Martin Brodeur was named executive vice president of hockey operations of the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. The Hall of Fame goalie signed a multiyear contract to remain with the team.
Brodeur had been an executive vice president/advisor to general manager Tom Fitzgerald in the hockey operations department since Jan. 12, 2020, while also working as a liaison to the team’s business operations side. His new role will allow him to focus on hockey operations full time.
“I’m definitely excited about the opportunity that Tom is giving me here,” Brodeur said. “Obviously, I’ve been working alongside him for a bit now, but now it’s more in an official capacity. With the history I have with this franchise, I’m excited to be part of the coming years, getting some success here and getting back to where the Devils are supposed to be, a winning franchise. We’re on our way there. Not there yet, but it’s exciting times.”
Brodeur said he was initially on the fence about getting back into hockey on a full-time basis upon returning to the Devils in 2018 following a three-year stint in the St. Louis Blues front office. But a nudge from his youngest son, 13-year-old Max, helped push him to do it.
“When I came back to New Jersey my little one was 9 years old or 8 years old,” Brodeur said. “Now he’s getting older, he’s so invested in hockey, and he wants me to do this. I was reluctant to go back to it after my three years in St. Louis, to get back full time into hockey. Now just feels like the right time. I’ve been around the team for two years on the hockey side and I just see a lot of growth. I love what’s going on with the way the hockey operation is set up. I want to be part of the solution, just being around. I think the time was perfect for me.”
Brodeur’s new role will include scouting, player development and recruitment, personnel decisions, roster management and overseeing the Devils’ goaltending development department.
Not surprisingly, he is particularly passionate about the goaltending development department.
“It’s something that when I was with the Blues I was talking a lot to (general manager) Doug Armstrong about and we were never able to put it together,” Brodeur said. “So when I got to the hockey side a couple years ago, I mentioned it to ‘Fitzy’ that I think this is something that should be really important for the organization. It’s hard. You go through the free agency market, you overpay for people. You have to grow them within. To have a department that solely just looks at goalies was an important part. … It might not pay off right now, but down the road it’s going to be an important factor in why we might have a leg up on different teams.”
Fitzgerald said Brodeur has been “a tremendous resource” to him in his time as the Devils GM because of his experience and the relationships he has in the hockey world.
“It makes sense to formalize and give clarity to his roles and responsibilities within the organization,” Fitzgerald said. “I am excited that he has committed to staying with us as we all work to continue to return New Jersey to the levels of success that Marty reached here as a player.”
The Devils take a seven-game winning streak into their game against the Ottawa Senators at Prudential Center on Thursday (7 pm ET; MSGSN2, TSN5, RDS, ESPN+, SN NOW). New Jersey, which has been in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in the past 10 seasons and hasn’t won a series since 2011-12, is 10-3-0 and in first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Current players are certainly on board with Brodeur taking on a full-time role on the hockey side.
“He’s always been huge for this organization and just having him around helps,” the captain Nico Hischier said. “He knows exactly what it takes to win, and he definitely gives some great input and it’s great to have him here with the Devils.”
The 50-year-old former goalie returned to the Devils on Aug. 29, 2018 as executive vice president of business development, a role he held into the 2019-20 season. He was previously assistant general manager for the Blues.
“Even though I still live in St. Louis, Jersey is still a big part of my life,” Brodeur said. “My kids grew up playing hockey here. I grew up as a professional in New Jersey. Everything is all about New Jersey when we talk about hockey. There’s nothing better.”
Selected by the Devils with the No. 20 pick in the 1990 NHL Draft, Brodeur helped New Jersey win three Stanley Cup championships (1995, 2000, 2003) in his 21 seasons with the Devils. New Jersey also reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2001 and 2012 with Brodeur in net. He played seven games with the Blues in 2014-15, his final NHL season.
Brodeur retired as the NHL’s all-time leader in wins (691), games played (1,266), shutouts (125), 40-win seasons (eight) and 30-win seasons (13). He was also 113-91 with a 2.02 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and an NHL-record 24 shutouts in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Brodeur won the Vezina Trophy, voted as the best goalie in the NHL, four times (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008).
His no. 30 was retired by the Devils on Feb. 9, 2016, when the team also unveiled a statue in his honor outside the Prudential Center.
Brodeur was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 12, 2018.
“I left St. Louis in 2018 and they won the Stanley Cup [in 2019], so I wasn’t happy,” Brodeur said. “I pulled the trigger too quickly there in St. Louis, so I can’t wait to try to win a Stanley Cup here with the Devils again.”
NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this story.
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