Jeremy Brodeur is joining the New Jersey Devils’ AHL affiliate in Binghamton.
A Brodeur is back with the New Jersey Devils. Well, sort of.
Statistically, Martin Brodeur is the greatest goaltender in NHL history, being the league’s all-time regular-season leader in games played (1266), wins (691), losses (397), and shutouts (125). The 20th overall pick of the Devils in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Brodeur spent 21 of his 22 NHL seasons with the Devils, leading the team to three Stanley Cup titles and five Eastern Conference Titles in his 17 postseason appearances.
Couple that with two Olympic Golds in the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics and four Vezina Trophies, and it’s easy to see why he’s held in such high regard.
Despite having had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with the Devils following the conclusion of his career, having finished his playing days with the St. Louis Blues of all teams, Brodeur maintains an executive position in the Devils organization, and on Sunday, a Brodeur found himself with a playing position in the Devils organization, with son Jeremy Brodeur signing a one-year deal with the New Jersey Devils’s AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Devils.
OFFICIAL: Devils have signed forwards Travis St. Denis and Danick Martel, along with goaltender Jeremy Brodeur to AHL Contracts!
— Binghamton Devils (@BingDevils) January 9, 2021
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While unbeknownst to most if not all passing hockey fans, Brodeur’s three sons, William, Jeremy, and Anthony, have all had minor footprints in both the amateur and professional hockey world, with varying degrees of success. William, the only non-goalie of the three, spent a few years with the Shattuck St. Mary’s U18 program, yet hasn’t played since 2018-19, after spending four seasons with the Division II team for Providence College.
Anthony, the only one to be selected in the NHL entry draft, was taken with the 208th pick by the Devils in 2013. He was mainly a backup in his three seasons in the QMJHL, and after spending the 2015-16 season in the BCHL, he committed to the University of Ottawa, where he has spent the past four seasons in a backup role. While having gone undrafted, Jeremy was the only one of the three to be a starter in the Juniors, having played 54 and 51 games respectively in his final two seasons with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, leading the team to a Memorial Cup title in 2014-15.
Since then, he’s bounced around a number of different professional leagues, having spent the 2019-20 season in Hungary, England with the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers, and in the SPHL with the Peoria Rivermen. While he was a brief starter in the ECHL with the Allen Americans, Brodeur hasn’t recorded a win in the league in three years, though that could be subject to change, now that he finds himself with his first AHL contract.
Brodeur’s signing likely comes as a result of Corey Crawford’s shock retirement on Saturday, one day after announcing he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence.
Having signed a two-year deal worth $7.8 million this past October, Crawford’s departure causes each goalie remaining in the Devils organization to be moved up a position, should the team not acquire another option to backup starter Mackenzie Blackwood. Former Arizona Coyotes backup Scott Wedgewood looks to be the team’s only option at the moment, having spent this past season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.
For Binghamton, rookie Gilles Senn performed admirably for the team last season with a 17-7-2 record, though he, similar to Blackwood, lacks a true second option. With second-year player Evan Cormier having struggled to adapt to the AHL thus far, having posted a 2-8-1 record with a 3.70 GAA last season, Brodeur now finds himself with an opportunity for an organization scrambling for solid options in net. The New Jersey native’s career has been a roadmap, to say the least, having been apart of 10 different teams over just four professional seasons. While he’s been loaned to AHL teams before, riding the bench for the San Jose Barracuda in 2017-18 and Binghamton in 2018-19, there’s a chance he could see his first AHL action in 2020-21.
While unlikely, Brodeur has shown he can be a starting goalie at the ECHL-level at least and is still young at 24 years old. While he’s seen his fair share of travels already, his signing is both an interesting storyline for an organization long intertwined with the name Brodeur and a potentially interesting option for an AHL team lacking in a truly reliable second option. Should Cormier assume the backup role, Brodeur could find work in the ECHL, even with the Devils affiliate, the Adirondack Thunder, opting out of the 2020-21 season.
In a time where professional hockey has seen numerous changes across the world, journeymen like Jeremy Brodeur find themselves in situations they normally wouldn’t, as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the scope of the professional sports world. Despite a rocky start to his career, Jeremy Brodeur’s first AHL deal could similarly lead to his first AHL chance, as a Brodeur finds himself in New Jersey, once again.