursday afternoon.

On Martin Brodeur:

“Well, he is absolutely committed to playing this season and I think he got a boost spending some time with the Hall of Famers inducted earlier this week. They kept telling him, ‘Look, if you’re not ready to retire, then do not retire.’ And he’s not ready to retire. He’s stayed in good shape and I think he’s softened his position a little bit as well.

“Of course he’d love to hook up with a contending team and get back into the crease or mentor a young goaltender who’s on a contending team. But right now he just wants to play. If he ends up with a middle-of-the-pack team, say, in either the East or the Western Conference, he’ll be fine with that, given whatever role they can use him in.

“But here’s an interesting twist to this story for me. What if a team were to sign Martin Brodeur for the remainder of the season. Again, being that middle-of-the-road team. They get to the NHL trade deadline, and they recognize, ‘Ah, you know what? We maybe don’t have what it takes to make the playoffs. Things haven’t gone as well as we’d hoped. Let’s now turn Martin Brodeur into a tradeable commodity. Use him as an asset to acquire a draft pick.’ That would be okay by Martin Brodeur’s standard as well.

“So I think that that’s loosened things up and I believe that Pat Brisson, who is helping Martin Brodeur, is now starting to get some calls.”

Source: NHL Network/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey