The St. Louis Blues announced that Martin Brodeur would be joining the club for practice on Friday on a tryout basis. The news comes on the heels that goaltender Brian Elliott has a lower-body injury and will miss an undisclosed amount of time. The team immediately called up Jordan Binnington from the AHL, but they quickly made it known that the are looking for external help.
Several things need to happen before we can discuss Brodeur resuming his NHL career. First, he needs to prove to the Blues that he’s a better option at age 42 than the young Binnington. Brodeur’s NHL experience trumps Binnington’s (1,259 regular season games to zero), but it’s unclear what Brodeur has left at this stage of his career after spending the first chunk of 2014-15 away from the ice.
The Blues would also need to reach an agreement with Brodeur which doesn’t break the bank. The Blues are supposedly interested in acquiring more offensive help, but that can’t happen if they have to stretch their payroll to squeeze in Brodeur. It’s not as if Brodeur has a ton of offers driving up his price, but who knows what price he’d ask. At this stage of the game, Brodeur can continue enjoying his semi-retired life should the offer come in below what he’s seeking.
Finally, it all comes down to Elliott’s health. If his week-to-week status falls more in line with a couple to a few weeks rather than seven or eight, the Blues may be comfortable rolling with Allen and having Binnington sit on the pine. Brodeur wouldn’t be necessary.
Would Brodeur be a worthwhile addition for the Blues? Yes, but only if the above conditions are met. A long-term injury to Elliott would force the Blues to bring someone in as it’s doubtful the team wants their secondary option to be a goaltender with no NHL experience. They’d already be rolling with Allen, an extremely talented but rather inexperienced netminder, so it’d make a lot of sense to have a #2 with a lengthy resume.
Should the price jump too high or should Brodeur look his age in practice, the Blues may have other options. Ilya Bryzgalov would be another logical option, but he too brings his share of potential issues. Tomas Vokoun may be lurking out there as well. Again, all options with plenty of faults, but the Blues may not have a choice if they want a guy on the bench with NHL experience. The necessity to explore one or more of these options all depends on Elliott’s injury.
Is Brodeur’s career about to resume? We’ll have to wait and see, but the Blues certainly have other options if Brodeur doesn’t impress.
