Despite Martin Brodeur's explicit request to be traded so that he could play more often than he will behind Cory Schneider, the Devils decided to keep the future Hall of Famer rather than deal him before Wednesday's trade deadline.
The 41-year-old Brodeur spoke to general manager Lou Lamoriello about his wish to get more playing time, and gave the GM a long list of teams he'd be willing to play for.
The 3:15 p.m. deadline came and went without a swap, reported nj.com.
Brodeur played his second game in the past month Tuesday night in what many fans thought be his last game with the Devils, making 20 saves in New Jersey's 4-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Brodeur has a 2.49 goals-against average and .899 save percentage this season.
But coach Pete DeBoer still would not call Schneider his No. 1 goalie.
"I don't think it's necessarily an accurate statement to say (Brodeur) is not the No, 1 guy," DeBoer said. "I think Cory grabbed the ball here prior to the Olympic break and ran with it for a while. Prior to that, Marty ran with it for a while.
"So I think it's been there for either of them to grab and they have at different respective times. And that's the case moving forward."
Brodeur attended the Devils' team meeting Wednesday morning, but he did not take part in the optional practice.
Lamoriello did not want to discuss Brodeur and the fact the goalie revealed he had spoken to him about his desire to play more often, even if it meant being traded. The GM was still upset about inaccurate reports saying a trade had been agreed upon to send Brodeur to Minnesota.
"It's just a shame that without any substance at different times and no facts that people say things," Lamoriello said.
Is Brodeur happy to be staying with the Devils for the remainder of this season?
"You'd have to talk to Marty," Lamoriello said. "I hope so. I feel that way. I don't know why not.
"This player just won one of the most important games last night."
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